Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel have been committed to NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The numbers of UK personnel committed to NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VHRJTF), is set out below:

    Year

    Number of Personnel

    2016

    1,200

    2017

    3,500-4,000

    The UK will be the lead nation for the VHRJTF in 2017. The exact number of UK personnel for 2017 will not be confirmed until the contributions from other NATO members has been finalised.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, what assessment he has made of whether evidence of the reported airstrike in Yemen on a market place in the Hajjah Governorate provides grounds for determining that international humanitarian law has been broken.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We are aware of allegations regarding a strike on a market on north-western Yemen in Hajjah Governate on 15 March. The MoD monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations, including this incident, using all available information. The UK has encouraged Saudi Arabia to investigate allegations of breaches of IHL. The Saudi Arabian Government announced on 29 February that they are forming an independent committee to examine military activity in civilian areas in order to minimise possible civilian casualties; assess the Coalition’s rules of engagement; assess accidents, verification and targeting procedures and advise how they can be improved; and provide a clear, full and objective report for each investigation made including conclusions, lessons learnt and recommendations for future actions.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress has been made on the Near Neighbours programme.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The Church Commissioners welcome the Government’s recent announcement of a further £1.5 million for the Near Neighbours programme, which is administered by the Church Urban Fund. This third round of funding for Near Neighbours will help it build on its successful track record of delivering projects up and down the country to transform local areas by strengthening relationships between those of different religious and ethnic backgrounds on issues of shared concern.

    The Near Neighbours programme has offered small grants between £250 and £5,000, providing seed capital for local groups and organisations who are working to bring together neighbours, to develop relationships across diverse faiths and ethnicities in order to improve their communities. The Near Neighbours grants fund has so far awarded seed capital worth £3.66m to over 1,120 projects. These projects have impacted the lives of 941,000 people and 71% of projects have continued to run after the initial seed capital was spent. All Near Neighbours projects are designed to change hearts and minds by bringing together different communities within a neighbourhood so that they can work together on issues of shared concern and common values.

    More information on Near Neighbours can be found on its website at: https://www.cuf.org.uk/how-we-help/near-neighbours

    “

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female offenders received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales in each of the last six years; and what the offence group was for such offenders.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts taking into account all the circumstances of each case. In order to pass a custodial sentence the court must be satisfied that the offence is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community order can be justified. Where a custodial sentence is imposed it must be for the shortest period commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.

    The number of female offenders who received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales by offence group from 2010 and 2015 can be viewed in the table. This information is a further breakdown of the sentencing data tool, published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.

    “

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what works took place on the engines of the Type 45 Destroyers while they were collectively docked during the summer of 2016.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The planned maintenance periods in 2016 for all Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyers have included work on the propulsion systems.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to ensure that maintenance of flight connections between Belfast Aldergrove Airport and New York.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Department for Transport was briefed on several occasions by the Northern Ireland Office on the Northern Ireland Executive’s considerations on steps to ensure the maintenance of flight connections between Belfast Aldergrove Airport and New York. The Department was not actively involved in this matter.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of his road investment strategy on productivity.

    Andrew Jones

    The Road Investment Strategy provides certainty about road investment ensuring more efficient operation and faster delivery for the English strategic road network. It sets out the vision and investment plan for a five year period from 2015 to 2020, encouraging the supply chain to invest and innovate from the long term certainty that this provides. Highways England is responsible for delivering the strategy and has been set a series of demanding targets by Government, which is regularly assessed, including independent monitoring by the Office of Rail and Road.

    The combination of the measures will save the taxpayer £1.2 billion in the next 5 years and at least £2.6 billion over ten years. It also means clearer accountability and greater transparency, providing better assurance on the investment of public money.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 7426, how many events have been hosted by non-government bodies at Dover House since 21 July 2015.

    David Mundell

    There have been seven events hosted at Dover House by non-government bodies at Dover House since 21 July 2015

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of Jobcentre Plus operating a smaller client facing office within Liscard Town Centre.

    Priti Patel

    The Department for Work and Pensions explored the option of a smaller client facing office as part of the business case.

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of those who started with Teach First in August 2013 were still teaching in state-funded schools in England in September 2015.

    Lord Nash

    The Teach First programme aims to raise levels of pupil attainment in challenging schools. Since it was founded, Teach First has trained over 5,000 teachers in England, with a further 1,622 starting training in 2015, covering every region of the country.

    Figures supplied to the Department by Teach First show that 1,206 trainees started the two-year leadership development programme in schools in September 2013. Of those, 544[1] are known to be still teaching in state-funded schools in England in September 2015.

    Additionally, the Teach First programme has acted as a positive springboard for participants to continue their commitment to the education sector; a number of trainees from this cohort have remained in the education industry in wider roles including outside the classroom, in charities and overseas. Data provided by Teach First in December 2015 shows that 69%[1] of the participants who had completed the two-year programme are known to be in teaching or in these wider educational roles.

    [1] Only participants that choose to become Ambassadors for Teach First are tracked in relation to future employment. A total of 1,041 participants completed the two year programme; of these 981 chose to become Ambassadors for Teach First, and by doing so, were tracked in relation to future employment.