Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether spending on the upkeep of the defence estate counts towards the Government’s pledge to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence, as defined by NATO.

    Mark Lancaster

    In accordance with NATO guidelines on Defence expenditure, spending on the upkeep of the defence estate to support our Armed Forces does count towards the Government’s pledge to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of a possible relationship between the activities of Boko Haram and those of armed Fulani herders in Nigeria.

    James Duddridge

    We are concerned by reports of recurrent clashes involving pastoralists and local farmers over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water in Nigeria, in particular in the centre of the country. We continue to call on all parties to find a peaceful solution to the underlying causes of these incidents.

    Boko Haram is known to cooperate with criminal gangs and use illicit networks to facilitate the movement of weapons and persons in the region. However, we have no evidence that Boko Haram is involved in these violent clashes.

    Together with international partners, we will continue supporting Nigeria, and its neighbours to tackle threats to regional stability.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 November 2015 (HL2969), whether the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment, as verified by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in December 2014, posed a terrorist threat to British nationals in the United States and the international community.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The destructive cyber attack directed against Sony Pictures Entertainment in November 2015 was condemned at the time by the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond). The ability of both state and non-state actors to conduct sophisticated cyber attacks is something the UK takes seriously and we have committed to investing £1.9 billion in cyber security over the next 5 years. The Government does not hold information on British nationals involved in the Sony incident.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of men now aged between 58 and 62 inclusive who are aware that they will not receive their state pension when they reach their 65th birthday.

    Lord Freud

    No estimate is held on the number of men that are currently aware of the increases to State Pension age. However, all men affected by the State Pension age increase in the Pensions Act 2011 were written to between January 2012 and November 2013 using the addresses held by HMRC at the time.

    The Department does not hold a specific estimate on the number of women that are aware of their state pension age. We wrote to all women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 in the age range specified between January 2012 and November 2013 using the addresses held by HMRC at the time.

    In 2004, a DWP survey found that 73 per cent of people aged 45 to 54 (so aged 57 to 66 in 2016) were aware of the future increase in Women’s State Pension age. In 2006, 86 per cent of women aged 55-64 (so aged 65 to 74 in 2016) and 90 per cent aged 45-54 (so aged 55 to 64 in 2016) were aware that the State Pension age will increase in future. In 2012, a similar survey found that only 6% of respondents thought their State Pension Age was 60.

  • The Lord Bishop of Ely – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The Lord Bishop of Ely – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Ely on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that schools, further education colleges and universities are able to provide specialist careers advice and support for disabled young people.

    Lord Nash

    Good careers education and guidance should give all young people, including those with disabilities, access to the information they need to make informed decisions. That is why we are investing £90 million over this Parliament to improve careers provision for young people.

    Careers advice for pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND) should be based on high aspirations and a personalised approach. Schools and colleges have a legal duty to secure independent careers guidance. This duty applies to all young people up to and including the age of 18 in schools and colleges, and 19- to 25-year-olds in colleges with an Education Health and Care Plan. The 0-25 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Code of Practice makes it clear that all children and young people with SEND should be prepared for adulthood, and that this preparation should start early.

    Local authorities retain their legal responsibility, under section 68 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, to make available support that it considers appropriate to encourage, enable and assist the participation of young people in education or training. For individuals with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, this applies up to the age of 25. Schools and colleges should make use of the local offer published by the local authority that must set out details of SEND provisions in their area – including the full range of post-16 education and training options, and support in preparing for adulthood.

    In his latest guidance, the Director of Fair Access encourages higher education institutions, through their access agreements, to consider what more they can do to support students with disabilities. This includes considering students’ differing needs to access higher education, succeed in their studies and progress towards appropriate postgraduate study and employment. Higher education institutions are also subject to requirements in the Equality Act 2010. They have clear duties and responsibilities to ensure that disabled students do not face discrimination or less favourable treatment when applying to, and studying in, higher education.

    The National Careers Service provides free, up-to-date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers, skills and the labour market in England for everyone, including those with disabilities.

    We publish destination measures that show the percentage of young people continuing their education in schools, further education colleges, sixth form colleges or higher education institutions. These measures also include apprenticeships and show the percentage who went into employment or training, and those who were not in education, employment or training. The data is also broken down by student characteristics, including the destinations of children with special educational needs leaving key stage 4. This will provide more transparent information on how each school is helping children with disabilities to make the transition into post-16 education, training or employment.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lisa Nandy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department’s spending on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising was in (i) 2014-15 prices and (ii) as a share of her Department’s total budget in each year since 2010-11.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s expenditure in each successive year 2010-11 to 2014-15 and for the categories identified (a) temporary staff; (b) consultants; (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising and as a percentage of each year’s total budget for the core Department is given in the table attached. We have interpreted (c) “non-payroll staff” to mean “temporary staff and “consultants”.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Emma Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the number of UK businesses is that (a) import services from, (b) export services to or (c) engage in services trade with (i) other EU countries and (ii) non-EU countries.

    Anna Soubry

    Data on the number of businesses in Great Britain engaging in international trade in services can be found on the ONS website in the ‘Exporters and Importers in Great Britain, 2014’ release, published on 12 November 2015. This data cannot be broken down by EU/Non-EU.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nations have Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth; how many Maritime Patrol Aircraft are based at RAF Lossiemouth; and which nations have had Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth at any point in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There are no Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) permanently based at RAF Lossiemouth. However, following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review the Government announced that the United Kingdom would purchase a fleet of nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft which will be based at RAF Lossiemouth.

    Over the course of 2015 MPA from the United States, Canada, France and Germany were temporarily deployed to RAF Lossiemouth. We do not discuss the detail of such maritime operations as this would, or would likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which charities have used government grants to pay for campaigns in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 to date; what the nature of each such campaign was; what estimate he has made of the amount of government funding used for each such campaign; and which such charities have been asked to repay part of their grant on the grounds that such expenditure was outwith the terms and conditions of that grant.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of passengers departing overseas from each British (1) airport, (2) port, or (3) railway station, are currently having their passports checked by Border Force officers, and when they expect to reach 100 per cent checking for each departure point.

    Lord Bates

    Exit checks have been in place since April 2015 across all scheduled commercial services departing the UK from air and sea ports and from international rail stations, except those services not within scope such as, for example, journeys within the Common Travel Area. Departure data is collected by carriers and port operators and transmitted to Home Office systems, where work takes place to match it to arrival data, visa conditions and other information as appropriate.

    Exit checks are not conducted by Border Force officers; however Border Force officers do from time to time carry out intelligence led operations and interventions which are not part of the exit checks procedures.