The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to embed the Family Test into its policy making.
Priti Patel
Officials have undertaken a number of activities to embed the Family Test into the policy making process. This has included training officials on applying the Test, as well as disseminating relevant evidence, learning materials and best practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether apprentices are required to achieve a Level 2 qualification, including mathematics and English, in order (a) to be entered for an Advanced Level Apprenticeship and (b) for entries to be in accordance with the Specification of Apprenticeships Standards for England.
Nick Boles
In order to maximise accessibility, there are no centrally set entry requirements to start an apprenticeship. However, as apprenticeships are jobs with training, individual employers may set their own entry requirements for a specific apprenticeship.
The government does set requirements relating to training and achievement in English and maths during apprenticeships. This is because English and maths are fundamental to career progression and access to further learning.
All apprenticeship frameworks must comply with the Specification of Apprenticeship Standards for England (SASE). Under SASE, English and maths qualifications are a mandatory component of all Intermediate and Advanced apprenticeships. However, all adult apprentices are assessed for prior learning, and people who start an apprenticeship with current English and maths qualifications at the right level need not repeat these.
We are reforming apprenticeships to ensure that they are based on standards designed by employers.The government sets minimum requirements for apprenticeship standards, though employers are able to go further in the standards they design. They are able to specify a higher level of English and/or maths achievement or to specify a particular qualification or qualifications where this is needed for a particular occupation or sector. . The minimum requirements are – passing level 1 English and maths and taking the test for level 2 before taking the end-point assessment for an intermediate apprenticeship; and passing level 2 English and maths before taking the end-point assessment for an advanced or higher apprenticeship.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government has requested be taken at EU level to respond to the effects of over-production of Chinese steel.
Anna Soubry
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues, EU Commissioners and EU counterparts about a range of issues, including Market Economy Status (MES) for China. He most recently discussed trade aspects of the steel industry with Trade Commissioner Malmstrom on 20 January.
We are awaiting a European Commission proposal on granting MES. We understand that the Commission will also be undertaking a detailed assessment of the economic impacts of granting MES as part of their consideration of this issue. We will examine any proposal and assessment carefully. The Prime Minister has previously stated that he will make the case for China to be granted MES but China will need to show that it is committed to becoming more open as it becomes more prosperous. In considering the Commission’s proposal it will be important to consider the wider trade and international political context including compliance with international commitments. If China is granted MES, the Commission will still be able to pursue anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and impose measures where evidence of dumping or subsidy is found.
The government is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices. The Government voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on steel products in July and November and lobbied successfully for an investigation into re-bar. The Government is also pushing for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel: this was one of the conclusions of the Extraordinary Competitiveness Council on Steel in November. The Secretary of State also raised the issue with the Trade Commissioner.
The Government is playing an active role in the European Commission’s steel stakeholder’s conference summit on 15 February and is supporting a robust discussion of the issue of overcapacity through the EU’s ongoing dialogue with the Chinese.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what receipts were received by each police force from the proceeds of crime in 2015.
Mr John Hayes
More assets were taken off criminals in 2014/15 than ever before. £199 million was recovered, and hundreds of millions more was frozen and put beyond the reach of criminals. The table below shows the total receipts from cash forfeited by each police force, and receipts from confiscation orders in the financial year 1 April 2014-31 March 2015.
The table includes data for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the figures for the Police Service of Northern Ireland are for cash forfeitures only, as under the devolution settlement, all confiscation receipts are retained by Northern Ireland, and the Home Office holds no data.
|
Police Force |
Total receipts from cash forfeiture orders and confiscation orders in the year 2014-15 |
|
Avon & Somerset Constabulary |
£1,490,611.90 |
|
Bedfordshire Police |
£1,094,410.68 |
|
British Transport Police |
£556,348.90 |
|
Cambridgeshire Constabulary |
£720,660.84 |
|
Cheshire Constabulary |
£2,484,655.12 |
|
City of London Police |
£2,555,229.61 |
|
Cleveland Police |
£556,308.05 |
|
Cumbria Constabulary |
£1,135,771.58 |
|
Derbyshire Constabulary |
£676,892.51 |
|
Devon & Cornwall Constabulary |
£1,398,001.79 |
|
Dorset Police |
£275,603.19 |
|
Durham Constabulary |
£739,926.17 |
|
Dyfed-Powys Police |
£196,955.52 |
|
Essex Police |
£1,636,232.98 |
|
Gloucestershire Constabulary |
£1,321,446.18 |
|
Greater Manchester Police |
£6,823,306.05 |
|
Gwent Police |
£755,622.39 |
|
Hampshire Constabulary |
£1,357,509.31 |
|
Hertfordshire Constabulary |
£1,895,544.77 |
|
Humberside Police |
£1,009,594.15 |
|
Kent Police |
£1,710,364.42 |
|
Lancashire Constabulary |
£2,125,492.14 |
|
Leicestershire Constabulary |
£1,462,857.28 |
|
Lincolnshire Police |
£440,109.19 |
|
Merseyside Police |
£3,971,554.79 |
|
Metropolitan Police Service |
£23,518,346.51 |
|
Norfolk Constabulary |
£605,485.18 |
|
North Wales Police |
£555,579.35 |
|
North Yorkshire Police |
£395,279.48 |
|
Northamptonshire Police |
£1,607,162.05 |
|
Northumbria Police |
£827,194.86 |
|
Nottinghamshire Police |
£924,929.87 |
|
Police Service of Northern Ireland |
£521,050.22 |
|
South Wales Police |
£1,313,813.78 |
|
South Yorkshire Police |
£1,666,790.98 |
|
Staffordshire Police |
£1,099,376.89 |
|
Suffolk Constabulary |
£939,571.40 |
|
Surrey Police |
£1,081,929.13 |
|
Sussex Police |
£1,089,285.30 |
|
Thames Valley Police |
£834,890.14 |
|
Warwickshire Police |
£263,041.41 |
|
West Mercia Constabulary |
£698,110.14 |
|
West Midlands Police |
£4,689,385.89 |
|
West Yorkshire Police |
£5,062,763.87 |
|
Wiltshire Constabulary |
£430,894.47 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the value of UK-funded structures that were demolished or confiscated in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.
