The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-05-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU.
David Mundell
I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon Members for North Ayrshire and Arran, Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Ochil and South Perthshire, Motherwell and Wishaw, Angus and East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer to Lord Ahmad of 7 April 2016 to Question HL7297, if her Department will make it its policy to use in all future documents and legislation a definition of extremism which includes the phrase mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, rather than the phrase mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
Karen Bradley
The Counter–Extremism Strategy set outs our approach to tackling extremist ideologies. We will challenge all those groups or individuals who vocally or actively oppose our fundamental values, who seek to promote, encourage and spread intolerance of individuals of different faith and beliefs. We are clear that this approach tackles all forms of extremism: violent and non violent, Islamist and neo-Nazi.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions have taken place between the British and Iranian authorities on the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
I am deeply concerned by recent reports that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been sentenced without confirmation of the charges against her. We continue to raise our strong concerns about British prisoners in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, at the highest levels in both London and Tehran. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), did so in her introductory call with Iranian President Rouhani on 9 August. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), similarly raised this case in his introductory call with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 4 August, and followed up in writing on 29 August. Our Ambassador and embassy staff in Tehran raise this case with their Iranian counterparts at every available opportunity, and will continue to press for further details as well as assurances of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s welfare. I met Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family on 8 September to reassure them that we will continue to do all we can.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Written Ministerial Statement of 10 October 2016, HCWS174, what proportion of existing (a) support and (b) work related-activity group claimants of employment and support allowance will (i) continue and (ii) cease to be subject to re-assessment.
Penny Mordaunt
We will be working over the coming months with medical professionals and other stakeholders to develop a process and functional criteria that will help us identify those with the most severe health conditions or disabilities, for whom repeat work capability assessments can be stopped. This change will only apply to those placed in the Support Group and Universal Credit equivalent.
No proportion of Support Group claimants can be estimated until the criteria has been agreed. This change will come into effect by the end of 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-02.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the Secretary of State has in ensuring that the law of defamation in Northern Ireland is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lord Faulks
As set out in my Written Answer HL2680 on 30 October 2015, under the Human Rights Act 1998 (section 6), all public authorities are under a duty to act in compliance with the Convention rights set out in that Act. As the law on defamation in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, it is for the Northern Ireland Executive, in considering its policy on the subject, to reach a view on whether the policy under consideration is compatible with the Convention rights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-11-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the scale of Acute Oak Decline (AOD); what research her Department is undertaking into AOD; and what steps she is taking to tackle AOD.
George Eustice
Over the past five years Forest Research, in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, has conducted a systematic survey to model the distribution of acute oak decline (AOD) in England and Wales. The results show that the condition currently affects several thousand oak trees, mostly across East Anglia, the Midlands and southern England.
Since 2013, Defra has invested £1.1 million in research to understand the causes, distribution and scale of AOD in the UK.
Earlier this year Defra, in collaboration with the Research Councils, the Scottish Government and the Forestry Commission, launched a further £2 million call for research proposals on ‘oak health’ and Phytophthora. The successful bids from this call are due to be announced shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-01-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Henley on 21 March 2012 (HL Deb, cols 914–6), and in the light of the fact that the number of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in 2014–15 was the highest since 2010–11, what plans they have to reduce the number of DBS checks, and in particular to limit the DBS checking of groups such as parent volunteers.
Lord Bates
The Government has introduced an Update Service to enable existing criminal record certificates to be kept up to date whilst reducing the need for repeat checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The DBS is driving greater uptake of the Update Service which will continue to reduce the need for repeat checks.
The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 reduced the scope of “regulated activity” from which unsuitable people can be barred. It is for schools to decide whether or not to carry out disclosure checks on parent volunteers who work under supervision.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2016-02-03.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which EU countries the purchasing power of sterling is currently less than in the UK; and whether the Government has made an assessment of the likelihood that, under proposals for reform of the UK’s relationship with the EU, EU law would require proposed child benefit payment adjustments to be increased in such countries.
Mr David Gauke
Information regarding the purchasing power of the sterling compared with other EU Member States is publically available at the following address:
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&plugin=1&pcode=tec00120&language=en.
Details of the proposals for child benefit is subject to the ongoing negotiation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is on the provision of accommodation for naval personnel and their families visiting (a) HMNB Clyde and (b) RNAD Coulport.
Mark Lancaster
The provision of accommodation for all naval personnel and their families is contained within the Tri-Service Accommodation Regulations which are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/502127/20160222_-_JSP_464_Volume_1_Part_1_-_Version_3.pdf
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS funding was provided to GP surgeries in each of the last five years
Alistair Burt
NHS England has confirmed that the funding it invests in general practice will increase by an average of 4.5% each year from 2016/17 to 2020/21.
The below table shows the proportion of spend on general practice for each of the last five years for which data is available. The figures for spend on general practice are taken from the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s Investment in General Practice 2011-2015 report, which is the most comprehensive source of data on investment in general practice. The NHS Revenue Expenditure data is taken from the Department’s accounts.
|
2010/11 |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
|
NHS Revenue Expenditure under Clear Line of Sight Rules (£ billion) |
97.47 |
100.27 |
102.57 |
106.5 |
110.56 |
|
Spend on general practice (£ billion) |
8.350 |
8.397 |
8.459 |
8.766 |
9.001 |
|
Spend on General Practice as a proportion of total |
8.6% |
8.4% |
8.2% |
8.2% |
8.1% |