Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on when Lady Justice Macur’s Review of Sir Ronald Waterhouse’s inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former Gwynedd and Clwyd Council areas of North Wales between 1974 and 1996 is likely to be published.

    Caroline Dinenage

    On 10 December Lady Justice Macur delivered her report to the Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Wales.

    It is being considered as a matter of urgency with a view to publication as soon as possible.

    The Secretary of State for Justice and the Secretary of State for Wales are very grateful to Lady Justice Macur for her work on this important matter over the last three years.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 19992, what the reason was for the time taken to answer that Question.

    Mr David Lidington

    I, along with my ministerial colleagues, always aim to provide timely and comprehensive responses to Written Parliamentary Questions. However, there are occasions where this is not possible. In the case of Question 19992, this Question did not fall within the remit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, leading to a delay in providing the response.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies on the design of new schools of the study entitled, The impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning, by Professor Barrett of Salford University, published in July 2015.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department continuously monitors literature published on the built environment as it relates to schools. Where relevant, the findings from this literature inform the development of the Department’s guidance on design and maintenance[1]. The Department uses this guidance to communicate with contractors, designers, schools and sixth form colleges about the standards in class room design.

    Professor Barrett has met with officials from the department to discuss the findings of his research. Professor Barrett’s recommendations regarding daylight, temperature and air-quality in schools reinforce those already made in the Education Funding Agency’s (EFA) Building Bulletins and the requirements in EFA’s Facilities Output Specification, used in procuring many new school buildings.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/school-building-design-and-maintenance

    “

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which projects in (a) Georgia, (b) Armenia and (c) Azerbaijan have received funds from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.

    Mr David Lidington

    There are 34 projects worth £3,188,896 in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, funded under the Caucasus Programme of the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) in Financial Year 2015-16. These projects are listed in the attached table, broken down by country.

    CSSF Programme work in the region has focused on maintaining stability by supporting conditions for on-going reconciliation mechanisms. Projects are focused on peace-building initiatives, demining, strengthening civil society, security sector reform, and strategic communications.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2015 to Question 16367, whether initiatives offering pre-16 training in digital skills to school children before they enter the workforce will be supported by the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    The levy will support apprenticeship training to help employers to deliver 3 million starts on high quality apprenticeships.

    All apprenticeships must be paid jobs with on- and off-the-job training lasting at least a year that develops transferable skills and leads to full competence in an occupation.

    Employers can only spend levy funds on apprenticeship training delivered by an approved provider and will not be able to use the levy to pay for other types of training or work experience.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to amend adoption rules to facilitate the adoption of children resettled under the Immigration Act 2016.

    Edward Timpson

    The Government has no plans to amend adoption legislation to facilitate the adoption of children resettled under the Immigration Act 2016. The United Nations and other humanitarian charities advise that no new adoption applications should be considered in the period after a disaster or from a war zone before the authorities in that State are in a position to apply the necessary safeguards. This is because it is not uncommon in an emergency or unsettled situation for children to be temporarily separated from their parents or other family members who may be looking for them. So whilst some lone refugee children may come to the UK for temporary care, we would wish to support them to be reunited with their parents or other relatives where this is possible.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.15 of the Budget 2016, on funding for mesothelioma research, who in his Department is responsible for the decision to award that funding to four institutions centred around Imperial College.

    Greg Hands

    The award of £5 million for Mesothelioma to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma Research was in response to an application for charitable funds in order to urgently address the anticipated imminent high mortality rate amongst Royal Navy Veterans and dockyard workers. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made a series of Banking Fines announcements since October 2012. Throughout all of these his intention has always been that the fines would be allocated to good causes including Military and Emergency Services charities and related good causes that represent the ‘best of values’. This award was committed by the Chancellor in accordance with his intent for the use of LIBOR fines articulated above.

    The National Mesothelioma Centre, to which the funds have been committed, will be a collaboration between four leading institutions which have a major interest in the treatment of mesothelioma: the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) at Imperial College, the Royal Brompton Hospital, the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), and the Royal Marsden Hospital. Scientists at NHLI and ICR have considerable expertise in the discovery of the genetic mutations which cause cancer, including mesothelioma, and in particular in the identification of ‘driver’ mutations which can be potential targets for new treatments. ICR has considerable experience of pulling through novel therapies into clinical practice. Their NHS partner hospitals – Royal Brompton and Royal Marsden Hospitals as national specialist centres have mesothelioma patients referred to them from across the UK. This collaboration will form the hub of the Centre whose spokes will engage all other hospitals in the UK to which mesotheliomas are referred and treated. This will thus form the basis of a network to enable rapid evaluation of potential new treatments. The funds therefore have been committed to establish a National Centre for Mesothelioma research, rather than to just 4 specific hospitals/research centres.

    Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor, the driving force behind the application, has, as per his original intention stated in his funding application, engaged across the Mesothelioma community, with a view to forming a steering group for the centre. Those he has contacted include: the British Lung Foundation, who have offered to fund raise with the centre for further resources for mesothelioma research; Ms Liz Darlison, of Mesothelioma UK; the June Hancock Mesothelioma Research Fund; and the Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum; Dr Robert Rintoul from Cambridge University; Prof Anne Willis and Marion Macfarlane and Dr John Le Quesne from Leicester University; and Prof Luciano Mutti from Manchester University. They have all expressed their support for the intention that these funds be used as a platform to foster collaborative research into an effective treatment for mesothelioma across the UK.

    The grant to the National Mesothelioma Centre is subject to standard grant terms and conditions including a reporting requirement to ensure that the funds are used as intended. It is not policy to publish all documentation relating to LIBOR awards, due to the large number of applications and associated correspondence.

  • Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Hindhead on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders, and (2) Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders, have been made in the last 12 months relating to persons under 18 years old.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    16 Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders (STPOs) have been made on sentencing in the Crown Court under section 14 of the Modern Slavery Act.

    Three Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders (STRO) have been made on application to the Magistrates’ Court, of which three have been made.

    No persons under 18 years old have been given an STPO or an STRO.

    This data has been run specifically to answer this question and is not verified to the same standard as Official Statistics.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage the teaching of emergency first aid skills in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    There is nothing more important than keeping children and staff safe. Schools can teach emergency first aid and life-saving skills through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, and the best ones already do. The non-statutory PSHE Programme of Study produced by the PSHE Association, teaches young people how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, and how to use emergency and basic first aid. We have put in place a new duty requiring schools to support all children’s medical needs and have set-up a scheme so they can buy defibrillators at a reduced price.

    The Department for Education also works closely with expert organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance who provide learning materials to schools, including life-saving training kits produced by the British Heart Foundation. These kits provide young people with first-hand experience of life-saving skills and we have promoted the use of these via the termly school email and social media channels. The Department is also providing £254,911 in funding for St John Ambulance via the Character Grant, which will select 31,500 pupils for first aid training.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Britain’s exit from the EU on access to pensions for older British citizens who are resident in other EU countries.

    Priti Patel

    The Prime Minister believes Britain’s best future lies within a reformed European Union. He is focused on addressing the concerns of the British people and is confident that the right agreement can be reached.