Mr Desmond Swayne
No UK funded structures have been demolished or confiscated in Area C in 2015 or 2016. A number of EU ECHO-funded structures have been demolished in recent months. The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not individual instruments within it. The UK’s share on EU expenditure in EU instruments is approximately 15%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Warburton on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s policy is on ensuring that Afghan interpreters who have assisted British troops are able to claim asylum in the UK; and whether her Department plans to review that policy.
James Brokenshire
The Government accepts that we have a responsibility to those who have worked for the British forces in conflict zones. Many have served with distinction and at great personal risk. Separate schemes have existed since 2013 to assist interpreters previously employed by our forces in Afghanistan. These apply only to those who have remained in Afghanistan and, in recognition of their unique and exceptional service or the danger interpreters may face because of their work, can lead to relocation to the UK if certain criteria are met.
There is no change to the way in which asylum claims by former interpreters with British forces in Afghanistan are considered. All claims made in the UK are individually considered on their merits in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention. Those who we accept have a well-founded fear of persecution are normally granted asylum. Those who are found not to be in need of international protection have a right of appeal to the independent courts. If all appeal rights are exhausted, they are then required to leave the UK.
Government policy is however very clear that we only consider asylum claims lodged in the UK. We have no obligation to extend the asylum process to those outside the UK and cannot undertake to consider claims by individuals or groups in other countries or facilitate their journey to the UK. People who need international protection should seek protection in the first available safe country – that is the fastest route to safety.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of community pharmacies to (a) local minor ailments services, (b) needle exchanges and (c) local commissioned services; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the closure of such pharmacies on (i) such services, (ii) patient care, (iii) GP practices and (iv) hospitals.
Alistair Burt
The Department has not made a specific assessment of the contribution of community pharmacies to local minor ailment services, needle and syringe exchange services and other locally commissioned services. However, information available from the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows that during 2014/15, 1,863 community pharmacies were commissioned to provide local minor ailment services and 29 were commissioned to provide needle and syringe exchange services, as National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities are, however, able to commission local services and it is very likely that local authorities commission needle and syringe exchange services from community pharmacies and CCGs commission minor ailment services. However, this information is not available nationally.
Community pharmacy is a vital part of the NHS and can play an important role in delivering services such as management of minor ailments locally, needle and syringe exchange services and other locally commissioned services. The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering high quality clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.
In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.
Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim. The community pharmacy proposals for 2016/17 and beyond, on which we have consulted, are being considered in respect to the public sector equality duty, the family test and relevant duties of the Secretary of State under the NHS Act 2006. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.
Local commissioning and funding of services from community pharmacies will be unaffected by these proposals.
NHS England has taken account of the potential impact of a pharmacy minor ailments service on general practitioner services and other parts of the NHS. The findings of the Minor Ailment study (‘MINA’ study), conducted by the University of Aberdeen, in collaboration with NHS Grampian and the University of East Anglia, on behalf of Pharmacy Research UK in 2014, were considered. In addition, evaluations of local minor ailments schemes have continued to inform decision-making about local commissioning of such schemes.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-07-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support humanitarian and human rights organisations that seek the ability to cross the border at Semalka between Iraqi Kurdistan and Northern Syria in order to provide humanitarian aid.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
DFID currently funds a number of NGO partners who use the Semalka border crossing to provide humanitarian aid –health, food, livelihoods, and protection programmes – to people in parts of northern Syria. In general, access across the border is negotiated by agencies themselves.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to address shortfalls in (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the Royal Navy.
Mike Penning
The Naval Service utilises a wide range of mechanisms to aid the recruitment and retention of personnel. For recruitment these include targeted marketing, specific recruitment events and staged remunerative awards to attract recruits in specialist areas. A number of initiatives have also been developed in order to retain experienced personnel, such as the use of targeted retention incentives and career extensions. Further developments under the Defence People Programme, such as flexible engagements, will help ensure that this process continues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations they have conducted on the impact of the cap on low- to middle-income earners in the public sector, and what protections were considered when setting the level of the exit payment cap at £95,000.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The Government set out its proposals for the cap on public sector exit payments in the consultation document published on 31 July 2015 and confirmed the design of the cap in the consultation response document published on 16 September 2015. The consultation document gave details of the number of exits over recent years that cost the taxpayer more than £100,000.
The precise number of those affected by the public sector exit payment cap will depend on the number and type of exits in coming years. However, in recent years the large majority of exits in the public sector are below the level of the cap. For example, the Whole of Government Accounts states that, in 2013-14, 1,838 out of 72,445 pay outs were in excess of £100,000.
The exit payment clauses currently before the House of Lords in the Enterprise Bill set out how the cap is expected to apply.