The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times (a) knife, (b), shiv, (c) shank, (d) chib and (e) another slang word for a blade were recorded on the Incident Report System in each prison since 2010.
Andrew Selous
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policy on apprenticeships of the finding of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in its report, Engineered in Britain, published in December 2015, on the number of manufacturers who would be encouraged to take on more apprentices if the Government provided £3,000 to any person who completed their apprenticeship.
Nick Boles
Apprenticeships are paid jobs. In October 2015 we increased the apprenticeship National Minimum Wage by over 20% to £3.30 per hour for apprentices aged under 19 and those aged 19 and over in the first year of their apprenticeship. Most employers pay more than this. The average gross hourly pay received by apprentices in England is £6.31 an hour for Level 2 and 3 apprentices and £9.69 for higher apprentices.
Apprenticeships have excellent wage returns for individuals over their working life. These add up to between £48,000 and £74,000 for level 2 apprenticeships and between £77,000 and £117,000 for level 3 apprentices. Those completing an apprenticeship at level 4 or above could earn £150,000 more on average over their lifetime.
These are the right long-term financial incentives for individuals to support the growth of apprenticeships towards 3 million new starts by 2020.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance to schools on how to identify and manage incidences of parental alienation.
Edward Timpson
Protection from abuse and neglect is a fundamental right of all children and young people, regardless of their family situation, and the government will continue to review how schools, police, social services and other agencies work together to protect all children.
The Department published updated statutory guidance in 2015 on Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. All school and college staff should be aware of the various forms of abuse, including emotional harm, so that they are able to identify children in need of help and support and know what action to take. This would include recognising where children are suffering as the result of family relationship breakdown.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chloe Smith on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her Department’s policies on funding the UN Relief and Works Agency of the use of funding from that agency by a Palestinian NGO to organise a tree-planting ceremony honouring people including Palestinian terrorists.
Mr Desmond Swayne
We have raised this allegation with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) who have confirmed that UNRWA has no present relationship with the NGO in question, Union of Agriculture Workers Committees (UAWC). In monitoring DFID support for UNRWA, we pay stringent attention to their neutrality policy and values of peace. We maintain a close dialogue with UNRWA on neutrality issues, and we take allegations of incitement very seriously indeed, raising them whenever appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department holds on adjusted mortality in care homes managed by each major provider.
Alistair Burt
The Department does not hold information centrally on adjusted mortality in care homes managed by each major provider.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to prevent self-employed adults with violent convictions providing extracurricular classes or sessions to children for sports or activities which have no governing body.
Edward Timpson
Schools are aware of their responsibilities in ensuring that any self-employed individual who is providing extra-curricular classes or sessions on their behalf has been subject to the necessary and appropriate checks, which could include checking individual status with the relevant sports or activity governing body.
If those checks reveal convictions for violence the school will then determine the appropriateness or otherwise of allowing that individual to continue to provide classes or sessions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which projects in Israel and the Palestinian territories were supported from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund in 2016-17; and what the level of funding and support was for each such project.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The following projects are funded from the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) during the current financial year (2016/17). These are projected spend figures and so are subject to change.
– Small training team as part of the United States Security Coordinator to provide institutional development and professionalisation of the Palestinian Authority Security Forces. £2.23m.
– Technical assistance to the Palestinian Ministry of Interior (MOI) to improve its capability to provide oversight and management of the security services. £1.8m.
– Support to EU Coordinating Office for Palestinian Police Support. £0.067m.
– Empowerment of young Israeli leaders to strengthen support for peace in their communities. £0.3m.
– UK-Israel Informal Security Dialogue. £0.025m.
– Legal Aid and Settlement Monitoring in the West Bank. £1.5m.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 November (HL2849) on the review of retention of custody images by police forces, whether they have carried out legal and risk assessments; if so, whether they will publish those assessments; and if not, why not.
Lord Bates
The review is ongoing, and is anticipated to report before the Christmas recess. Specific stakeholders consulted as part of the review include the Biometrics Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the National DNA Database Ethics Group, the National Police Chiefs Council , the College of Policing and local police forces. The report can be expected to address the operational and legal issues and risks, and set out plans for implementation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government is taking steps to promote satellite broadband access in areas where fixed line broadband is limited or available at slower speeds than average.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government’s Universal Service Commitment will allow universal access to speeds of at least 2 Megabits per secondto any household in the UK,through the option of satellite broadband connections by the end of 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of dropping food by air to civilian communities now under siege in Syria and cut off from all external supplies.
Earl of Courtown
The UK has pledged over £1.1 billion in response to the crisis in Syria and the region, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We have provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria and in the surrounding region had, for example, delivered almost 20 million food rations that feed one person for a month; over 2.5 million medical consultations; and relief items for 4.6 million people.
The UK will consider any option compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. We rule nothing out. However, the use of air drops is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed.
Attempting air drops without the consent of the parties to the conflict may risk undermining negotiations on humanitarian access to the 4.5 million people in hard to reach areas across Syria. Even in uncontested space air drops poise significant challenges. There is a requirement to identify clear drop zones, ensure safe access for the intended recipients and to co-ordinate with authorities on the ground. Instead, the UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to vulnerable people in besieged and hard to reach areas.
The desperate situation in besieged and hard to reach areas shows why we need the international community to come together at the London Conference for Syria and the Region on 4 February to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.