The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has had discussions with suppliers other than Statens Serum Institut to procure the BCG vaccine.
George Eustice
My officials have had initial discussions with other potential suppliers of BCG vaccine about the possibility of future supply
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Manzoor on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of additional hours of employment and jobs available to people wanting to increase their working hours in order to avoid the proposed four-year freeze in working age benefits from 2016.
Lord Freud
The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which countries the receipt of BBC World Service programmes via the internet has been blocked in each year from 1999 to 2014.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The BBC World Service has advised that blocks via the internet occurred in the following years:
1999 to present – China (BBC Chinese)
1999 to 2008 – China (BBC News – English)
2010 – China (BBC News – English was again blocked in December 2010 for a number of days and then lifted)
2014 – China (BBC News – English was again blocked in October 2014 for two weeks)
2002 – Vietnam
2004 – Uzbekistan
2006 to present – Iran
2013 to present – Sri Lanka
2014 – Rwanda
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Spicer on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 January (HL Deb, col 10), when they will make available to the House the number of hostel places available and the number of people sleeping rough in the UK.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
One person without a home is one too many.
Whilst my Department does not hold information regarding the number of places in hostels for rough sleepers, Homeless Link, the national membership body for the single homelessness sector, estimates that in November 2014 there were 36,540 bed spaces in homelessness accommodation projects in England and 9,647 bed spaces in London.
Further information is available through Homeless Link’s Annual Survey of the sector. DCLG’s own annual snapshot indicates that in England there were 2,744 individuals sleeping rough on a single night in Autumn 2014. Just over a quarter of these, 742 individuals, were in London.
We have supported local areas to improve the quality of hostels through the Homelessness Change Programme, which provided £42.5 million of capital funding in 2012 – 2015 for new and refurbished bed spaces and facilities to provide meaningful activities to support pathways to independent living. The Department of Health is also funding a £40 million programme to refurbish hostels and improve the physical and mental health of rough sleepers, and provide low cost shared accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of a bilateral ceasefire in Colombia as a result of a final peace agreement being signed; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Hugo Swire
President Juan Manuel Santos announced in October 2015, that the Government was prepared to declare a bilateral ceasefire on completion of point 5 of the agenda ‘end of conflict’, which is still being negotiated in Havana. However, he said repeatedly that the FARC must first agree to lay down their weapons and give up their armed struggle before a ceasefire is declared.
On 25 January, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2261, drafted by the United Kingdom. The resolution establishes a Special Political Mission, to monitor and verify the ceasefire between the Government of Colombia and the FARC.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to introduce a scheme for the registration, regulation, accreditation and vetting by the Disclosure and Barring Service of self-employed personal trainers, especially those who offer personal training services in the area of fitness coaching to children and other vulnerable persons.
Lord Bates
There are no plans to introduce a scheme of this nature.
Those wishing to engage a coach to work with children or vulnerable groups may request the coach provide a criminal record check. A self-employed coach can apply for an enhanced DBS check through an agency, who will process the application and confirm that the activity is eligible to request the check. Alternatively, any individual can apply directly for a criminal conviction certificate which is available from Disclosure Scotland which contains details of unspent convictions and cautions.
Where parents do not want to engage a coach without the reassurance of a DBS check, they are free to limit their selection process to people who can show them a DBS certificate. Ultimately, it is for parents to decide who is a suitable person to coach their child and to take account of the information which is available to them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps his Department has taken to encourage wider participation and interest in St George’s Day; what steps his Department is planning to take to further increase participation and interest in such events in 2017; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Department supports a number of Arm’s Length bodies that run events across the country on St George’s day.
English Heritage hold an annual programme – which includes one of its biggest events of the year, the St George’s Day Festival at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. English Heritage also organise St George’s Day pageant events (living history shows) at other sites including Dover Castle in Kent, Kenilworth Castle in Warwickshire and Warkworth Castle in Northumberland.
In addition to English Heritage events, The Heritage Lottery Fund awarded ‘Derby Live’ £35,300 for a three-year community project called ‘Maypoles, Mummers and Merry England.’ The project, designed for school children explored English folk traditions through workshops, activities and folk dances at the Derby St George’s Day celebrations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33935, whether the UK Government considers that the Saudi Arabian-led coalition forces have committed any violation of International Humanitarian Law during the Yemen conflict.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL, and that lessons will be acted upon. The key test for our continued arms exports to Saudi Arabia in relation to IHL is whether there is a clear risk that those weapons might be used in a serious violation of IHL. Having regard to all the information available to us, we assess that this test has not been met.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-09-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many widowed parents and bereaved cohabiting parents will be financially worse off as a result of the planned changes to the widowed parent’s allowance.
Mr David Gauke
The new Bereavement Support Payment will be introduced from April 2017 for new claimants only. Existing claimants of Widowed Parent’s Allowance and Bereavement Allowance will remain on those benefits for the lifetime of their awards, so there will be no impact on them or their families.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth on the UK’s decision to leave the EU.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
As the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) has said, the referendum result means that we need to be redoubling our efforts in multilateral organisations, including the Commonwealth. My noble Friend, The Rt Hon. Baroness of Anelay of St Johns, Minister for the Commonwealth, has discussed a range of issues with the Commonwealth Secretary General, including the decision by the UK to leave the EU. Building on the positive momentum from the Commonealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2015 in Malta, and will make the most of the opportunities that the Commonwealth has to offer. The UK will continue to be a global advocate for Commonwealth interests, including with our European allies. We will work closely with the Secretary General and the Secretariat to successfully deliver the next CHOGM, which will be hosted by the UK in 2018.