The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his most recent estimate is of the number of UK military personnel currently involved in military operations in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria; and if he will make a statement.
Penny Mordaunt
We have over 850 military personnel committed to Operation SHADER (counter-ISIL operations in Iraq and Syria) based across the Middle East
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of legislative proposals in the Trade Union Bill on the finances of the Labour Party.
Nick Boles
The proposals in the Bill are not about party funding. The Trade Union Bill is about employment and industrial relations. We are introducing a greater level of transparency into union activities by requiring union members to make an active decision to contribute to a union’s political fund.
If union members want a political fund, this will not necessarily lead to a reduction in the funds available. Therefore no assessment has been made in relation to the impact on the finances of any political party.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what contingency arrangements her Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.
Nick Gibb
I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to question 21952 by my Rt Hon Friend the Prime Minister on 14 January.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-02-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are bound to consult or seek the approval of Parliament before undertaking aircraft or drone air strikes in Libya.
Earl Howe
The Government is committed to the convention that, before UK troops are committed to conflict, Parliament should have an opportunity to debate the matter except when there is an emergency and such action would not be appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they intend to take following the demolition by Israel of the only school in the Abu al-Nuwaar community near the town of al-Eizariya in the occupied West Bank.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Whilst we have not raised this particular demolition with the Israeli authorities, our position is clear: demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. We regularly raise the issue of demolitions with our Israeli counterparts.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-04-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to match national and local capacity with demand for maternity services, and when they expect a balance to be achieved.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Maternity services are included in the key objectives set out in the Mandate between the Government and the NHS England. The Mandate states that women should receive better care during pregnancy and have a named midwife responsible for ensuring personalised, one-to-one care.
In its report Better Births: Improving Outcomes of maternity services in England, the National Maternity Review (which was sponsored by NHS England) set out a vision for future models of maternity services which provide safe, personalised, kind, professional and family friendly care. It recommends that providers and commissioners should come together as “local maternity systems” and develop a local vision for improved maternity services based on the principles contained within the report. A copy of Better Births is attached.
Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will now be expected to consider the conclusions of Better Births and what changes they may need to make to local services in light of those conclusions. CCGs are expected to understand local demand for maternity services, including listening to what women in their communities want, and consider their health needs in designing services. This should also be reflected in the development of five year Sustainability and Transformation Plans which cover wider geographical ‘footprints’.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2016-06-07.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the total investment costs per tonne of CO2 equivalent abated by the Clean Technology Fund has increased from £21.40 to £26.40 according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s additional business case and intervention summary 2015; and what is being done to address rising costs.
Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Clean Technology Fund (CTF) approval decisions are based on six CTF Investment Criteria, of which cost-effectiveness is one. The total investment cost per tonne is estimated based on the portfolio of CTF projects that have been approved by the Trust Fund Committee. The original appraisal relied on the assessment of 30 individual projects approved by 2013, whereas the latest analysis is based on 57 projects approved by 2015. The total cost per tonne across the portfolio has changed as more projects have been approved, and will be expected to continue to change as the CTF portfolio increases, reflecting the range of projects included in the portfolio. As an example, sectors such as transport and energy efficiency typically have a higher cost per tonne than renewable energy projects. All projects deliver good value for money and wider benefits, such as private finance leveraged, jobs created, and increased numbers of people with access to energy.
In order to guarantee the continued value for money of the CTF, there is a robust project approval process ensuring compliance with the standards set out in the CTF investment criteria. As a contributor country the UK approves the allocation of CTF resources for programmes, projects, and administrative budgets; assessing new proposals to ensure continued the value for money (see attachment with further detail on the CTF governance structure).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the average accident rate is higher on dual carriageways than on three lane roads.
Andrew Jones
The Department does not hold any information on the number of lanes in either the road accident data supplied by police forces or road traffic estimates. Therefore it is not possible to provide a comparison between dual carriageway roads and single carriage roads with three lanes.
However, the Department does record the number of carriageways at the scene of accidents as well as the length of ‘A’ roads by number of carriageways. As a guide, in 2015 for Great Britain there were 380 reported personal-injury accidents per billion vehicle miles on single carriageway ‘A’ roads and 140 accidents per billion vehicle miles on dual carriageway ‘A’ roads.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-10-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England is looking at treatments for Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy.
David Mowat
Treatments for Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy are not currently within the Specialised Ear and Ophthalmology Clinical Reference Group work programme and there is no current work in the policy pipeline. Any new proposals are able to be submitted to NHS England who would consider in line with their agreed processes for specialised services.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-11-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to support poor communities overseas to tackle the effects of climate change.
Andrea Leadsom
Climate change is one of the most serious threats we face, not just to the environment, but to our economic prosperity, poverty eradication and global security, hitting developing countries the hardest. The Government is committed to combatting the effects of climate change, and supporting the world’s poorest to become more resilient to the effects of a changing climate and to take the clean energy path to growth and prosperity.
The Government has committed to substantially increase the amount of funding we are providing through the International Climate Fund (ICF) to help the most vulnerable countries protect themselves from the effects of climate change. The UK’s money for climate activities will be increased by at least 50%, to a further £5.8 billion of funding from April 2016 to March 2021, including £1.76bn in 2020, from within the existing ODA budget.
Whilst the details of how this new funding will be allocated are still being decided, our support so far has already reached many people and communities, and the UK government stands by our aim to spend 50% of the ICF on adaptation. The ICF to date has helped 15 million adapt, and given 2.6 million people improved access to clean energy. For example, through my Department’s support for the GET FiT programme in Uganda we are helping to create reliable sources of clean energy to support households, businesses and communities which in turn improves the communities’ health and education, and enables businesses to grow. Our investment in the ICF demonstrates Britain’s role in combating climate change and in creating a safer and more prosperous future for us all.