The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-07-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to transfer operational command and control of the EU units from all other departments to the Department for Exiting the European Union.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The Department for Exiting the European Union will be made up of staff from various departments across Government, including from the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what research his Department has recently undertaken into the potential benefits of increasing paternity leave for men.
Margot James
In 2011, the Coalition Government consulted on a number of options to modernise employment entitlements relating to families. This led to the introduction of Shared Parental Leave and Pay for working parents; and the provisions in the Children and Families Act 2014 which enable Ministers to make Regulations to extend paternity leave and increase the rate of pay.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure that spending on play is protected in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.
Edward Timpson
Play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning. The importance of play is recognised in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework [1], which states: “Each area of learning and development must be implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity. Play is essential for children’s development, building their confidence as they learn to explore, to think about problems, and relate to others. Children learn by leading their own play, and by taking part in play which is guided by adults.”
Early Years educators and Early Years teachers are required to have an understanding of different pedagogical approaches, including the role of play in supporting early learning and development. It is for individual schools and settings to provide opportunities for play for their children and pupils, including those with special educational needs.
We welcome the report published by Sense and their continuing efforts to support deafblind children and young people.
As the Spending Review is underway, we are unable to give details of which programmes will be funded. We have committed to protecting the core schools budget throughout this Parliament at flat cash per pupil. We will look carefully at the impact of changes in schools’ and early years settings’ costs when making plans for education spending as part of the spending review.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his policy that a claimant of employment and support allowance (ESA) in the Support Group who transfers to the Work Related Activity Group will receive the current rate of ESA, as an existing claimant, or the reduced rate of ESA proposed in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.
Priti Patel
Existing claimants, whether in the work-related activity group or the support group, who undergo a work capability assessment after April 2017 and are placed in, or remain in, the work-related activity group, will continue to receive the work-related activity component.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Department has had no offices in the area in the timeframe.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the value of exports from firms based in Cardiff South and Penarth constituency to (a) the EU (b) the US and (c) China in each year of the last six years.
Anna Soubry
Regional trade statistics at the constituency level are not available. Data showing the value of exports of goods from firms registered for VAT in Wales to the EU, the US and China in each year of the last six years are available from the HM Revenue and Customs’ Regional Trade Statistics database.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.
Mr Robert Goodwill
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Matthew Hancock) on 29 February 2016, UIN 27946 (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&member=1604&dept=53&uin=27946).
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-03-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of any economic benefits arising from the recent constitutional changes and the establishment of a new government in Kathmandu; and how they will support new business initiatives to stimulate the economy.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The amendments to the Constitution are a step towards resolving differences. We see a lasting political settlement as an important basis for future political stability and faster economic growth in Nepal.
Promoting economic development and stimulating economic growth is a pillar of the Department for International Development’s Nepal programme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to support research into mesothelioma.
George Freeman
The Government agrees that more mesothelioma research is needed and has taken measures to stimulate an increase in the level of research activity.
Patients, carers, clinicians and funders have worked in partnership to identify what the priorities in research are. Following a survey and a workshop, the top 10 mesothelioma research priorities were announced in December 2014. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) published a final report from the Priority Setting Partnership in July 2015. In advance of the identification of research questions by this partnership, the NIHR highlighted to the research community that it wanted to encourage research applications in mesothelioma.
The NIHR subsequently invited researchers to apply for mesothelioma research funding, in particular to address the research questions identified through the partnership. Eight NIHR programmes participated in this themed call. Fifteen individual applications were received, of which two have been approved for funding.
In addition, the NIHR Research Design Service continues to be able to help prospective applicants develop competitive research proposals. This service is well-established and has
10 regional bases across England. It supports researchers to develop and design high-quality proposals for submission to NIHR itself and also to other national, peer-reviewed funding competitions for applied health or social care research.
The National Cancer Research Institute is facilitating ongoing dialogue between relevant research funders on the topic of mesothelioma, to discuss what the barriers to research are and what is needed to stimulate research in the field.
The Chancellor’s Budget Report committed £5 million of LIBOR fines over the next four years for the National Mesothelioma Centre.
The Department has received recent representations relating to funding of mesothelioma research from the Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK and from several hon. Members on behalf of constituents.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 May 2016, on BIS consultation, HCWS30, what proportion of his Department’s £350 million projected savings by 2020 he expects to be achieved as a result of the decision to centralise policy functions in London.
Joseph Johnson
Delivering the scale of change required to reduce our operating expenditure by £350m requires the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to fundamentally transform the way it delivers services, works with partners, and makes policy. To help deliver this substantial saving we will be reducing our locations from around 80 sites to 7 business centres, one of which will be the combined policy centre and headquarters in London. The decision to establish this policy centre forms part of this much larger reform programme. The Department estimates that establishing a policy centre will generate savings of at least £7.5m per year by 2019-20, and it will also better enable the Department to operate a more flexible, agile and easily re-deployable policy function which will continue to deliver BIS’ priorities as it reduces in size over the course of the Parliament.