Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Blunkett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blunkett on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the accident on the M1 on 12 October, how long it took the Highways Agency to reopen junction 25 on the southbound carriageways, and how far north diversions were put in place.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Highways England report that the incident occurred around 2:15 am, with the carriageway fully reopened by 9:25 pm. Diversions were initially put in place from junction 25 of the M1, with traffic diverted onto the A52 westbound, the A5111 southbound, the A6 southbound and the A50 eastbound, to re-join the M1 at junction 24. Unfortunately, there was a second incident on the slip road of the M1 at junction 25, resulting in a lane being closed. This meant the M1 closure was extended further north to junction 26 until this incident was cleared.

    Variable Message Signs were set prior to junction 38, in order to encourage drivers to divert via the A38. In addition, messages were displayed on the M62, A1(M), M18, A46, A52 and A38.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 10866, when she next plans to publish the job titles and pay grades of appointments to extended ministerial offices.

    George Eustice

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Matthew Hancock, to PQ UIN 17505 answered on 30 November 2015.

  • Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luke Hall on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Libya.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We welcome the signature of the Libyan Political Agreement on 17 December which paves the way for a new Government of National Accord in Libya. The security situation remains fragile and it is vital that the new government is formed quickly to tackle the threats from Daesh and people smuggling.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of who is responsible for reported airstrikes that have (a) targeted and (b) hit as collateral damage (i) cultural heritage monuments, (ii) ancient heritage sites and (iii) museums in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about the damage to cultural property in Yemen during the current conflict in Yemen. We do not routinely make assessments of responsibility for damage to cultural property in Yemen. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government. A political solution is the best way to achieve long-term stability in Yemen and we remain fully and actively supportive of the UN’s efforts to bring an end to the conflict.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the total number of students enrolled in the English Baccalaureate in each year since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    Information on the percentage of pupils entered for the components of the English Baccalaureate between 2009/10 and 2014/15 is published in the Statistical First Release “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015”. [1]

    [1] 2014/15 revised table can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/494052/SFR01_2016_National_Tables.xlsx. (Table 1b)

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the trend in the level of continuing professional development undertaken by teachers of STEM subjects in primary schools; what estimate they have made about the effect it will have on the standards attained by pupils; and whether they will provide funds to increase continuing professional development in the future.

    Lord Nash

    It is for schools to determine the professional development their teachers need. The Government funds a number of programmes which make high quality, professional development available to primary teachers. This supports our commitment to making Britain the best place in the world to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

    The network of 35 Maths Hubs is working with many primary teachers to adopt effective south-east Asian ‘mastery’ teaching approaches to make sure that more children leave primary schools having met the expected standards in mathematics. The network of 44 Science Learning Partnerships provides support to primary teachers to improve their science subject knowledge and how they teach science including good quality practical work. Support to improve the teaching of the new primary computing curriculum is available through the Network of Teaching Excellence in Computer Science. All of these programmes are subject to ongoing evaluation to assess their impact.

    The Government remains committed to making sure primary school teachers continue to have access to high quality STEM professional development in the future.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which community rehabilitation companies have been the subject of an authority audit by his Department since February 2015; and if he will publish such reports.

    Andrew Selous

    Major transitions are always challenging, but figures show the performance of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and National Probation Service, is continually improving. Thanks to these reforms, offenders in prison for less than 12 months are now receiving support from probation providers for the very first time.

    Operational assurance audits were completed by the Ministry of Justice on all Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) during the first year of operation. The reports of these audits are commercially sensitive and, as such, will not be released. It is normal Government practice not to release commercially sensitive information.

    We hold providers rigorously to account for their performance and take action wherever they are falling short. We are continuing to monitor the performance of CRCs closely.

    Following an audit by the Ministry of Justice last year, South Yorkshire CRC developed an action plan.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each local authority in England and Wales, what is the total number of Eritrean residents who have been listed on successful asylum applications by individuals seeking reunification with close family members in the UK.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    There are several different routes for families to be reunited safely in the UK. Applications for family reunion can be received both in country and out of country and are processed by a number of casework units within the Home Office depending on the particular route applied through including International Operations, Settlement, Complex Casework and Asylum Operations.

    The way these applications are processed and the method used to store the data on the main immigration database means that not all of the data regarding sponsors is recorded on centrally collated statistical databases and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of thousands of case records.

    Within the visa tables of the Home Office’s quarterly Immigration Statistics, family reunion applications from dependants of those with refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK (made under Part 11 of the Immigration Rules) are included in the ‘Family: other’ category. Whilst this ‘Family: other’ category includes a small number of other applications, the vast majority relate to family reunion and hence the published figures provide a good indication of trends for family reunion cases. There were 616 entry clearance visas granted to Eritreans in the ‘Family: other’ category in the year ending March 2016.

    Source: Home Office, Immigration Statistics January to March 2016 Family topic https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016/family#visas

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Forced Marriage Unit defines historic victims.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There is no formal definition of historic victim for the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), which considers every case individually and advises accordingly. The support that the FMU offers includes providing advice and support to victims of forced marriage, as well as to professionals dealing with cases, via a public helpline and email address. This advice will include safety planning to prevent forced marriages (both in the UK and abroad), supporting victims attempting to escape forced marriages or to return from overseas, and in extreme circumstances organising the rescue of victims held against their will overseas. Where the FMU is not the appropriate service to provide advice, for example on matters of immigration status, divorce, child custody or other legal issues, victims and professionals will be signposted to partner organisations.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of his Department.

    Mark Lancaster

    This information is not held by the Ministry of Defence. Cleaning staff are provided through a Private Finance Initiative Contract with Modus