Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Lord Heseltine’s report, Tees Valley: Opportunity unlimited, published on 7 June 2016, what assessment her Department has made of the feasibility of a University Technical College or Institute of Technology in the Tees Valley area.

    Nick Boles

    Lord Heseltine’s report recommends that, following the Tees Valley Post-16 Area Review, universities and local employers should consider whether technical based education provision in the form of either a University Technical College (UTC) or Institute of Technology (IoT) may help to address skill gaps and contribute to meeting the future needs of business.

    The Government is committed to establishing a UTC or technical academy within reach of every city. As with other new academies, proposals to establish new UTCs and technical academies are submitted to the Department twice a year. The Department for Education would consider any proposals from the Tees Valley area as it would from elsewhere. The strongest applications that demonstrate a clear need and demand for their chosen specialisms in their local area are approved to develop their plans further.

    The Baker Dearing Educational Trust is funded by the Department to support applicant groups and can be contacted to discuss future UTC proposals. The process for establishing IoTs has not started yet, so no assessment has been made regarding the feasibility of an Institute in the Tees Valley area.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on British nationals detained in that country; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to raise our strong concerns about British prisoners in Iran at the highest levels in both London and Tehran. Both the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) and the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) did so in their introductory calls with their Iranian counterparts recently, and the Foreign Secretary followed up in writing to Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 29 August.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings Ministers of her Department have had with social media companies to discuss harmful online content since May 2015.

    Sarah Newton

    Home Office Ministers routinely meet with a range of stakeholders, including social media companies, to discuss action to protect people from harmful online content. Ministers also meet social media companies on specific issues such as online hate crime and extremism.

    In addition, they attend meetings of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), which brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities, parenting groups and government departments and meets on a regular basis.

  • George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has held with the Senet Group on gambling addiction; and if he will make a statement.

    Tracey Crouch

    I have had several meetings with groups and individuals concerned about the negative effects of gambling, and have made clear to the industry that it must continue to demonstrate it is taking action to mitigate the risk ofgambling related harm.

    Last year, the Governmentannounced a range of player protection measures including a £2 million programme funded by industry to promote responsible gambling, and the Senet group formed in 2014 promote responsible gambling standards, have overseen a range of measures, including a commitment from its members who cover around 80% of Britishlicensedbetting offices – todedicate 20% of shop window advertising to responsible gambling messages, and a TV campaign earlier the year to educate people about the risks of problem gambling.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance her Department plans to permit Serco to give the Diocese of Blackburn to facilitate the settlement of Syrian refugees in Preston.

    Richard Harrington

    The UK has been operating resettlement schemes for many years and we already have established and effective networks to accommodate and support resettled people. It is up to each individual local authority to decide how best to manage the resettlement of refugees in their area, and they are therefore free to choose their own delivery partners.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to increase awareness of (a) arthritis and (b) other musculoskeletal conditions; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England (PHE) work in partnership with NHS England, professional bodies, the Chief Fire Officers Association, Arthritis Research UK (ARUK), Work Foundation and other private sector system leaders to increase awareness of the prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

    PHE’s Chief Knowledge Directorate have worked collaboratively with ARUK to develop a set of local authority briefings on osteoarthritis based on data from ARUK’s MSK Calculator[1]. A musculoskeletal domain has also been created within PHE’s National General Practice Profiles[2]. The Burden of Disease for England was published by PHE in September 2015, which provides analytics on MSK.

    PHE has commissioned and developed a series of resources and tools to raise awareness amongst professionals and the public of Arthritis and MSK conditions such as; a British Medical Journal e-learning module on the benefits of physical activity for osteoarthritis and lower back pain, which has been highly valued by clinicians; a public facing falls prevention booklet.

    [1]http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/policy-and-public-affairs/policy-priorities-and-projects/musculosketal-health-services/the-musculoskeletal-calculator.aspx

    [2]http://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/general-practice/data#mod,1,pyr,2014,pat,19,par,E38000001,are,-,sid1,2000009,ind1,-,sid2,-,ind2,-

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which common electrical and propulsion systems are shared between the T26 Global Combat Ship and the Type 45 Destroyer.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Due to the specific requirements of Anti-Submarine Warfare operations and the availability of equipment on the open market, the Type 45 and Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) electrical and propulsion system architectures are fundamentally different; no major equipment will be common to both.

    Lessons learned from the Type 45 programme and the in-service experience drawn from the Type 23 Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates have all been applied to the T26 GCS electrical and propulsion system design.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) defections from North Korea and (b) unsuccessful defection attempts from that country in the last four years.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold detailed information on the number of defections from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Information on defections from the DPRK can be obtained from the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Unification

    http://eng.unikorea.go.kr/content.do?cmsid=3026

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much his Department spent on upgrading its IT systems in 2014-15.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department spent £38m on upgrading IT systems in 2014-15, including both software and equipment development. This includes around £31m for internally developed software, predominantly within delivery bodies of the department such as the Student Loans Company. It also includes the Core Department roll out of a new ICT system, Evolve, for use by all staff. This replaced the previous IT service. The total cost of the Evolve rollout was £3.5 million.

  • Lord Radice – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Radice – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Radice on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assistance they are giving to the government of Tunisia with a view to promoting democracy and rebuilding its economy, and in particular the creation of jobs for young people.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In the financial year from April 2015 – March 2016, UK support to Tunisia doubled to around £7 million for programmes to support governance, economic reform (including job creation and entrepreneurship) and security sector capacity building. We expect this high level of support to continue in the coming year, reaching at least £8 million for projects including capacity building for democratic institutions and anti-corruption bodies, and support for financial sector reform and entrepreneurship. We continue to encourage Tunisia to set out its plans for its economic development and reform, and have particularly underlined the importance of creating jobs for young people.