The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which UK assets were supporting the USS Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf on 12 January 2016.
Penny Mordaunt
On 12 January 2016 HMS Defender, a Type 45 destroyer, was providing air defence to the US carrier USS Harry S Truman as part of her recent role supporting both the French and American carriers in the Gulf.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the government of Cyprus on ensuring that wild migratory birds are not netted on the Sovereign Base Areas or any other land used by his Department in Cyprus.
Mark Lancaster
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, (Michael Fallon) has had no direct discussions with the Government of the Republic of Cyprus on this subject, but the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) Administration has regular meetings on this issue with the relevant authorities in the Republic of Cyprus and relevant Non-Government Organisations to exchange and share information. The SBAs in Cyprus are covered by the Bern convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats and adhere to its provisions. The SBA Police have for a number of years put considerable effort into anti-poaching measures, and recently there has been an especially robust campaign through enhanced enforcement and the removal of non-native invasive acacia trees that are deliberately cultivated by trappers to attract birds. The SBA Police also work in close co-operation with the Cyprus Game and Fauna Service and the SBA Administration intends to continue to work with the Republic of Cyprus to bring an end to this unpleasant and outlawed practice.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been purchased in (a) England, (b) the East Midlands and (c) Ashfield constituency through the Help to Buy Scheme in each year since that scheme was introduced.
Brandon Lewis
Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan, Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee and Help to Buy: NewBuy schemes, the total number of homes sold under all schemes total 138,997 in England, of which 15,684 are in the East Midlands.
Figures for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan and Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee show 494 homes sold in the Ashfield constituency. Figures for the total number of homes sold under the Help to Buy: NewBuy schemes are not published at this level.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress the Joint Work and Health Unit has made on its priority of (a) productivity and growth in the economy, (b) halving the disability employment gap and (c) reducing health inequalities relating to gender, age and geographies; and if he will make a statement.
Priti Patel
The Work and Health Unit has been established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with disabilities and long term health conditions, as well as improving prevention and support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving the workforce.
Since Q1 2014 the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 365,000 people, with a total of 3.3million disabled people now in work as of Q1 2016.
The Unit will build on this progress by improving integration across healthcare and employment services as well as supporting employers to recruit and retain more disabled people and people with long term health conditions. We have set up work-streams focused on delivery workforce, fitness for work, culture change and stakeholder engagement, employers and building the evidence base through developing a ‘test and learn’ approach.
We have been seeking and listening to the views of people that use current health, care and employment services, engaging with charities and other stakeholders, to understand what works and what needs to change and will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.
The Work and Health Unit is leading the process for preparing a green paper which will be published later this year that will begin the consultation about how to improve support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Salmond on 2016-06-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle food insecurity in Southern Africa.
Mr Nick Hurd
Southern Africa’s unprecedented El Nino-related drought has triggered a second year of hunger and hardship. More than 31 million people are estimated to be food-insecure across the region. DFID was one of the first donors to respond to the crisis and has already increased the levels of our humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zambia. We have also allocated additional funding to support the regional response. As well as responding to the immediate humanitarian needs, we will have increased our efforts to ensure our programme portfolios continue to build resilience and preparedness.
DFID is using its influence within the international community to encourage the scaling up of support and to strengthen coordination regionally and at country level. We are also using our influence with partner governments to advocate for the logistical measures to improve the transport of supplies into and within the region.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) male and (ii) female offenders convicted of each offence in the violence against the person offence category were remanded in custody (A) pre-conviction and (B) post-conviction in each of the last three years.
Mr Sam Gyimah
The number and proportion of male and female offenders remanded in custody before conviction for violence against the person offences, at magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales, between 2013 and 2015, can be viewed in the table.
Reliable information on post-conviction remand status for offenders convicted at Crown and magistrates’ courts is not centrally held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Court proceedings data for 2016 will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-11-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish the Government’s response to the consultation on a review of the feed-in tariff scheme.
Andrea Leadsom
We will publish the Government’s response in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to respond to the Children’s Commissioner’s report, Protecting Children from Harm, published in November 2015.
Edward Timpson
The report captures the findings from the first part of the Children’s Commissioner’s inquiry into child sexual abuse in the family environment. The Government will give careful consideration to the findings of the full inquiry when it is completed in December 2016.
Tackling child abuse is a priority for this Government. This Government has set up the first ever cross-government Ministerial Child Protection Taskforce to overhaul the way police, schools, social services and others work together in tackling this abhorrent crime. The taskforce’s work will build on the Government’s wide-ranging reforms to create a care system that puts children’s needs first. This includes the appointment of a Chief Social Worker to champion reform in the profession, a £400 million investment in social work training, and cuts to bureaucracy to free up social workers to do what they do best.
We have also invested an extra £100m to support vulnerable children and we areproviding £7m for services supporting survivors of child abuse.
The Government is committed to driving forward fundamental reforms to protect the most vulnerable children in our society and give them the opportunity to succeed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions the National Crime Agency has used the European Arrest Warrant system in the last two years.
James Brokenshire
The National Crime Agency issued 219 European Arrest Warrants( EAWs) in 2013, and issued 228 EAWs in 2014.
The National Crime Agency received 5,522 EAWs in 2013, and received 13,460 EAWs in 2014. The substantial increase in the number of EAWs received between 2013 and 2014 is due to the preparatory work necessary for connection to the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-09.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the change in average annual earnings in each year to 2020.
Harriett Baldwin
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has adopted the independent Office for Budget Responsibility’s economic and fiscal forecasts as the UK’s official forecasts since the Office’s creation in 2010. Information about the estimates used by the OBR in their forecasts can be found in the OBR’s ‘Economic and fiscal outlook’.