The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will issue a response to the report Scientific and factual? A review of breastmilk substitute advertising to healthcare professionals, published by the First Steps Nutrition Trust.
Matt Hancock
I refer my honourable friend to the answer to PQ 47854.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Willia on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to support the development of domestic oil purchasing syndicates.
Andrea Leadsom
I continue to see domestic oil purchasing syndicates as an important route for consumers to get the best price possible. My priority is keeping bills low for hardworking families and businesses, and with winter on its way it makes sense for consumers to plan ahead. The Department also recommends heating oil users to buy their heating fuel sooner rather than later to avoid longer delivery times as demand increases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees have (a) died and (b) been injured during an attempt to reach Britain from the Calais refugee camp.
James Brokenshire
Data on migrants who have died or been injured is a matter for the French authorities and would be held by them.
The UK and France are unified in our joint efforts to address the migrant situation in Calais, and are clear that migrants should not risk their lives by making dangerous journeys in order to attempt to enter the UK illegally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-01-21.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the overall performance of the National Crime Agency during its first year of total operation in Northern Ireland.
Lord Bates
Since 20 May 2015, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has been operating with full powers in Northern Ireland. As the NCA recently reported to the Northern Ireland Policing Board on 16 December 2015, from 01 April 2015 up to 30 September 2015, the NCA has recorded 29 disruptions against organised crime groups and high priority threats operating in Northern Ireland. The scope of the NCA’s crime-fighting capability within the jurisdiction has expanded. The NCA has worked in partnership with the Police Service for Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the support that the NCA provides law enforcement partners, particularly the PSNI has been enhanced.
The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (National Crime Agency and Proceeds of Crime) (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 requires the Northern Ireland Policing Board to monitor the exercise of the functions of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland. The interim Memorandum of Understanding between the National Crime Agency and the Northern Ireland Policing Board states the Board is required, not later than six months after the end of each financial year, to issue a report relating to the policing of Northern Ireland for the next financial year. The report will include an assessment of the exercise of the functions of the NCA in Northern Ireland.
The NCA is committed to playing its role in tackling serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland. Hence, the NCA will be fully engaged in delivering the commitment outlined in the ‘A Fresh Start: The Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan’ to a concerted and enhanced effort to combat serious and organised and cross border crime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-02-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have undertaken any analysis to determine why there has been an increase in the number of homeless people; and, if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of the Homeless Prevention Fund provided to local authorities and increased funding of programmes for the homeless.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
This Government has always been clear that we are committed to supporting the most vulnerable people in our society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our commitment to increase central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the next four years.
We are working with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support. Through a series of roundtables we have already started conversations to help shape and inform our future approach to tackling homelessness and deciding our investment priorities.
During the last Parliament the Homelessness Prevention Grant and our investment in homelessness programmes helped prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless.
We will continue to use the information provided to us by local authorities to assess the causes of homelessness and the extent of homelessness prevention and relief activity, in order to help shape future policy and investment.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bates on 2 March (HL Deb, col 824), what qualifications they consider to be adequate for persons conducting the substantive interviews of asylum applicants, with authority to recommend acceptance or rejection of their claims; and what assessment they have made of whether gap-year and undergraduate students, after five weeks of training, have sufficient maturity and empathy to take such decisions.
Lord Bates
Decision makers working on asylum casework are graded at Executive Officer level except in the suspended Detained Fast Track operation where the predominate grade is Higher Executive Officer due to the requirement on some decision makers to also present appeals. The general entry requirement for direct recruitment to either grade is a minimum of 2 GCE A Level passes A-C and 5 GCSE passes including Mathematics and English. We have also employed staff on temporary contracts but have required them to have a minimum 2:2 Degree, preferably in law.
We recruit high performing students from various universities as asylum decision makers on fixed term appointments and since 2009 have employed 11 law undergraduates of whom 2 are still employed. Applicants send in their CVs, and these are used to inform an initial sift of applications. Successful candidates are then invited to a competency based interview with Home Office staff which tests their maturity and suitability to carry out the role.
At the end of the 5 week training, that all decision makers receive, there is a six month period of mentoring, continued assessment and quality analysis of newly qualified decision maker’s work that identifies whether an individual is performing the role to the required quality standards. Before any individual is signed off their initial probationary period and confirmed in role they must be considered to be performing the role to the previously referenced quality standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the role of the PrescQIPP Programme is in relation to clinical commissioning groups.
Alistair Burt
The PrescQIPP NHS Programme currently has no direct role within the Department as it is an independent social enterprise.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) use its materials to improve the prescribing of medicines. These are mainly publicly available for CCGs and Health Boards, with some additional subscription-only content. Their governance and annual work programme is overseen by a strategic oversight group representing the users.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
Mike Penning
The proportion of staff on (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff for each of the financial years requested is included in the table below. Due to changes in the structure of the department in each year, comparisons cannot be reliably drawn between years.
|
2010/2011 |
2011/2012 |
2012/2013 |
2013/2014 |
2014/2015 |
2015/2016 |
|
|
Proportion of Payroll FTE |
98% |
98% |
98% |
97% |
95% |
95% |
|
Proportion of Non Payroll FTE |
2% |
2% |
2% |
3% |
5% |
5% |
The data in the table includes staff from MoJ Headquarters, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, National Offender Management Service, Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, Office of the Public Guardian and the Legal Aid Agency (who are included from the 2013/2014 financial year onwards). The Scotland Office and Wales Office are included in the 2010/2011 financial year and Supreme Court included 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 financial year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the concluding observations and recommendations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on the UK’s sixth periodic report in relation to social security and unemployment; and if he will make a statement.
Damian Hinds
In paragraph 73 of the UN recommendations, the UN requested that the UK submits its next period report under the Covenant (inclusive of a response to all the recommendations from this year’s examination) by 30 June 2021; it would therefore not be appropriate for me to pre-empt this report by anticipating what we might say in 2021. In any event, the Government regularly assesses the impacts of its policies and will continue to do so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) military and (b) civilian Government employees have been employed in the Gulf Strategy Unit in each of the last 15 years.
Ben Gummer
The Gulf Strategy Integrated Delivery Team was established in 2015.
Its remit is to coordinate the Government’s strategic approach to UK engagement with the Gulf States as set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.
It employs three full-time and one part-time Government employees. One is military and three are civilian.
Administration costs were £70,004 in the 2015-16 financial year and the budget for administration costs in the 2016-17 financial year is £423,000. The 2015-16 figure reflects the fact the unit was established later in the financial year.