Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress she has made on amending the School Admissions Code to ensure that summer born children can (a) be admitted to reception at the age of five if this is in line with their parents’ wishes and (b) remain with that cohort as they progress through their education.

    Nick Gibb

    Subject to parliamentary approval, the Department for Education has decided to amend the School Admissions Code to support summer born children who are not ready to start school at the usual age. This will delay entry to reception year until they are five years old and enables those children to remain with that cohort as they progress through school. We want to make these changes as soon as possible; however, we are taking this opportunity to consider what other changes it would be appropriate to make to the Code at the same time. We will be conducting a full public consultation in due course.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many employees in the UK engineering sector are from other countries outside the EU, and what is their total contribution to (1) UK Gross Domestic Product, and (2) UK Gross Value Added.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It is not possible to answer the question as there is no agreed statistical definition of what is meant by the term “engineering sector”.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.256 of Budget 2016, what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials have had with the Rugby Football League on his support for the UK’s bid to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

    Greg Hands

    As stated in Spending Review 15 the government supports the ambition to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in the Northern Powerhouse.

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

    Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel“

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations her Department has made to the European Commission on the proposed reform of the EU Nature Directive.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra submitted evidence to the European Commission in April 2015 to inform their review of the EU Nature Directives. A Commission delegation then visited the UK in June 2015 to discuss the Directives in greater detail with Government officials, business group representatives and environmental non-governmental organisations. I spoke at EU Environment Council in December 2015 in support of improving how the Nature Directives are implemented and to make clear that the UK didn’t wish to see the Directives renegotiated. Defra’s written evidence and a recording of the December Council meeting are available on the European Commission website.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to roll out superfast broadband; and if she will make a statement.

    Matt Hancock

    Superfast broadband rollout continues at pace, with coverage currently around 91% and on track to reach 95% by the end of 2017.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    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

  • Baroness Manzoor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Manzoor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    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.

  • Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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

  • Lord Spicer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Spicer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    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.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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.