The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many sightings of unidentified flying objects have been reported in each of the last five years.
Mike Penning
The Ministry of Defence does not maintain a central record of the number of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings reported, following the closure of the UFO Desk in 2009.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2016 to Question 43488, what the reason is for the discrepancy between the figure provided in that answer and data in recent research published by Women’s Aid on 13 September 2016 on the proportion of survivors of domestic abuse that had access to a separate waiting room in the family court.
Dr Phillip Lee
These two pieces of data are not comparable. Question 43488 refers to the Crown and Magistrates’ courts specifically, and family courts were not included. We are clear that security in the family courts is taken extremely seriously and we have robust arrangements in place to protect court users.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the net level of borrowing by the public sector in October 2015.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government has made significant progress to date in reducing borrowing – the deficit has more than halved as a share of GDP since 2009-10 and as the latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast shows, the national debt as a share of GDP is forecast to be falling this year for the first time in over a decade. October public sector finance figures show government borrowing is falling, down £6.6 billion so far this year compared to last year. However, the job is not yet done. The government is committed to eliminating the deficit and returning the public finances to a more sustainable path. To achieve this, the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 sets out the action required to return the country to surplus over the course of this Parliament.
On the basis of these plans, the latest OBR forecast estimates that borrowing in 2015-16 will be on a like-for-like basis £73.5bn, £0.6bn lower relative to Summer Budget. The forecast also shows the government is on track to meet its fiscal targets, with a budget surplus of £10.1bn by 2019-20 and debt falling as a percentage of GDP in 2015-16 and for each year in this Parliament.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trefgarne on 2015-12-22.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 17 December (HL4250), whether they now have any additional information about the number of women responsible for one or more young children who are currently serving prison sentences in England and Wales.
Lord Faulks
Whilst the specific information requested is not held, the Ministry of Justice recently published statistics on child dependents of female offenders, which can be found at gov.uk on the Statistics at MOJ pages under the topic Ad-hoc justice statistics. A copy of the report is attached here.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2016-01-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the readiness of business leaders, and of businesses of every size and in every sector, to assess the pros and cons of the UK remaining a full member of the EU.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
No Assessment has been made.
The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the UK – so we get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths were recorded for which an eating disorder was mentioned on the death certificate in (a) the UK and (b) England in each year since 2010-11.
Mr Rob Wilson
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support her Department provided to the Sovereign Base Area police force in Cyprus for the investigation of serious crimes.
James Brokenshire
The ACRO Criminal Records Office, which operates the UK Central Authority for the international Exchange of Criminal Records, has signed an information sharing agreement with the Sovereign Base Area of Cyprus. This allows for the exchange of criminal records, including access to UK criminal records for the purposes of checking the records of those arrested in the Sovereign Base Area.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Mr David Lidington
The UK is deeply concerned about the recent upsurge in fighting on the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact. I issued a statement on 2 April calling for the sides to halt the fighting and to exercise restraint. After four days of intense fighting, a ceasefire was announced on 5 April; although the situation remains tense. While the UK has no direct role in negotiations, we strongly support the work of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group Co-Chairs, who have recently visited the region. We will continue to urge the sides to work with the Minsk Group Co-Chairs to reach a negotiated peace settlement.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-05-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the role of financial technology in encouraging consumers to switch their current account.
Harriett Baldwin
The government is committed to increasing competition in banking to improve outcomes for consumers. This includes delivering the Current Account Switch Service (CASS) which allows customers to switch their personal or business current account where they see a better deal – simply, quickly and reliably. Consumers have switched over 2.8 million times since the service was launched in 2013.
Making it easier for people to understand and compare banking products and services can help drive consumer engagement and could lead to an increase in switching. Financial technology is an important part of this.
In its recent provisional decision on remedies, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) proposed requiring the largest retail banks in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to develop and adopt an open API banking standard by early 2018.
This will make it easier for financial technology firms to make use of customer bank data in a variety of innovative ways, including providing services that make it easier for consumers to compare products and shop around for a better deal.
The government welcomes the CMA’s ongoing work as a crucial step towards the goal of a highly competitive banking sector, and stands ready to take action as necessary once the CMA publishes its final report in the summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that the (a) devolved administrations, (b) local government and (c) regional bodies are represented in negotiations to exit the EU.
George Eustice
Until we leave the EU, current arrangements for farming, fisheries, food and drink, rural affairs and our environment remain in place.
We are now preparing to negotiate our exit. Defra officials will be working with the new Department for Exiting the European Union to look at future arrangements. The Government will work very closely with the Devolved Administrations, local government and regional bodies on this approach.