The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the (a) use and (b) location of UK-manufactured cluster bombs that were produced before the UK signed the Convention of Cluster Munitions.
Michael Fallon
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold records of the use by other nations or location of UK manufactured defence exports of any type.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-07-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria have been used to determine how many asylum seekers could be managed in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency without causing significant disruption to the local community.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The UK Government has been coordinating the dispersal of asylum seekers for many years. Existing policies are aimed at ensuring an equitable distribution of asylum seekers across the country so that no individual local authority bears a disproportionate share of the burden.
We work closely with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships, who act as a focal point for the sharing of expertise and vital information between the Home Office, its asylum accommodation providers, local government, health, education and the police, to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all dispersal areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many legal cases have been brought against her Department by academy trusts in each year since 2010.
Edward Timpson
The Department for Education does not keep a central record of legal cases by type.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-10-27.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the construction of four commercial nuclear power reactors for the United Arab Emirates by a South Korean consortium with a total capacity of 5.6 GWe at cost of £14 billion, in the light of their plans for nuclear generation at Hinkley Point.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government does not make direct comparisons between projects in different circumstances that have different contracts and are situated in different markets.
There has been a thorough review of the costs of the Hinkley Point C project to ensure that the contract represents value for money. Hinkley will provide reliable low carbon energy for around 60 years and offer 25,000 jobs during construction. My rt. hon Friend the Secretary of State expects to be in a position to take her final decision on the Contract for Difference and associated agreements for Hinkley Point C once the documentation relating to equity investment into the project is finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2015-11-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding will be provided to assist with the delivery of their commitment to double the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education by 2020.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
We will be issuing a grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England early in the New Year outlining the Government’s priorities for expenditure through the teaching grant, including on widening access. This will take account of the announcements made in the Spending Review on. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support the access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, up from £404m in 2009/10.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 11 of the Op HERRICK (Afghanistan) Aircraft Statistics document, published on 29 October 2015, how many of the 68 strikes made using the Dual Mode Brimstone missile during operation HERRICK were completed with the aid of ground-based HUMINT.
Penny Mordaunt
We do not comment on intelligence matters I am therefore withholding the information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or Security of the Armed Forces.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department works with other governments to tackle internet harassment and trolling perpetrated by residents of other countries on UK citizens.
Karen Bradley
Legislation is in place to deal with internet trolls, cyber-stalking and harassment, and perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour.
The Criminal Justice Act 2015, strengthened legislation in respect of two communications offences which can be used to prosecute misuse of social media: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. These amendments provide the police with additional time to investigate these offences, and increasing the maximum penalty for the former to two years imprisonment. We are continuing to invest in law enforcement capabilities at the national, regional and local levels to ensure delivery agencies have the capacity to deal with the increasing volume and sophistication of online crime. We have boosted the capabilities of the National Crime Agency’s National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU), which has led and will continue to lead operations to disrupt serious cyber crime at scale, both domestically and internationally. This includes joint operations with industry and international law enforcement partners globally, to disrupt cyber criminals and protect UK citizens.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the care industry of the implementation of the living wage.
Alistair Burt
Out of an estimated 1.52 million adult social care jobs in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage.
More widely across the sector, higher productivity and better-quality care through efficiency would benefit employers and care home residents and there is potential for improvements in staff retention if higher wages engendered greater job commitment.
The Department continues to work in collaboration with delivery partners to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the care workforce.
Our assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage for the Spending Review drew on projections and data on pay including information from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the proportion of global patents for graphene that is held in the UK.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) estimates that 5% of global graphene patent documents published between 2005 and 2014 have coverage in the UK (in that they are applications to the IPO or the European Patent Office (EPO) with effect in the UK, but were not necessarily filed by UK applicants).
In the same period, UK applicants were responsible for filing 1% of published global graphene patent applications worldwide.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-04-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the deaths of or injuries to Palestinians caused by Israeli forces, and the demolition of Palestinian houses in each month this year; and what assessment they have made of whether the representations they have made to Israel and Palestine are having any effect.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, 8 Palestinians were killed and 758 injured in January, 18 were killed and 491 injured in February, and 20 were killed and 335 injured in March. Some of these deaths and injuries have occurred following attacks on Israeli civilians or security personnel. The British Government remains deeply concerned at the continuation of violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We urge all sides to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation. The Government is also extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions in the OPTs since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the OPTs, 85 structures were demolished in January, 237 in February, and 176 in March. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities. The effect of these representations has not been assessed.