The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he last met his Pakistani counterpart.
Michael Fallon
I met Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, on 5 August 2015.
During my visit I also paid calls on the Prime Minister and other key interlocutors. Most recently, I met with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif when he visited the UK last October.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many railway station ticket offices have (a) been closed and (b) had their opening hours reduced since 2010.
Claire Perry
Since May 2010, 125 railway station ticket offices have had their hours reduced and four have been closed.
By contrast, between 2005 and 2010 around 400 railway station ticket offices had their hours reduced and six closures were approved.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2016-03-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) regulars, and (2) reserves, joined the Armed Forces in November 2015.
Earl Howe
In November 2015 1,180 personnel joined the UK Regular Armed Forces and 710 personnel joined the Reserves.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether employers will be able to direct unused funds from their apprenticeship levy accounts towards supporting training apprentices working with (a) their distributers and (b) other companies in their supply chain.
Nick Boles
We want to give employers in England flexibility in how they use levy funds to pay for apprenticeship training that meets their needs. We know that some employers want to direct their funding to other employers, for instance their suppliers. We will consider ways this could be accommodated whilst avoiding additional complexity, maintaining the aims of the system and remaining compatible with State aid rules.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 10 May (HL7949), what factors are thought to be responsible for differences in the number of serious adverse incidents of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) between each of the three years from 2010 to 2012 compared to 2013 and 2014; and whether the reference to professional standards applies only to clinicians or also to the activities of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in attempting to mitigate the risks of OHSS.
Lord Prior of Brampton
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that whilst certain factors may increase the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), there is no agreed method to predict the amount of severe OHSS that will occur. Therefore, the Authority cannot infer what factors, if any, would cause year to year variation in the number of incidents reported.
Professional clinical standards are set by the appropriate Royal Colleges and issued to guide clinicians and health professionals directly, not the HFEA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maclennan of Rogart on 2016-07-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the number of victims of female genital mutilation in each of the four nations of the UK; and what steps they are taking to eradicate that practice throughout the UK.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The most recent NHS data released on 7 June showed 1,242 newly identified cases of FGM within the NHS between January and March 2016. 98% of cases were in adult women, and in the vast majority of these the FGM took place in Asia or Africa.
A 2015 prevalence study part funded by the Home Office estimated that approximately 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales are affected by FGM and 60,000 girls were born to women who had undergone it.
We have significantly strengthened the law through the Serious Crime Act 2015, including introducing FGM Protection Orders to protect girls at risk, and a mandatory reporting duty requiring specified professionals to report known cases in under 18s to the police.
We are improving the response of professionals through the Department of Health’s £4m FGM prevention programme, up to £2m from the Department for Education to support the Barnardo’s and Local Government Association’s National FGM Centre which is strengthening the social care response; and updated multi-agency guidance which we published on the 1 April and which is statutory for the first time.
FGM is a devolved matter and we work closely with the Devolved Administrations in taking forward this work.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hammond on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the incidence of vishing fraud.
Brandon Lewis
The Home Office do not hold any data on the incidence of vishing fraud. Vishing is when fraudsters obtain personal details of a victim by phone, usually with the intention of using this information to commit fraud. It is an enabler to commit fraud, rather than a fraud type in itself. The Home Office only collects data on the number of incidents of frauds, with no breakdown currently available for enablers used to commit them.
The Joint Fraud Taskforce, which brings together government, law enforcement and industry is considering options to reduce social engineering, alongside other initiatives to combat fraud more broadly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the governments of British Overseas Territories with financial centres on central registers of beneficial ownership.
James Duddridge
I discussed central registers of beneficial ownership with the Premiers of the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda on 23 November and will have a further opportunity to do so when they are in London next week for the Joint Ministerial Council.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many women affected by state pension age equalisation live in Northern Ireland.
Justin Tomlinson
The issue raised is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf students had not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19 in 2015.
Edward Timpson
Information regarding the attainment of students with special educational needs (SEN) in England is broken down by type of SEN and published in the “Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessment: England 2015”[1], “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: 2015”[2] and “GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2015”[3] statistical first releases.
A wider summary of available SEN information is provided in “Special educational needs – an analysis and summary of data sources”[4]
Information on the average points score of students with a hearing impairment or the number that achieve three A* to A grades or better at A level is not held by the Department. The Department also does not hold information on the number of students with a hearing impairment who have not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19.
Currently, there are no plans for the Department to publish A-level data split by type of special educational need or to collect additional data on the outcomes achieved by students who have a disability but not an identified special educational need, although this is reviewed every year as part of the collection process.
[1] Phonics and KS1 assessments for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/phonics-screening-check-and-key-stage-1-assessments-england-2015
[2] KS2 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2015-revised
[3] KS4 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015
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