The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-07-06.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policy priority they now intend to accord to the Council of Europe.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The UK continues to be an active member of the Council of Europe. We value its role in the rules based international system, which helps nations work together to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to transfer the Army Air Corps’ Islanders and Defenders to the RAF in 2018; and what plans his Department has for 5 Regiment’s Army Air Corps command organisation.
Harriett Baldwin
It has been agreed that the governance of the Fixed Wing Manned Aerial Surveillance Capability will be transferred from the Army to the RAF. Detailed implementation plans, including timescales and the implications for 5 Regiment Army Air Corps, or other Units have yet to be finalised.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make representations to the Criminal Cases Review Commission on reviewing the case of James Thompson.
Mike Penning
The Criminal Cases Review Commission is independent, and it would not be appropriate for Ministers or officials to intervene in individual cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank will be by asset sale or as a going concern.
Anna Soubry
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills’ written Ministerial Statements of 25 June and 15 October make clear that the Government is moving UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) into private ownership and repealing the GIB legislation so that, following a sale, GIB can continue to operate as a going concern and be reclassified to the private sector with the freedom to borrow and raise a much greater volume of private capital without affecting public sector debt.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, under what circumstances a person within one of the universal credit north west pathfinder jobcentres, who meets the eligibility criteria for universal credit under the pathfinder programme, may start a claim for jobseeker’s allowance instead of universal credit.
Priti Patel
A person who meets the eligibility requirements for claiming Universal Credit (UC) anywhere in Great Britain where UC is available can claim contributory-only Jobseeker’s Allowance, either alongside a UC claim or on its own. If a person meets the conditions for claiming UC they cannot claim income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she plans to take to increase renewable energy generation when the renewables obligation scheme ends in 2017.
Andrea Leadsom
We have announced our intention to hold three Contract for Difference (CfD) allocation rounds during this Parliament, supporting large scale renewable projects at a far lower cost to the consumer than under the renewables obligation. Provided cost reductions are made, this could support to 10GW of new offshore wind in the 2020s.
We are considering how we can best ensure a level playing field between renewable and other generation technologies and we are listening to ideas from industry about how this can be achieved. A number of stakeholders have suggested the concept of a market stabilising CFD for pot 1 technologies and welcome thoughts on this.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to meet Mr and Mrs Timmins to discuss the death in 2013 of their son from meningitis B and the future provision of a vaccine for that disease on the NHS; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
Meningococcal B (MenB) disease is a devastating disease which can have tragic consequences. We understand that in March 2014 Mr and Mrs Timmins met consultants at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust to discuss their son’s care following his tragic death in December 2013.
In September 2015, we became the first country in the world to offer a national and publicly funded MenB immunisation programme using the Bexsero vaccine to protect infants. The programme follows the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the independent, expert body which advises Government on all immunisation matters. Infants are vaccinated at two months of age, with further doses offered when they reach four and 12 months of age, thereby protecting groups with the highest risk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of staff it has hired to support the Air Cadet Organisation in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Julian Brazier
The Air Cadet Organisation (ACO) is manned primarily by Cadet Force Adult Volunteer staff. The small permanently staffed Headquarters Air Cadets (HQ AC), alongside Headquarters 2 Flying Training School (HQ 2FTS) and the regional and wing formations, together have a staff of approximately 250 personnel.
Glider maintenance and recovery is undertaken by contractors and it is their responsibility for the manning of the contracted work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that ex-offenders are helped into work or education upon the completion of their sentence.
Caroline Dinenage
We want prisons to be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and employment opportunities.
We already work with a wide range of employers in prison through One3One Solutions and engagement by Prison Governors. But we want Governors to do more so we are putting the tools to drive this change in the hands of those at the frontline who best know what works.
We are keen to increase the number of employers who can provide valuable vocational work for offenders while in prison and who are able to offer them support in preparation for release and employment opportunities following their release. I regularly meet businesses across the country, to encourage them to get involved and new businesses are now coming on board as a consequence. The Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending brings together employers willing to employ offenders and provides a range of advice and support to new employers considering working with offenders and provides business to business mentoring to members of the Forum. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the involvement of more businesses. The Prime Minister has also announced changes to recruitment practises across the civil service to ensure that people are considered on their merits and not on their criminal conviction and we want to encourage more employers to do the same.
Separately, the Secretary of State for Justice has commissioned a review of prison education led by Dame Sally Coates.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35165, on Personal Independence Payments, what changes his Department has put in place to take account of the finding that 75 per cent of successful appeals resulted from additional oral or documentary evidence being submitted.
Justin Tomlinson
The 75% can be broken down as follows:
Cogent oral evidence – 66%
Cogent documentary evidence supplied at the appeal – 9%
These figures are from internal DWP systems, where only one of possible multiple reasons can be recorded, and are derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard.
The Department encourages claimants to provide as much relevant evidence as necessary to support their claim. The “How your disability affects you” form and accompanying guidance sets out the range of information that can help the Department reach a decision. The guidance for Health Professionals also sets out sources of further evidence which could help inform their advice to the Department.
At the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, again claimants are encouraged to provide any further evidence about their disability. Following the first independent review of Personal Independence by Paul Gray, the Department is reviewing all communications (including those used by Assessment Providers) it has with claimants throughout the claim, assessment and reconsideration process to ensure that claimants clearly understand the importance of providing sufficient evidence to support their claim and application.
Further, once a claimant has submitted their claim, the Department has created a new Standard Work Instructions (SWI) for its decision making staff to gain further evidence, where appropriate. For Mandatory Reconsideration, the SWI puts a process in place to establish what the areas for dispute are, consider any gaps in the evidence, ensure any expected further medical evidence is received and referring that to the Assessment Provider. “