Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on Atomic Weapons Establishment facilities at Aldermaston in each of the last five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Expenditure specifically on AWE facilities at Aldermaston is not held in the format requested. Contract payments for AWE are made against an agreed programme of work that covers all AWE sites; Aldermaston, Burghfield and Blacknest. These costs are not recorded according to site.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that the outcome of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict reflects the wide range of people affected by such violence.

    Mark Simmonds

    The Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict will turn the political commitments made in the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict into practical action and bring real change to those affected by this crime. We have consulted widely with experts, practitioners and international partners since the launch of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative in 2012, including on the outcomes of the Summit. Over 1,500 delegates will attend, including legal, military and judicial practitioners, representatives from multilateral organisations, and over 100 NGOs and grassroots organisations. The Summit is an opportunity for governments from countries around the world to hear directly from those affected what action needs to be taken to effectively tackle this issue.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken with UN Women in the planning of the June 2014 summit to end sexual violence in conflict.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is working closely with a broad range of UN agencies who work on sexual violence, including UN Women. UN Women have provided a valuable contribution to Summit planning, as well as the wider development of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative and will have an active role at the Summit. The FCO will continue to work with UN partners, including UN Women, to ensure that Summit outcomes and ongoing work on this agenda are supportive of the UN Action 2014-2017 Strategic Framework.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the average waiting times at the UK border for the last three years at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted, (d) Manchester, (e) Birmingham and (f) Luton airports.

    Karen Bradley

    The yearly average queue times for passengers arriving at the Primary Checkpoint to be admitted into the UK are set out in the table below. All meet service level agreement targets, which are below 25 minutes for European Economic Area (EEA) passengers and below 45 Minutes for non-EEA passengers.

    Average Passenger Queue Times (hr:mm)
    2011 2012 2013
    Port EEA NonEEA EEA NonEEA EEA NonEEA
    Heathrow TN1 00:05 00:13 00:03 00:08 00:02 00:05
    Heathrow TN3 00:06 00:19 00:03 00:11 00:02 00:09
    Heathrow TN4 00:04 00:22 00:02 00:11 00:02 00:08
    Heathrow TN5 00:06 00:21 00:04 00:13 00:04 00:09
    Gatwick North 00:03 00:05 00:03 00:05 00:02 00:04
    Gatwick South 00:04 00:07 00:03 00:05 00:02 00:03
    Stansted 00:13 00:20 00:07 00:10 00:06 00:09
    Manchester TN1 00:09 00:15 00:10 00:17 00:09 00:15
    Manchester TN2 00:10 00:19 00:09 00:16 00:08 00:15
    Manchester TN3 00:08 00:14 00:15 00:23 00:11 00:16
    Birmingham 00:07 00:11 00:06 00:09 00:05 00:09
    Luton 00:09 00:09 00:08 00:08 00:07 00:09
    The figures quoted above are management information subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change.

  • Mark Durkan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Durkan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer of 8 May 2014, Official Report, column 279W, on developing countries: family planning, how much of her Department’s budget has been allocated to achieving outcomes in her Department’s policy paper Safe and Unsafe Abortion in each of the last two years.

    Lynne Featherstone

    DFID adheres to Development Co-Operation Directorate (OACD-DAC) expenditure coding requirements to allow comparison across donor spending towards attainment of the Millennium Development Goal targets. This measures against coding titles as have been internationally agreed. Only coding titles as have been internationally agreed can be individually disaggregated by DFID systems.

  • Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will commission a review of the 50 per cent rule whereby a GCSE grade may only be awarded for course assessment in the event of a student being severely incapacitated through illness; and if he will make a statement.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Secretary of State for Education recently received a letter from the hon Member for Thirsk and Malton on this issue, raising the case of a student in her constituency, to which he has responded. From time to time Ministers receive representations from members of the public, and from hon Members on their behalf, on the same matter.

    Neither the Department nor the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation holds information on the number of pupils who have applied to be assessed for a GCSE grade on the basis of coursework. This information may be held by individual awarding bodies.

    The rules governing the circumstances in which a GCSE grade may be awarded to a student who has not completed all the elements of the assessment are a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the hon Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will publish the (a) scope, (b) date of commissioning, (c) date of polling and (d) cost of polling commissioned by his Department on attitudes in Scotland towards Scottish independence and related matters since May 2011.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office has not commissioned any polling on attitudes in Scotland toward Scottish independence and related matters.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the letter of 28 May 2014 from Sir John Chilcott to the Cabinet Secretary, which Government Minister agreed, and on what date, that there was no prospect of reaching agreement that Notes or records of discussions between the UK Prime Minister and the President of the United States should be disclosed in their entirety or with redactions.

    Mr David Cameron

    The Inquiry is completely independent of government and should be allowed to complete its work without interference.

    At the outset of the Inquiry, Government and the Inquiry agreed a documents protocol on the handling of information provided to the Inquiry. The protocol names the Cabinet Secretary as final arbiter in discussions about disclosure. He is the right person to perform this role. He is the most senior civil servant and can see papers of a previous government Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May describes the background against which the Inquiry made its requests for gists and quotes. Sir John also makes clear that the gists and quotes are sufficient for the Inquiry’s purposes.

    Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May is available on the Iraq Inquiry website and I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.

    The Government will not comment further on the extent or detail of the Inquiry’s declassification requests. I have made clear my hope that the Inquiry will be able to complete its work by the end of the year.

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time taken for decisions on requests for reconsideration of fit for work decisions in relation to applications for employment and support allowance has been since October 2013.

    Mike Penning

    The Department is collecting information to understand how the introduction of mandatory reconsideration is operating, including completion timescales. However, this data is not sufficiently robust and reliable to make available.

    In the production of new statistics, which all the above would be, the Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet the high quality standards expected. Departmental statisticians need to assure themselves of the quality of administrative data sources before releasing information as Official statistics, and before the exact timing and format of statistics can be confirmed. .

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Debbie Abrahams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent employees of his Department are engaged in forward planning to 2030 for end-of-life care.

    Norman Lamb

    There are currently 2.9 full time equivalent staff in the Department working exclusively on policy areas in Domain 2 of the NHS Outcomes Framework, which includes end of life care.

    Since April 2013, NHS England has been responsible for delivering improvements in end of life care, with Public Health England responsible for providing information and data on this policy area.

    Forward planning for future end of life care needs is considered by all three organisations as part of their responsibility for policy development.