Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy with regard to future deployment of troops in (1) Iraq, and (2) Libya.

    Earl Howe

    In Iraq, the Government is already making a substantial contribution, with over 250 personnel who have provided training to more than 13,000 members of the Iraqi Security Forces in infantry skills and countering improvised explosive devices. We keep the composition and scale of our contribution under close review, to reflect developments in the campaign.

    We are discussing with international partners how to best support the new Libyan Government. This might include training Libyan forces to provide their own security, but no decisions have yet been made. There are no UK Government plans for the deployment of troops in a combat role to Libya. Any support the UK provides will be in response to a request made by the Libyan Government.

  • 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 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide details of what (a) ships and (b) aircraft by (i) type and (ii) number are allocated to the Very High Readiness Task Force in 2016-17.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    In 2016 the UK’s contribution to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Maritime) will include a Maritime Commander (Rear Admiral) with 150 staff embarked in a Landing Platform Helicopter (HMS Ocean), one Type 23 Frigate for six months from January to July, one Type 45 Destroyer for up to seven weeks in the autumn and one Mine Countermeasures Vessel. In 2017, the UK’s contribution will be a Commander (Commodore) and Type 45 Destroyer for six months, an ECHO Class Survey Ship (in a command role) plus one Mine Countermeasures Vessel.

    Throughout 2016 and 2017, the UK’s contribution to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Air) will include six Tornados and six Typhoons, Airborne Early Warning and Air to Air refueling aircraft.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department plans to expand the list of Iranians responsible for human rights violations.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    At present we have no plans to expand the list.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when post-16 education in Warrington is planned to be reviewed under the area review process; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    All colleges in England will be subject to an Area Review. The timing of individual areas will be published in due course once they have been agreed by the National Area Review Steering Group. We have said that we will announce the area reviews in a series of waves, decisions on which area will be included in each wave will take account of a number of factors including whether colleges are deemed to be at financial risk.

    We expect reviews to last 3-4 months based on our early experiences, and we anticipate they will all be completed by March 2017.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many calls were made to the Child Maintenance Options Service in each month since January 2015.

    Priti Patel

    The number of inbound calls received by the Child Maintenance Options Service from January 2015 to the end of October 2015 is shown in the table below:

    Month

    Number of calls received by the Child Maintenance Options Service

    Jan-15

    33,010

    Feb-15

    31,020

    Mar-15

    36,450

    Apr-15

    33,370

    May-15

    32,590

    Jun-15

    37,580

    Jul-15

    40,530

    Aug-15

    38,010

    Sep-15

    45,340

    Oct-15

    39,800

    Notes:

    – Data Sourced from Child Maintenance Options Monthly MI Service Pack

    – Data rounded to nearest 10

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent children from purchasing knives and other weapons online.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government continues to work with the police and partners to ensure we reduce violence and knife crime, and in the year ending June 2015, knife crime recorded by the police was 17% lower than 2010. We are aware of concerns about zombie knives and we are currently considering representations including the letter of 13 January from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands and on 21 January from the prospective mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith. A reply will be sent shortly and we will offer to meet with the PCC.

    We are currently considering what action to take against the prevalence of zombie knives on our streets. We are talking to retailers, including Amazon, about the action they can take. There are strict laws on the sale of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed. We are concerned about any knives being carried in public especially if used to threaten and inflict violence. It is a criminal offence to possess a knife in public without good reason, and if a person is convicted a second time they now face a minimum mandatory custodial sentence following the introduction of this change by the Government in July 2015.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to improve the teaching of Personal Social Health and Economic education and Sex and Relationships Education in schools that Ofsted has identified as requiring improvement when teaching those subjects.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government believes that all children should have the opportunity to receive a high quality and appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE). SRE is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and many primary schools also teach it in an age-appropriate way. The Government also expects academies and free schools to deliver SRE as part of their provision of a broad and balanced curriculum.

    Any state-funded school teaching SRE must have regard to the Secretary of State’s SRE guidance (2000). The Department has received requests about updating the existing SRE guidance which we will carefully consider.

    Initial Teacher Training (ITT) is currently determined by the Teachers’ Standards, which all trainee teachers must be able to demonstrate by the end of their training. The Standards set out the key principles of good subject pedagogy and the importance of subject knowledge development across the curriculum. Schools and headteachers are best placed to determine which staff learning activities will be most beneficial for their schools and we expect them to lead the personal development of their teachers to improve the quality of all round teaching.

    The Department supports schools’ efforts to improve PSHE teaching by drawing schools’ attention to a range of high quality PSHE education teaching resources, including quality resources, lesson plans, a programme of study, factsheets and case studies. These resources are kite-marked by the PSHE Association to ensure that schools can trust the materials they use and improve their teaching.

    Ofsted does not inspect individual curriculum subjects. However, aspects of PSHE education and SRE will inform its judgment on personal development, behaviour and welfare. Inspectors must also consider the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. Schools have responsibility for acting upon the inspection reports they receive and any weaknesses will be considered when the school is next inspected.

    We expect schools to ensure that young people, whatever their developing sexuality or identity, feel that SRE education is relevant to them and sensitive to their needs. The statutory SRE guidance is clear that schools should teach about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Sexually transmitted infections are also covered as part of the national curriculum for science at key stage 3.

    We welcome the supplementary SRE guidance ‘SRE for the 21st Century’ produced by Brook, the PSHE Association and the Sex Education Forum, which includes guidance on ensuring that SRE is inclusive. All children and young people, regardless of background or identity, are entitled to quality SRE that helps them build confidence and stay healthy.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s consultation on out-of school education settings, launched on 26 November 2015, how many consultation responses were received (a) in favour of and (b) opposing the consultation proposals; and by which date she expects her Department to publish its response to that consultation.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government wants children to be educated in a safe environment without exposure to hateful and extremist views that undermine British values. The call for evidence on out-of-school education settings was launched on 26 November 2015 and ran for six and a half weeks closing on 11 January 2016

    Around 3,000 people completed the published response form, either online or manually. The Department for Education received a significant number of further representations to the consultation by email and post. All responses and representations are being logged, analysed and verified

    In line with Cabinet Office guidance, we will be publishing a response to the consultation in due course.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which instances embassies and high commissions in the UK have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity in each of the last five years.

    James Duddridge

    Under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction, except in limited circumstances specified in the Convention. Full statistics and details about instances when Embassies and High Commissions have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity for the period specified are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Such requests would cover instances where a member of the mission’s diplomatic or consular staff (or a member of their family forming part of their household) was the alleged offender, the alleged victim of a crime, or had witnessed a crime and police had sought a witness statement; or where police had sought witness statements from staff in relation to their official functions.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation exemption for insolvency practitioners.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).

    It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.

    The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.

    For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.