The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information the Government holds on stockpiles of cluster munitions in countries other than the UK.
Mr Philip Dunne
At least 108 nations are signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold information on whether non-signatories possess cluster munitions and their stockpiles.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average annual spend per pupil in secondary modern schools was in 2015-16 in (a) England and (b) each region.
Nick Gibb
Schools self-select their own admissions category on Edubase. 120 schools are identified as ‘secondary modern’.
The Department does not yet hold the income and expenditure data from 2015-16. The data will be available for those which are maintained by the local authority in December 2016, and for those which are academies in the summer of 2017.
The overall expenditure per pupil in secondary modern schools by each region for 2014-15 is listed in the following table:
|
Region |
Number of secondary modern schools |
Expenditure per pupil (£) |
|
East Midlands |
13 |
6,388 |
|
East of England |
1 |
5,738 |
|
London |
13 |
6,228 |
|
North West |
15 |
6,416 |
|
South East |
54 |
5,703 |
|
South West |
7 |
5,928 |
|
West Midlands |
11 |
5,547 |
|
Yorkshire and the Humber |
3 |
6,729 |
|
England Total |
117* |
5,921 |
*Note: There are 3 secondary modern schools for which we do not have comparable financial data for them for this period. One of these converted to an academy during 2014-15, and one was reported as part of a federation with another school. The remaining school did not submit data to the Department. The expenditure per pupil takes into account expenditure from all income sources, including self-generated income.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the property and mortgage industries and (b) local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values.
Rory Stewart
As it is not for the Government to intervene in the lending decisions of mortgage lenders or the type or degree of risks they are prepared to take, there have been no recent discussions between the Department and the property and mortgage industries.
There have been no discussions with local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values. However, Cornwall Council has produced information on Japanese knotweed to help mortgage lenders make loan decisions when a property may have a Japanese knotweed problem.
Nevertheless, the Department takes the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed seriously and for a number of years has provided funding for local action groups to reduce or eradicate Japanese knotweed, and for research into a suitable biocontrol agent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2015-12-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 9 March (HL5261), whether they have identified a threshold level of private-sector or financial corporation debt that might threaten financial stability”
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
As mentioned in the answer of 9 March, the Government does not set a specific target for private sector debt. However, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), established as a policy committee of the Bank of England, is empowered to identify, assess, monitor and take action in relation to risks across the UK financial system. This includes risks which arise from beyond the core banking sector (such as private sector debt). The FPC actively monitors developments in the aggregate level of credit extended to UK households and private non-financial corporations, and has the macroprudential policy tools required to address any risk it identifies.
For example, the countercyclical buffer is a macroprudential instrument which is designed to protect the banking sector from periods of excess aggregate credit growth that can contribute to system-wide risk. The countercyclical buffer rate in the UK is currently set at 0%, and is reviewed on a quarterly basis.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Questions 22594 and 22595, whether it is her Department’s policy that an applicant for international protection who enters the UK from France clandestinely but had not made an application for international protection in France should be returned to France in accordance with the Dublin Regulation.
James Brokenshire
In order for the Dublin Regulation to apply an application for international protection must be lodged in one of the participating States.
A person who has arrived in the UK clandestinely from France who then claims asylum in the UK can be returned to France under the terms of the Dublin Regulation even if they have not claimed asylum in France as long as the criteria in the Regulation demonstrate that France is the responsible state. For example, asylum seekers can be returned if they have close family members in France, a visa or residence permit has been issued to them by the French authorities or if they have been in France illegally for a period of 5 months or more.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the continued detention of Mohammed al-Qeeq, currently on hunger strike, without charge or trial.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
While we have not made any representations on this specific case, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this case and those of the other hunger strikers closely and have spoken to Amnesty International about them. Officials from our Consulate General in Jerusalem maintain a dialogue with the relevant Palestinian organisations about the condition of the hunger strikers. The EU in Jerusalem recently issued a local statement on administrative detentions, including the case of Mr Al Qeeq. We have been informed that Mr al-Qeeq is in a stable condition and has not been forced-fed as alleged.
We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice, and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-03-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 2 March (HL6363), whether they have the power to make regulations requiring origin marking of dairy products without the consent of the EU.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
We have consistently pushed within Europe for improved origin labelling on all food and these efforts have resulted in strong requirements for meat and meat products in the Food Information Regulations EU 1169/2011. We will continue to seek even stronger origin requirements for dairy products, to ensure that where the dairy ingredient of cheese, butter and cream is different from the place of manufacture this is clearly declared on the label.
Where there are harmonised measures, domestic legislation normally takes into account the principles of mutual recognition to prevent deliberate trade barriers between Member States.
The UK food industry recognises that country of origin information is important to British consumers and in 2011 industry developed and committed to a set of voluntary principles for clearer country of origin labelling. The proposed EU implementing act will strengthen the voluntary principles and improve the quality and consistency of origin information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2016 to Question 31313, on immigration controls: EU nationals, what monitoring is in place to prevent people refused entry from entering the UK.
James Brokenshire
The UK operates a secure border which involves carrying out 100% checks on arriving passengers from Continental Europe in order to identify people of concern seeking to enter the country. All passengers are checked against police, security and immigration watchlists and where we are aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can – and do – refuse them entry. Checks are also carried out against the vast majority of passengers before they arrive in the UK and, where we can, we stop them from travelling in the first place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2016 to Question 35126, on deportation, how many removals were cancelled after an assessment by a medical escorting officer in 2015.
James Brokenshire
The data requested is not available centrally and is not routinely collected. It could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-06-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether it is the policy of the Forestry Commission to sell the Cannon Hill plantation in Ferndown, Dorset for development.
Rory Stewart
We are committed to keeping the public forest estate in England, including Cannon Hill plantation, in trust for the nation and for it to continue to be sustainably managed by the Forestry Commission.