The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Eames on 2014-06-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current numerical strength of the UK Border Force; and whether they consider that the present strength is sufficient to meet the demands placed upon it.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
Border Force has a full time equivalent workforce of 7,907 and we believe this is sufficient to meet demand.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2014-06-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to increase the uptake of novel oral anticoagulants in the management of atrial fibrillation.
Earl Howe
Decisions on the prescribing of medicines are a matter for clinicians in discussion with their patients.
National Health Service commissioners are legally required by regulations to fund those anticoagulant treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence(NICE) in its technology appraisal guidance.
The NICE Implementation Collaborative published a consensus statement on supporting the use of novel oral anticoagulants in non-valvular atrial fibrillation on 18 June 2014. This is available at:
www.nice.org.uk/resource/CG180/pdf/c/cg180-atrial-fibrillation-nic-consensus-statement-on-the-use-of-noacs?id=gvyb3hjdqrcjtn6ytpwx3ydb64
NICE published its updated clinical guideline on the management of atrial fibrillation on 25 June 2014 which recommends that novel oral anticoagulants should be offered where appropriate.
The latest data from the Innovation Scorecard show that uptake of new anticoagulants across England is increasing. Further information is available at:
www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13669
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2014-06-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ban the leader of the Bodu Bala Sena, Mr Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, from entering the United Kingdom.
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases. This is because the Home Office has obligations in law to protect this information.
I can confirm that any visa application from Mr Gnanasara would be considered in accordance with the Immigration Rules.
Under the Prevent strategy, the Unacceptable Behaviours policy has prevented a cross section of extremists from entering the UK. This includes excluding individuals for public speaking or publishing material that foments, justifies or glorifies terrorist violence or fosters hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK or otherwise can be demonstrated as providing support for extremists.
Coming to the UK is a privilege we refuse to extend to those who would subvert our shared values.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what quality standards will be imposed on employers when apprenticeship funding moves directly to employers.
Matthew Hancock
The 2013 consultation on Apprenticeship funding reform sought evidence on the feasibility and impact of three different mechanisms for giving employers more control over the funding. Following consideration of the responses to this consultation, the pure provider payment model was ruled out on the basis that it was the least likely to deliver the intended aim of giving employers true purchasing power.
The subsequent Technical Consultation published in March 2014 sought views on two models – a PAYE model and an apprenticeship credit model which are consistent with an employer-led Apprenticeships system. We are currently evaluating the responses to this consultation and will announce which payment mechanism we plan to pursue in the autumn.
We have established a ministerial advisory panel on Apprenticeship standards, made up of experts to advise the Secretary of State on the approval or rejection of employer designed Apprenticeship standards and assessment approaches.
We will refresh the Skills Funding Agency register of approved Apprenticeship training providers to ensure that only reputable providers are able to offer Apprenticeship training and organisations doing so will be subject to Ofsted inspection.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick de Bois on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what capital funding has been made available to free schools in Enfield North constituency since May 2010.
Mr Edward Timpson
The Department for Education publishes the final capital costs for all free schools online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/capital-funding-for-open-free-schools
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many services for adults with autism are commissioned under the Payments by Results framework.
Norman Lamb
National Tariff prices are published primarily for acute care, and relate to procedure undertaken, not the diagnosis of the patient receiving the treatment. Information is not collected on the number of services within the scope of the National Tariff that have been provided to adults with autism.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much he allocated to the Illegal Money Lending Unit in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last four years up to the most recent period for which figures are available.
Jenny Willott
Since 1st April 2012 the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) has been responsible for the Illegal Money Lending Units in England and Wales, and Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) has been responsible for the Illegal Money Lending Unit in Scotland. The NTSB and TSS decide what proportion of their total grant funding (provided by BIS) should be allocated for delivery of these functions. Before April 2012 Government directly funded all three of the Illegal Money lending Teams.
Below are the budgets allocated to the Illegal Money Lending teams over the last four years.
|
|
England |
Wales |
Scotland |
|
2014/15 |
£3.60m |
£0.63m |
£0.4m |
|
2013/14 |
£3.91m |
£0.67m |
£0.4m |
|
2012/13 |
£4.13m |
£0.59m |
£0.38m |
|
2011/12 |
£4.07m |
£0.65m |
£0.48m |
|
2010/11 |
£4.07m |
£0.65m |
£0.48m |
Trading Standards is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and so it is not possible to provide comparable data.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2014-06-24.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of cutting the rate of tourism VAT on the tourism balance of payments.
Mr David Gauke
No such assessment has been made. There is no single rate of tourism VAT. The VAT rate paid on goods and services bought by tourists in the UK is exactly the same as that which applies to UK residents. This means for example, that tourists can benefit from the UK’s zero rates of VAT on certain foods, children’s clothing and certain transport. But it also means they are charged VAT on things like catering services (the supply of meals, alcohol, snacks and drinks) sold by restaurants, pubs, cafes and canteens.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the (a) number and (b) location of memorials to commemorate the war dead in the (i) First World War and (ii) Second World War; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Edward Vaizey
DCMS holds no records on the number or location of memorials to commemorate the war dead. Information about war memorials throughout the UK is held by both the Imperial War Museum and the War Memorials Trust. The Imperial War Museum is working with its partners to make this information more easily accessible to the public.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of (a) disabled and (b) all other staff employed by his Department received each level of performance rating in their end of year performance assessment for 2013-14.
Anna Soubry
This information is not yet available.