The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential financial effect of leaving the EU on agriculture in Britain and Northern Ireland.
George Eustice
The Government has not made any assessment of the financial impact that leaving the EU would have on agriculture in Britain and Northern Ireland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time is for a school to convert to academy status.
Edward Timpson
The average time taken for a maintained school to convert to become an academy is 7 months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015, HCWS113, on Publication of Learning not Blaming and Review of NHS Leadership, what plans he has for a reporting mechanism to replace Local Supervising Authorities following the implementation of his plan to end statutory supervision of midwives.
Ben Gummer
In the ‘Learning not blaming: The government response to Freedom to Speak Up, the Public Administration Select Committee report on clinical incidents, and the Morecambe Bay Investigation’, the Government accepted the recommendation to remove the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) current responsibility and accountability for statutory supervision of midwives in the United Kingdom and committed to changing the law as speedily as possible.
The abolition of the statutory Midwifery Committee at the NMC is a consequence of the Law Commission review of professional regulators. The Midwifery Committee does not have a role in the statutory supervision of midwives. The NMC is considering how midwifery advice will be secured by the NMC if the Midwifery Committee is, after consultation, abolished. It has set up a Midwifery Panel of interested parties to do this.
The proposals for a new design of supervision for midwifery, incorporated setting up a task force in each country of the UK under the auspices of each UK Chief Nursing Officer. They are currently working through plans to create new mechanisms and considering what systems and processes will replace the Local Supervising Authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK businesses operating in Colombia respect the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UK National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights sets out how the Government is implementing the UN Guiding Principles. British firms are expected to uphold these principles in their overseas operations, as well as in the UK. It is for each country to implement a National Action Plan to ensure compliance with the Guiding Principles.
We worked closely with the Colombian authorities to develop their National Action Plan, published in December. All companies operating in Colombia, including British ones, should comply with the requirements and guidelines set out in that National Action Plan.
The Minister for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend, the Lord Price of Sturminster Newton, launched a campaign for British businesses to support peace, primarily through respect for human rights, during his visit to Colombia last month. Twenty of the largest British companies operating in Colombia subsequently agreed to align themselves to the Colombian National Action Plan for business and human rights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, entitled Voices of the hungry, published in April 2016, what steps his Department plans to take to (a) initiate regular annual monitoring of adult and child food insecurity in the UK and (b) determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.
Mr Philip Dunne
Food insecurity is a global problem which the United Nations (UN) agreed to confront at the World Food Summit in 1996 and has framed subsequent sustainable development goals. Getting accurate and informative data was the motivation for the ‘Voices of the Hungry’ project. This project has established an annual universal metric to measure lack of access to food and the severity of this in over 150 countries, and help inform UN policy. The Department for International Development has provided financial support to enable the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to take this forward.
The United Kingdom is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the data the FAO commissions and manages. There are therefore no plans for the Department of Health to independently monitor food insecurity going forward, or determine a precise estimate on which to base action to reduce food poverty.
The Government is committed to tackling childhood obesity and launched Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action on 18 August. A copy of the plan is attached and is also available at:
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Jones on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will regulate the sale of ex-emergency service vehicles.
Margot James
The Government does not regulate the sale of decommissioned emergency fire and rescue vehicles. It is for each emergency rescue authority to dispose appropriately of its assets as it sees fit.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with HM Treasury Ministers on the implementation by UK Overseas Territories of public registers of beneficial ownership.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The UK continues to lead the way on beneficial ownership disclosure and to encourage others to do the same. We are having discussions at both Ministerial and official level with the Overseas Territories to emphasise the importance of this agenda. Any system should meet the following criteria: UK and domestic law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; these competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in, without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is under way.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if his Department will work with the Welsh Government to ensure that the views of people in England affected by Welsh rail franchises are considered during the next franchise sale process.
Alun Cairns
We have an agreement in principle with the Welsh Government that executive franchising functions will be transferred to Welsh Ministers to enable them to lead on the procurement, management and enforcement of the next Wales and Borders franchise. To ensure proper accountability for passengers in England, it is expected that services primarily serving English markets will be remapped into other Department for Transport franchises and we will consult on specific proposals in due course.
My officials, along with those from the Department for Transport, are working closely with the Welsh Government to reach final agreement on these matters to ensure that the interests of rail passengers on both sides of the border are fully protected.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) refugee teachers and (b) other teachers are paid liveable wages and receive appropriate training and support in countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region.
Mr Desmond Swayne
At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region, we want the international community to agree a new goal that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children are in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17. Equally, for inside Syria, it is our aim to increase access to good quality schooling or other learning opportunities such as self-learning and non-formal education. In neighbouring countries we will also increase access to vocational or skills training and higher education for children and youth.
At the Conference our ambition is that international donors, governments from countries in the region hosting refugees, non-governmental organisations and the private sector come together to agree a set of reciprocal financial and policy commitments. The UK and co-hosts are working with donors and other partners to secure increased funding for education under the UN-led appeals for 2016 and longer term, multi-year education funding commitments to ensure sustainability. We are also working with refugee hosting governments in particular to agree the policy commitments necessary to turn increased funding into delivery on the ground. This includes a regional policy dialogue on integrating refugee teachers into national education systems, where possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much UK embassies spent on official hospitality in 2014-15; and what estimate he has made of the level of such spending in 2015-16.
Mr David Lidington
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff in London and in more than 260 embassies and consulates around the world organise events and other forms of official hospitality to support the UK’s foreign policy interests, promote British business; attract foreign investment and to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday.
In 2014-15 the FCO spent £806,000 on official hospitality. In 2013-14 the FCO spent £1,164,000 on official hospitality. Figures for 2015-16 will be reported in the next FCO Annual Report and Accounts, which will be published in June 2016.
All hospitality spend is kept under close scrutiny to ensure it is effective and gives value for money.