Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of officials of his Department resigned in each of the last six years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is provided in the table below.

    Period

    Number of resignations

    Proportion of the workforce (%)

    2010/11

    5,143

    4.2

    2011/12

    2,591

    2.3

    2012/13

    2,036

    1.8

    2013/14

    1,783

    1.7

    2014/15

    1,683

    1.7

    2015/16

    2,120

    2.2
  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether additional funding will be provided to support further education students who have to travel further to access education as a result of colleges merging.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Future college mergers will tend to be decided through area reviews of post-16 education which are focused on meeting the needs of learners in each area. Area reviews, because they are overseen by steering groups including Chairs and Principals of colleges as well as local authorities, are well placed to ensure decisions are taken which are in the interests of local further education students, taking into account travel to learn distances. The steering group’s recommendations will always be based on the best available evidence, including an analysis of local economic and educational needs, and the mapping of current curriculum provision and travel to learn patterns.

    As well as being members of area review steering groups, local authorities have statutory responsibility for transport to education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds. We expect local authorities to make reasonable decisions about the support they offer based on the needs of their young people, local transport infrastructure and the resources they have available. Authorities will need to take account of the recommendations arising from each area review and the impact on transport for learners. Local authorities fund any support they provide for transport to post-16 education through the grants they receive from national government and through generated income, such as council tax.

    Most 16- to 19-year olds have access to a discount or concession on local travel, from their local transport provider, their local authority, or from their education or training provider. The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund is also available to support young people with the costs associated with attending education or training, and transport is the biggest single area of expenditure for which this fund is used.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on supporting Mersey Forest in its aim to increase woodland cover to 20 per cent of the Mersey Forest area.

    Rory Stewart

    We certainly support this partnership of local authorities with organisations in the Defra Group, and its aim to increase woodland cover to 20 per cent of the Mersey Forest area. This supports our national commitment to plant 11 million more trees by the end of this Parliament and to continue to expand woodland cover in England.

    The Mersey Forest partnership has transformed the Mersey area since it was set up in 1991. It has planted 9 million trees and doubled woodland cover in the area, providing great places for local people to enjoy as well as a wide range of economic and environmental benefits. The Mersey Forest is one of eight Community Forests in England that together deliver urban, economic and social regeneration, helping to transform areas that have seen significant industrial restructuring, by reclaiming brownfield land to create high-quality environments for millions of people. This wider network of Community Forests has planted over 10,000 hectares of new woodland and brought more than 27,000 hectares of existing woodland into management.

    Whilst it is for the constituent local authorities to agree their ongoing commitment, Defra Group organisations will continue to support Mersey Forest in its ambition to increase woodland cover to 20 per cent.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to retain solar thermal under the Renewable Heat Incentive for (a) domestic and smaller commercial heating applications and (b) new applications including space heating and community heating.

    Jesse Norman

    In March the Department for Energy and Climate Change published a consultation “The Renewable Heat Incentive: A reformed and refocused scheme”, including proposals relating to solar thermal.

    The Government is currently considering responses to the consultation and will announce its final proposals in due course.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the benefits of teaching first aid in schools on public health outcomes.

    Edward Timpson

    This Government believes that the teaching of first aid skills is important. The Department for Education works closely with expert organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance who provide learning materials to schools, including life-saving training kits produced by the British Heart Foundation. These kits provide young people with first-hand experience of life-saving skills and we have promoted the use of these via the termly school email and social media channels.

    How first aid is provided is up to teachers and is taught as part of personal, social, health and economic (PHSE) education in schools. In line with the continued drive to reduce bureaucracy and burdens on schools, we do not ask schools to routinely collect data on this.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage British Muslims to join the armed forces to tackle ISIL.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence is working up plans to meet the Government’s commitment to increase the number of black, Asian, ethnic minority (BAME) recruits into the Armed Forces to 10% by 2020, and have allocated additional resources for this purpose.

    Diversity and inclusion is a Defence Board priority and we recognise that there are challenges we need to address and we are engaging with all communities that are under-represented in the Armed Forces to consider ways and means of doing so.

    Some examples of actions we have taken that are aimed at increasing BAME, including Muslim, recruitment are:

    Highlighting the benefits of a career in the Armed Forces including the ability to develop a trade or gain professional skills; as well as being a force for good, for example through conducting humanitarian operations.

    Trying to build mutual understanding between the Armed Forces and local communities including highlighting the role that Muslims have played in operations from World War One to the present day.

    Tackling the perception that there are no role models for Muslims in the Armed Forces.

    The Armed Forces have recently (October 2015) won two of the seven awards being presented at the Race for Opportunity Awards. The Armed Forces Muslim Association, of which the Chief of Defence Staff is patron, won the Public Sector Employee Network Award and the Royal Air Force won the Future Workforce Award for their STEM/Employability Skills programme.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions have been made under Article 222 of the Air Navigation Order 2009 since that order came into force.

    Andrew Selous

    The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for offences under article 22 of the Air Navigation Order 2009, in England and Wales, from 2009 t0 2014 (latest available) can be viewed in the attached table.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the doctors applying to Round 1 for Speciality Training posts commencing in the period August to December 2016 applied directly from Foundation Year Two.

    Ben Gummer

    The information is not currently available. Analysis of training application numbers is carried out by Health Education England (HEE) once recruitment rounds have been completed. HEE will publish the data once this work is complete via the UK Foundation Programme Office (UK FPO) annual reports.

    The 2015 annual report is available on the UK FPO Website:

    http://www.foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/download.asp?file=FP_Annual_Report_2015_-_FINAL.pdf

    The appointments to specialty or general practice are self-declared by the doctors in response to the survey and are not verified against recruitment data.

    Whilst the survey is a fairly accurate predictor of the destination of doctors who have completed foundation training the figures are not intended to be an accurate employment record.

    “

  • Dame Angela Watkinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dame Angela Watkinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dame Angela Watkinson on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements are in place to (a) record and (b) inspect small yachts arriving from Europe at marinas on the UK coastline.

    James Brokenshire

    Inspection of vessels by is undertaken by Border Force on a case by case basis depending on the intelligence held and the level of assessed risk.

    Border Force operates an intelligence led and risk assessed approach to managing the maritime border. This allows Border Force to provide effective border controls up and down the country. Border Force maintains close working relationships with law enforcement partners and related agencies who also use an intelligence-led approach in accordance with assessments of known and inferred risk.

    Border Force shares information on possible subjects of interest with EU law enforcement partners and continues to work very closely with them to enable real time interventions where appropriate.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial support they plan to provide to air services to and from St Helena when the new airport opens there.

    Baroness Verma

    As part of Her Majesty’s Government’s commitment to provide for the Overseas Territories’ reasonable assistance needs DFID will fund over the first two years any shortfall between the costs of operating the weekly service from Johannesburg and revenue from ticket sales.

    A revenue management strategy is being developed by the air service provider in collaboration with the St Helena Government. This will be regularly reviewed to ensure that self-sustainability is reached as soon as possible.