Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which organisations, projects, ministries of the Palestinian Authority and public services have received funding from his Department in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the last three years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provided funding in 2013 to the Al Aqaba Village Council; Qalandia Local Council; the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Prime Minister’s Office; the PA Ministry of Justice through the Slynn Foundation; in 2014 to the Al-Yanoun Village Council; The Slynn Foundation (with Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law); and in 2015 to the Al Aqaba Village Council; The Palestinian Commission Against the Wall and Settlements and the Sinjel Municipality.

    We also provided funding to the PA Ministry of Justice from 2012-2014 for a sustainable transformation of the Ministry to become a high performing institution for rule of law within the OPTs and a beacon for other PA Ministries.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he received representations from the US military based at USAF Lakenheath before the recent use of USAF F-15s to kill an individual in Libya allegedly involved in the planning of terrorist acts; and whether he gave authorisation for such an act.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 29 February 2016 to Question 903769.

  • 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.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Doughty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many representations he has received from (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public on the activities of Concentrix on behalf of HM Revenue and Customs.

    Mr David Gauke

    There have been eight parliamentary questions on this topic: six in the current parliament (references 6489, 9146, 12045, 13712, 14126 and 14147) and two in the previous Parliament (references 228744 and 228762).

    Since March 2015, nineteen representations have been made to Treasury Ministers and two to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by, or on behalf of, members of the public concerning the activities of Concentrix on behalf of HMRC.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ thematic report on Behaviour management and restraint of children in custody, published in November 2015.

    Andrew Selous

    Restraint is only be used as a last resort, when young people are putting their own safety and the safety of others at risk.

    The recent report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons welcomed our new arrangements, which are designed to limit the use of physical restraint on young people in custody as far as possible.

    The report does raise some concerns over how the new system is operating and we will carefully consider its recommendations.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of business lost to the Northern Ireland economy from the maintained level of air passenger duty.

    Damian Hinds

    The government has devolved control over the direct long-haul rate of air passenger duty to the Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA). The NIA has set this rate at zero.

    In March 2015, the Northern Ireland Executive (NIE) published an economic impact assessment on air passenger duty. The report informed the NIE’s decision not to pursue devolution of the short haul rate.