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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22275, what assessment his Department made of the risk that items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law as defined in the Export Control Act 2002 and the EU Common position when making the decision to grant licences for the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application including International Humanitarian Law. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the built environment on learning progress in schools.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department’s approach to the built environment is informed by a range of expert research.

    The James Review of Education Capital, published in 2011 recommended the implementation of standardised designs for schools that could be continually improved upon and deliver buildings that ‘act as manageable tools for those delivering outstanding education to our children.’ In response to this the Education Funding Agency (EFA) developed ‘Baseline Designs’, which help to ensure that the Department’s funding goes further and that as many pupils as possible benefit from improved school buildings.

    Alongside this, the Department recognises the importance of factors such as daylight, temperature and air-quality and offers guidance to schools, contractors and designers through EFA Building Bulletins and the requirements in EFA’s Facilities Output Specification, used in procuring new school buildings.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s Single departmental plan: 2015 to 2020, published in February 2016, what targets she has set for the number of kilometres of fresh water to be enhanced in each year to 2020; and how her Department plans to achieve those targets.

    Rory Stewart

    River Basin Management Plans provide the framework for protecting and improving the water environment. Updated Plans covering the period 2016 to 2021 were published by the Environment Agency (EA) on 18 February. They complement Defra’s 25 Year Environment Plan by promoting integrated catchment management of water and local decision-making, as well as contributing to flood resilience.

    The Plans for England confirm over £3 billion investment in the water environment by 2021 leading to improvements in at least 680 water bodies by 2021, including an overall target to enhance at least 8,000km of fresh waters by 2021. The EA is currently working with Defra to profile the delivery of this target over the six years that the River Basin Management Plan covers, and are also working with partners to explore opportunities to deliver more.

    The EA coordinates action by water companies, farmers, local groups, businesses and councils to achieve the targets set out in the Plans. These actions include reducing pollution from sewage treatment works, managing water abstraction, opening up rivers to salmon and other fish species, and improvements to the physical habitat.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16350, whether (a) professional and vocational training and (b) other alternative forms of digital skills development will be supported by the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    Employers will be free to spend their money on apprenticeship training which they judge best meets their needs. This could be on approved in-house apprenticeship training, or apprenticeship training offered by another registered provider of their choice.

    We want to give employers in England flexibility on how they use levy funds without introducing additional and unintended complexity into the system.

    Apprenticeships are available in a wide range of sectors and at all levels including degree level. There are new apprenticeship standards in digital industries occupations such as Network Engineer, Software Developer, and Digital & Technology Solutions Professional (degree apprenticeship).

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government provides local authorities who express an interest in resettling refugee children under the Immigration Act 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK Government takes it’s responsibility in all cases involving children seriously and we will continue to ensure that all unaccompanied children are provided with appropriate care, regardless of their route to the UK.

    It is important that we work with local authorities to understand their capacity to support all unaccompanied children and ensure their needs can be met. That is why my officials are working closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all resettlement and relocation programmes. Consultation with local government partners will take place over the coming weeks and Parliament will be updated in due course.

    We are keen to ensure that there is a more equitable distribution of unaccompanied children across the UK and that no local authority is required to take more children than they can support.

    The Home Office provides funding to local authorities for the care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children and recently announced new enhanced rates to support the transfer scheme. We will continue to measure the impacts on local authorities, but are clear that funding for unaccompanied asylum seeking children and refugees must be aligned, regardless of the route of entry for the child.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.15 of the Budget 2016, on funding for mesothelioma research, what consultation his Department conducted with stakeholders before the decision was taken to award that funding to four institutions centred around Imperial College.

    Greg Hands

    The award of £5 million for Mesothelioma to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma Research was in response to an application for charitable funds in order to urgently address the anticipated imminent high mortality rate amongst Royal Navy Veterans and dockyard workers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made a series of Banking Fines announcements since October 2012. Throughout all of these his intention has always been that the fines would be allocated to good causes including Military and Emergency Services charities and related good causes that represent the ‘best of values’. This award was committed by the Chancellor in accordance with his intent for the use of LIBOR fines articulated above.

