The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-06-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he met the Minister for the Cabinet Office to examine the options for extracting greater public value from Channel 4 between 4 September 2015 and 24 September 2015.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport did not meet with the Minister for the Cabinet Office to discuss Channel 4 between 4 September 2015 and 24 September 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to replace existing clean air EU directives with equivalent UK legislation.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith on 8 September 2016 to Question 44855.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2015-11-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in reducing the number of young people not in employment, education, or training; and how they intend to support local authorities in reducing that number during this Parliament.
Lord Nash
The number of 16- to 18-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs) is at its lowest level since 1994. This number has fallen by 51,900 since 2011. The government is determined to do more to encourage young people to participate in education and training, and to continue reducing the proportion who are NEET. That is why the government is investing £7 billion in 2015-16 to fund a place in education or training for every 16- to 19-year-old who wants one.
Under Raising the Participation Age (RPA), all young people are required to continue in education or training until at least their eighteenth birthday. The Department is working closely with local authorities to support and challenge them in implementing RPA and meeting their duties to track and support young people. This support includes collecting and analysing local authorities’ data and sharing good practice.
There are also a number of central initiatives which support local authorities in their work to reduce the number of young people NEET. These include a package to help improve the prospects of over 9,600 vulnerable young people through the Youth Engagement Fund and the Fair Chance Fund; the Youth Contract which continues to be available until March 2016 to support vulnerable young people; Jobcentre Plus pilots which are delivering in over 30 local authority areas to support 16- and 17-year-olds who are NEET; and provision funded by the European Social Fund which targets those who are NEET or at risk of being NEET. Broader work includes curriculum and qualifications reform, the 16-19 Bursary Fund, and improvements in the quality of careers advice and guidance.
These initiatives will help to continue reducing the number of young people NEET by removing barriers to participation and ensuring that young people are able to gain the skills and qualifications they need for their future employment or continuing education.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will take steps to communicate to learner drivers that their tests have been cancelled in the event of strike action.
Andrew Jones
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) sent emails to candidates who had tests booked during the recent industrial action. The emails advised candidates about the industrial action and reminded them that they could change their test date online without loss of fee by giving three clear working days’ notice. The emails also advised candidates that if they came for a test and it was cancelled because of strike action they could claim out of pocket expenses, and that their test would be rebooked automatically for the earliest possible date at no further charge.
DVSA alerted driving instructors and other stakeholders who are signed up to DVSA’s email alert system, proactively contacted driving instructor associations, displayed posters in driving test centres and published advice for candidates on the GOV.UK website. DVSA also used its social media channels to respond to queries and to direct customers to the guidance on GOV.UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had on training and registering support dogs for people with mental health problems.
Alistair Burt
The Department has not had any discussions with assistance dog organisations on the training and registration of support dogs for people with mental health problems.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for freedom of speech in universities of recent reports of violent protests at an Israeli Society event at King’s College London.
Joseph Johnson
The Government strongly opposes any kind of violence or intimidation that curtails free speech in universities and leads to the closure of peaceful meetings.
King’s College London has undertaken its own review of the protests at the Israeli Society event on 19th January and concluded that a number of individuals “intentionally disrupted the rights of others to exercise freedom of speech within the law”.
Whilst the violent protests were deplorable, KCL has acted to reiterate its commitment to free speech and take disciplinary measures against individuals concerned.
The Prevent duty introduced in September 2015 requires institutions to have robust policies and procedures in place to manage events such as this in order to protect students and staff and safeguard freedom of speech. As the designated monitoring body, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will be making an assessment of compliance with the requirements of the duty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2016 to Question 25356, whether the Traffic Collision Avoidance System fitted to 43 Tornado GR4 aircraft is the Honeywell TCAS II system.
Mr Philip Dunne
The Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) in use on Tornado GR4 is the Honeywell TCAS II system. We continue to make progess on fitting TCAS to Tornado and 48 aircraft are now fitted with the system. The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the costs of administering the English Rural Development Programme in each of the (a) last and (b) next five years.
George Eustice
The Common Agricultural Policy is a devolved policy and Defra is responsible for its delivery in England. Decisions relating to the implementation of the CAP are integrated into numerous policy areas within the department and the delivery of the CAP is carried out primarily by the Rural Payments Agency, Natural England, and the Forestry Commission, alongside other business. This arrangement allows the various objectives of the CAP to be delivered effectively. However, this integrated approach to delivery also makes it difficult to calculate the total annual cost of the CAP in isolation. This is something that was identified by the National Audit Office in its recent report ‘Early Development of the CAP Delivery Programme’, and Defra is currently considering how to respond to this recommendation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 25 April (HL7391), whether the single stem cell line from the research project R0152 that was in preparation for depositing with the UK Stem Cell bank was derived following any form of nuclear transfer or pronuclear transfer.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the single stem cell line from the research project R0152, that was in preparation for depositing with the UK Stem Cell bank, was not derived following any form of nuclear transfer or pronuclear transfer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-06-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she or any of her ministerial colleagues were consulted by the Competition and Markets Authority on the date on which it plans to publish its investigation into the energy market.
Andrea Leadsom
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are an independent body and the date of publication of their reports is their decision. Officials, Advisors and Ministers in the Department have not made any representations to the CMA, and the CMA have not consulted Ministers or advisors, on the date of the publication of this report. Officials in my Department have discussed with the CMA their intended date of publication for final report on the energy market to inform the Department’s own planning.