The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in each of the last five years had Tourette’s syndrome.
Alistair Burt
Studies estimate that 200,000 – 300,000 people in the United Kingdom are affected by Tourette’s syndrome. Information concerning how many people had Tourette’s syndrome in each of the last five years is not collected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance were terminated as a result of a disallowance which followed a sanction in the most recent month for which figures are available.
Priti Patel
The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Greenwood on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2015 to Question 21125, what estimate he has made of the remaining track that will be electrified in connection with the programmes and projects that will go ahead for delivery by 2019 and were referred to in that Answer.
Claire Perry
Pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2016 to Question 21125, the Department for Transport remains fully committed to our modernisation programme of over 850 miles of electrification. Over 50 miles have already been completed since 2010 compared to just 10 miles electrified in the 13 years of Labour Government from 1997.
Some schemes are more immature in their development and, whilst schemes in this category will have significant delivery within Control Period 5, these schemes will span more than one control period.
It will be for Network Rail to determine the exact mileage to be electrified in Control Period 5 once the development of all the projects and programmes to be delivered by 2019 has reached a sufficient level of maturity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his German counterpart on compensation for thalidomide survivors in the last year; and if he will make a statement.
Mr David Lidington
At a meeting with representatives of the Thalidomide Trust on 11 January, I agreed to raise with the German Ambassador the Trust’s request for a further meeting with the German authorities. I wrote in these terms to the Ambassador on 4 February.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the UK is intending to take steps to ensure that effective benchmarks for extractive-sector governance are included on the agenda for the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The Brussels Conference on Afghanistan in October 2016 will consider progress against the Self Reliance through the Mutual Accountability Framework agreed between the National Unity Government and the international community in September 2015. This Framework includes an objective to improve the investment climate and a commitment on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Responsible development of the extractives sector is a UK priority. We are supporting the Government to strengthen legal frameworks, contract management and fiscal regimes, and to implement the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-04-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the effect of the reduction of work allowances under universal credit announced in the Summer Budget 2015 on the number of children living in relative poverty in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19, (d) 2019-20 and (e) 2020-21.
Priti Patel
The Government is committed to working to eliminate child poverty and improve life chances for children. Work remains the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Early evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster than under the current system. In addition, Universal Credit now provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to review the guidance provided in Approved Document B to the Building Regulations 2010.
James Wharton
My Department is considering a number of issues related to the Building Regulations and building control system matters. We will make an announcement about our plans in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the coastguard turned down any request from any other service for assistance during inland floods in the last five years.
Mr John Hayes
Her Majesty’s Coastguard does not specifically record occurrences when other Category 1 Responders or any other service requests assistance. Information may be held within the text narrative of an incident record but this would require a check of tens of thousands of records over the last two to five years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many equality impact assessments government departments carried out in each year between 2010 and 2016.
Caroline Dinenage
The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in the Equality Act 2010 ensures that public bodies take account of equality and consider the potential impact of decisions on groups with protected characteristics. All bodies exercising public functions who are subject to the PSED need to understand the impact of their policies and services on people with different protected characteristics and be able to provide evidence that this has been taken into account during the decision-making process. However, the legislation does not prescribe how this information needs to be recorded and it is not a statutory requirement in England to prepare or publish information in a particular form, such as an Equality Impact Assessment.
The Government Equalities Office does not therefore keep records of how many equality impact assessments are carried out by Departments; in any case, this information would not give an indication of the extent to which equality issues have been considered under the PSED.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to prevent jihadists recruiting young people through social media sites.
Mr John Hayes
Extremist and terrorist organisations such as ISIL are using the internet to disseminate propaganda and recruit individuals to their groups or to support their aims. Despite the vast majority of British Muslims wanting nothing to do with ISIL, some vulnerable individuals, including young people, are being misled by ISIL’s damaging propaganda through its use of social media sites.
We are therefore working with responsible social media companies to take robust action against terrorist material. Since 2010, over 110,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed at the request of the dedicated Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). We are pressing social media companies to take stronger, faster and further action to combat the use of their services by terrorist and extremist groups. We want to see a zero tolerance approach to terrorist activity on their networks. We are also working in partnership with civil society organisations prepared to confront the extremist narratives online, increasing their confidence and capability to challenge extremist content effectively and to provide credible alternatives.
We have seen an increase in the pace and scale of terrorist communications by groups such as ISIL, encouraging vulnerable young people to travel to conflict zones like Syria and Iraq. Therefore, it is essential that we equip young people with an awareness of the dangers of terrorist and extremist propaganda and the skills they need to protect themselves from it. The Home Office funds local projects that encourage young people to think critically about potentially harmful or extremist views presented on the internet through addressing all forms of radicalisation.
The Prevent statutory duty introduced this year places an obligation on specified authorities to have due regard to preventing people from being drawn into terrorism. This includes, where relevant, having policies in place relating to the use of IT equipment and considering whether IT equipment should use filtering solutions that limit access to terrorist and extremist material. The Channel programme, which is part of the Prevent duty, is a multi-agency process designed to stop people being drawn into terrorism or terrorist related activity. People identified as being at risk of radicalisation from any source, including online radicalisation, are offered tailored support to address their vulnerability. This support often involves specialist intervention providers who understand the ideology of terrorism and extremism and will seek to steer the vulnerable people away from it.