    The National Mesothelioma Centre, to which the funds have been committed, will be a collaboration between four leading institutions which have a major interest in the treatment of mesothelioma: the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College, the Royal Brompton Hospital, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), and the Royal Marsden Hospital. Scientists at NHLI and ICR have considerable expertise in the discovery of the genetic mutations which cause cancer, including mesothelioma, and in particular in the identification of ‘driver’ mutations which can be potential targets for new treatments. ICR has considerable experience of pulling through novel therapies into clinical practice. Their NHS partner hospitals – Royal Brompton and Royal Marsden Hospitals as national specialist centres have mesothelioma patients referred to them from across the UK. This collaboration will form the hub of the Centre whose spokes will engage all other hospitals in the UK to which mesotheliomas are referred and treated. This will thus form the basis of a network to enable rapid evaluation of potential new treatments. The funds therefore have been committed to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma research, rather than to just 4 specific hospitals/research centres.

    Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor, the driving force behind the application, has, as per his original intention stated in his funding application, engaged across the Mesothelioma community, with a view to forming a steering group for the centre. Those he has contacted include: the British Lung Foundation, who have offered to fund raise with the centre for further resources for mesothelioma research; Ms Liz Darlison, of Mesothelioma UK; the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund; and the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum; Dr Robert Rintoul from Cambridge University; Prof Anne Willis and Marion Macfarlane and Dr John Le Quesne from Leicester University; and Prof Luciano Mutti from Manchester University. They have all expressed their support for the intention that these funds be used as a platform to foster collaborative research into an effective treatment for mesothelioma across the UK.

    The grant to the National Mesothelioma Centre is subject to standard grant terms and conditions including a reporting requirement to ensure that the funds are used as intended. It is not policy to publish all documentation relating to LIBOR awards, due to the large number of applications and associated correspondence.

  • Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Hindhead on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders, and (2) Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders, have been made in the last 12 months.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    16 Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders (STPOs) have been made on sentencing in the Crown Court under section 14 of the Modern Slavery Act.

    Three Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders (STRO) have been made on application to the Magistrates’ Court, of which three have been made.

    No persons under 18 years old have been given an STPO or an STRO.

    This data has been run specifically to answer this question and is not verified to the same standard as Official Statistics.

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department conducted an economic impact assessment of the proposed byelaw changes for the waters between the mainland of Scotland and the Island of Raasay.

    Mark Lancaster

    The views submitted by members of the public and other local stakeholders as part of the public consultation on the proposed changes will be used to inform if the Ministry of Defence is justified in producing an economic impact as this is not required as part of the review process.

    Full and proper consultation on the proposed new byelaws with local fishing communities and stakeholders is part of the current byelaws review process. The review was preceded by initial discussions between QinetiQ and local fishing communities over the summer. While the byelaw review has been extended to the end of November 2015, there is no plan to suspend the on-going public consultation phase of the byelaw review.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications of differences in the administration of universal credit amongst the different local authorities involved in the Universal Support Delivered Locally pilot programme for the effectiveness of that pilot.

    Priti Patel

    Assessment of the Universal Support trials is currently underway. The final evaluation will be published in late Spring 2016. The Trials will enable us to ensure we follow the most effective delivery approach.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that health visitors are trained to recognise autism and make appropriate referrals.

    Alistair Burt

    In 2015, new statutory guidance building on the 2010 Autism Strategy, and the 2014 Think Autism update, set out expectations for local authorities and the National Health Service in relation to autism training. It is the responsibility for the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, to ensure newly qualified pharmacists and health visitors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. The Department has worked the Royal College of Nursing, and Skills for Health and Skills for Care, to develop autism training material. Health Education England is also working with the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders to increase awareness and knowledge of autism for NHS health professionals.

    The Department has also provided financial support to the Royal College of General Practitioners’ clinical priorities programme on autism which is undertaking practical work on autism awareness and training for general practitioners (GPs). GPs should be aware of what the local arrangements are for making referrals for autism diagnosis and how to access appropriate post-diagnostic interventions.

    NHS England has commenced a programme to visit clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to identify and share good practice in accessing timely autism diagnosis and post diagnostic support. NHS England with support from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services is to visit a selection of areas to talk to CCGs and local authorities about their Autism Diagnostic Care Pathways. A report on the work will be completed by the end of April 2016.

    We know that people with autism can experience common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as other mental illnesses. Over £400 million has been invested in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies to ensure access to talking therapies for those who need them, including those with autism.