The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much NDA Properties Limited receive in income from its land and property holdings in each of the last five years.
Matthew Hancock
NDA Properties Limited received from its land and property holdings income of £6.402m in 2009-10, £6.234m in 2010-11, £6.107m in 2011-12, £5.589m in 2012-13 and £6.115m in 2013-14.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Garnier on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consideration he gave to owners and other beneficiaries of intellectual property rights relating to tobacco products in deciding to bring forward legislative proposals for standardised packaging.
Jane Ellison
The Government has given careful consideration to all of the wider aspects that relate to standardised packaging of tobacco, including intellectual property rights.
The Government has also published an impact assessment, assessing the costs and benefits of the policy. This can be found at:
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 22 November 2012, Official Report, columns 566-7W, on police: Cleveland, what estimate she has made of the number of police officers allocated to Hartlepool constituency for frontline duties in each year since the basic command unit was abolished; and if she will make a statement.
Mike Penning
As set out in the previous answer mentioned by the Hon Gentleman, the Home Office no longer collects police workforce information at the requested level. The deployment of available resources is a matter for chief officers locally, working with their Police and Crime Commissioner.
At the overall police force area level, according to the definitions set out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Cleveland Police plan to have 1271 police officers working in frontline roles by March 2015. This represents 91 per cent of the total police officer workforce.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has made clear there is no simple link between officer numbers and crime levels. This is supported by the reduction in crime of more than one fifth under this Government, according to the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grade of Yarmouth on 2015-02-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of Iran’s financial and material support for Hamas.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We remain deeply concerned by Iran’s ongoing financial and material support for Hamas and other Palestinian rejectionist groups. The supply of arms to Hamas contravenes the embargo on Iranian arms exports established by UN Security Council Resolution 1747 and undermines prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government’s proposed reforms to A-levels, if she will bring forward safeguards to prevent students making uninformed decisions about their subject choices and being limited as to the degree they can apply for at university as a result of having to make subject decisions at the beginning of Year 12.
Mr Nick Gibb
Schools have a duty to secure independent careers guidance for students in years 8 to 13 [1]. This should include supporting students to make informed choices about the subjects and qualifications that will support progression to university.
New A levels will become linear from 2015. Students will still be able to take stand-alone AS qualifications at the end of year 12. This flexibility will help those who are unsure at the start of year 12 which subjects they wish to continue to A level. We expect teachers to help students decide whether it is right to take an AS qualification.
Universities set their own admission requirements and are best placed to advise students on the A level subjects needed for particular degree courses. The Russell Group has published a guide to post-16 subject choices called ‘Informed Choices’[2]. This includes advice on the best subject combinations for a wide range of university courses. The guide also identifies the A level ‘facilitating subjects’ that are required more often than others, and which can help students to keep more options open.
The Department for Education recently announced that this year’s key stage 5 performance tables would include a measure showing the percentage of A level students attaining AAB or higher in two or more ‘facilitating subjects’, as a standard of academic rigour [3].
[1] www.gov.uk/government/publications/careers-guidance-for-young-people-in-schools
[2] www.russellgroup.ac.uk/informed-choices/
[3] http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download/Statement_of_Intent_2014.pdf
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Danczuk on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent talks Ministers in his Department have had with (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian leaders on the current situation in Gaza.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 20 July.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) spoke with Palestinian President Abbas on 19 July and Israeli Foreign Minister Liebermann on 18 July.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether Israeli military action during Operation Protective Edge has complied with its international legal obligations.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We have not yet made a full assessment. We continue to monitor events in Gaza and Israel carefully and call on all sides to ensure that their actions are in line with International Humanitarian Law. International Humanitarian Law requires all sides to distinguish between military and civilian targets and enable unhindered humanitarian access. It is vital that all actions are proportionate, in line with International Humanitarian Law and are calibrated to avoid any further civilian casualties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many beds in each UK spinal cord injury centre have been ring fenced for the treatment of spinal cord injured readmissions or outpatients in each of the last five years.
Jane Ellison
NHS England’s Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) service specification clearly sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. It sets a core requirement that each specialised SCI Centre (SCIC) can demonstrate they have a minimum of 20 beds dedicated exclusively for the treatment and rehabilitation of SCI patients. Specialised SCI Services encompass all activity for SCI patients provided by the host trust of the SCIC, including any readmission or attendance for SCI-related care, wherever the treatment is located in the trust. A copy of the specification can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/d13-spinal-cord-0414.pdf
NHS England is aware that a number of beds in one ward at Stoke Mandeville spinal injuries unit are being used as escalation beds by medical specialties to assist with patient flow. It is planned for these beds to re-open as specialist spinal beds from September 2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2014-07-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the UK contribution to the World Health Organisation budget is counted towards the Government’s target of contributing 0.7 per cent of gross national product to international development.
Jane Ellison
The total World Health Organization (WHO) revenue for 2013 was $2614 million; the United Kingdom contributed $312.2 million of that, which represented 11.9% of the WHO’s budget. The UK total contribution comprised of $30.7 million, assessed contributions and $281.5 million, voluntary contributions. This is around 185 million in sterling. The total UK contribution to WHO in 2013 also includes funding to WHO hosted partnerships such as Stop TB partnership, partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, and Roll Back Malaria partnership.
All of this UK funding contributes to the Government’s 0.7% international development target.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-07-16.
To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2014, Official Report, columns 176-7W, on computer software, what estimate the Commission has made of the (a) average and (b) aggregate amount of time spent by (i) hon. Members, (ii) Members’ staff and (iii) others in migrating to Office 365.
John Thurso
(a) Parliamentary ICT (PICT) estimates that, following the migration of a user’s mailbox to Microsoft 365, it takes the user’s computer (laptop or PC) an average of five minutes to reconfigure Outlook.
It can take a user an average of approximately five minutes to reconfigure a mobile device – other than a BlackBerry – that uses ActiveSync to connect to parliamentary email. Following that reconfiguration, it can take up to a maximum of 60 minutes for the device automatically to re-connect to parliamentary email.
BlackBerry devices need to be physically reconfigured by PICT, and this process can take over an hour – the length of time is linked to the age and model of the device. Furthermore, it takes longer to reconfigure a personal BlackBerry device than a BlackBerry issued by PICT. PICT has issued 92 BlackBerry devices for use by hon. Members and their staff to access parliamentary email.
(b) It is not possible to provide a figure for the aggregate time taken to reconfigure the above devices because more than one device can be reconfigured at the same time.