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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing business rates on retailers’ capacity to tackle low pay.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government recognises that business rates represent a fixed cost which can be more burdensome during times of economic difficulty. It is currently considering the impact of business rates on the retail sector as part of the ongoing business rates review. The review will complete by the end of the year.

    Further, the Chancellor recently set out major plans to devolve new powers from Whitehall to local areas to promote growth and prosperity. This includes giving councils the power to reduce business rates to support businesses in their area.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is planned that RAF pilots will rely upon information provided by personnel on the ground to identify and attack targets territory in Syria occupied by ISIS.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The information used to identify and strike targets is derived from a number of different sources and assessed rigorously for compliance with UK rules of engagement, UK law and international law. It is not our practice to comment in detail on how specific operational targets are derived, as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues on increasing the number of BME police officers.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Since 2013, officials in the Government Equalities Office have been working with the Home Office and police representatives on how best to use provisions within the Equality Act 2010 to help increase the number of BME police officers.

    The officer workforce is more representative in terms of gender and ethnicity than it has ever been. At 31 March 2015, there were 6,979 BME officers representing 5.5% of all police officers (compared with 4.6% in 2010, 3.6% in 2006 and only 2.2% in 2000).

    At 31 March 2015, there were 35,738 female officers, representing 28.2% of all police officers (compared with 25.7% in 2010, and only 16.5% in 2000).

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will announce a public consultation to determine the level of support for including mothers’ names on marriage certificates.

    James Brokenshire

    There is agreement that the names of both parents should be included in the marriage entry. The Home Office has, therefore, been working with all interested parties to consider the most efficient and effective way to achieve this. Doing so is likely to require additional funding and changes to legislation, IT systems and administrative processes. A timetable will be confirmed for changes as soon as there is an opportunity to legislate on this matter.

  • 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 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of teacher recruitment and retention in primary and secondary schools.

    Nick Gibb

    There are now more, better-qualified teachers in England’s classrooms than ever before. We are attracting top graduates and career-changers with generous incentives, including tax-free bursaries worth up to £30,000 and the opportunity to earn a salary whilst training.

    This year, over 1,000 more postgraduate trainee teachers were recruited than in 2014/15. We exceeded our target for new primary teachers and finished ahead of last year in key secondary subjects such as maths and physics.

    Teacher retention rates have remained broadly stable for two decades. 72% of those who qualified in the 2009 calendar year and entered teaching by November 2009 were still teaching five years later.

    It is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers. That is why we have made significant policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most, such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload. We have appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in dealing with disruptive children and to consider all of the challenges of managing behaviour in schools.

    We have established three groups to address the biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and data management. The groups will create principles for practice and make specific recommendations for action. All three groups are due to report to Ministers in 2016 and we are commissioning a biennial survey to track teacher workload, starting in the spring of 2016.

    We have also given schools the freedom to pay the best teachers more, recognising excellence and improving retention.

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the use of chemical weapons by Daesh in Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    There are credible reports that Daesh has used chemical weapons in Iraq. The Government of Iraq, with support from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), investigated allegations of chemical weapons use in Iraq last year and has concluded that sulphur mustard was used against Peshmerga fighters on 11 August 2015.

    Allegations that Daesh attacked the village of Taza on 8 March 2016, possibly with sulphur mustard, are being investigated by the Government of Iraq, along with two other recent allegations of Daesh use of chemical weapons. Such behaviour would be consistent with Daesh’s record of complete disregard for human rights and international norms and values. We welcome the OPCW Director General’s press statement of 23 March offering assistance to the Government of Iraq.

    We continue to monitor all allegations of chemical weapon use very closely, and condemn all such attacks by anyone, anywhere.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Further Education Act 1992 gives HEFCE current statutory responsibility for degree standards.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 enables the Privy Council to bestow degree awarding powers on institutions which provide higher education, and foundation degree awarding powers on institutions within the further education sector. The Privy Council bestows these powers upon the advice of the Secretary of State who, in turn, obtains information and advice from HEFCE and the Quality Assurance Agency. HEFCE’s role in this process is explained in government guidance. Guidance for foundation degrees is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foundation-degree-awarding-powers.

    Guidance for other degrees can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taught-and-research-degree-awarding-powers

    “

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in co-operation with the government of Lebanon and UN agencies to ensure that all refugee children in Lebanon receive the basic and remedial education that they need.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has committed up to £40m per year to support education in Lebanon up to 2019/20 as part of our £2.3bn response to the Syria crisis. We are a key proponent of the regional No Lost Generation Initiative, and endorsed an agreement at the London Supporting Syria and the Region conference in February that all refugee and affected host community children should be in education by the end of the 2016/17 school year.

    We are aligning our support behind the Government of Lebanon’s second Reaching All Children with Education Programme (RACE II), working with a range of partners to scale up quality formal and non-formal education. We have already helped expand the Lebanese education system to reach 200,000 Syrian children and are also supporting the expansion of high-quality, standardised non-formal education and training. This includes basic numeracy and literacy and catch-up learning programmes to reach the most vulnerable out of school Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian children and youth. We are also tackling barriers to school entry, protection issues and pyscho-social problems that prevent children accessing education. We also support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to ensure Palestinian refugees have access to education and training in Lebanon.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for the UK to leave the EU since 23 June 2016; and what further such steps his Department plans to take in the remainder of 2016.

    Sajid Javid

    The Department for Exiting the European Union has responsibility for overseeing preparations for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU and conducting these withdrawal negotiations in support of the Prime Minister. In doing this it is working very closely with other government departments, including DCLG, and a wide range of other interested parties.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to (a) reduce nuisance calls and (b) give advice to companies on how to contact the public appropriately on inheritance tax issues.

    Matt Hancock

    Companies who wish to make direct marking calls must abide by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations(PECR). The Government has already taken a number of steps to reduce the problem of nuisance calls with further measures to be implemented in the near future. In May 2016, the Government introduced a new requirement for all direct marketing callers to provide caller line identification. In September 2016 we introduced a measure in the Digital Economy Bill that in currently going through Parliament that will make it a requirement for the Information Commissioner to issue a statutory code of practice on direct marketing, which will support the ICO in taking action against those who breach PECR. More recently, we announced the Governments intention to hold company directors to account for breaches of the PECR. In addition, the Government is considering extending the Information Commissioner’s powers of compulsory audit to organisations that generate nuisance calls. This measure amongst other measures will provide better consumer protection, from unsolicited telephone calls.

    The Gov.UK website, provides information about inheritance tax and the support available from the Inheritance Tax and Probate helpline. HMRC works with advisers to direct them and the public to this.