Tag: Paul Flynn

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make ithis policy to assess the potential merits of the pledge by the Austrian government set out in the report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, A Pledge to Fill the Legal Gap, published in February 2015 for the work of the UN Open Ended Working Group on multilateral disarmament negotiations.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK is committed to creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons in accordance with the goals of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, in a way that promotes international stability, and is based on the principle of undiminished security for all. The Austrian pledge to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons runs counter to the step-by-step disarmament process; and it does not take into account the current global security and stability challenges. The UN Disarmament machinery and the Non-Proliferation Treaty provide the right framework for working towards a world without nuclear weapons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Prime Minister, if he will issue guidance on whether junior government ministers who are in favour of UK membership of the EU are to be allowed full access to documents in situations where the departmental Secretary of State is in favour of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Cameron

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to him on 7 March 2016, UIN 29278, and to the evidence given by the Cabinet Secretary to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 1 March 2016, a transcript of which can be found on the Committee’s website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to require all companies registered in British Overseas Territories to publish detailed annual accounts.

James Duddridge

The Overseas Territories are separate jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments under which they are responsible for company law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what involvement (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department had in the Security and Counter Terror Conference at Olympia on 19 and 20 April 2016.

Anna Soubry

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Ministers had no involvement in the Security and Counter Terror Conference at Olympia. Although officials had no formal involvement in the organisation of the conference, the Export Control Organisation had a stand to gather feedback from exporters about the development of a new digital export licensing system. In addition a number of officials from UKTI Defence & Security Organisation attended as delegates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will set out the reasons for the requirement for year five children in schools in England to learn the meaning of fronted adverbials.

Nick Gibb

Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar are the cornerstones of effective written communication.

The new national curriculum, introduced in 2014, sets higher expectations supporting pupils to realise their potential in an increasingly competitive global market.

The new programmes of study for English aim to ensure that all pupils acquire a wide vocabulary, a good understanding of grammar, and proper knowledge of linguistic conventions for reading, writing and written language. Explicit teaching of grammar is fundamental to this.

For children from homes where parents read and share books with the family, it may be possible over time to assimilate grammatical forms such as modal verbs and fronted adverbials. For a great number of children, however, the easiest way for a teacher to explain to their pupils the rules that govern our language is to establish a shared vocabulary of grammatical terms.

We have increased the range of grammar and punctuation that should be taught and the terminology that pupils should learn – the meta-language. The aim and the emphasis, however, is not on naming grammatical terms but on being able to use the grammar to be able to speak and write for a full range of purposes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that GMB is able to negotiate on behalf of 200 workers at the Lidl warehouse in Bridgend.

Alun Cairns

The Government has put in place a robust legal framework to ensure workers can be represented by unions if that is their clear, democratic choice. The Government cannot get involved in individual cases such as this one. However, the law states that for a trade union to have the right to negotiate collectively and for its workplace representatives to be eligible for time off to carry out union duties, the union must be recognised by the employer.

Statutory recognition (achieved through the Central Arbitration Committee – CAC) requires that a majority of the workforce support union recognition for collective bargaining with the employer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of people who have undertaken (a) training and (b) refresher training approved by her Department on humane shooting of badgers in each of the last three years.

George Eustice

1. Natural England does not hold figures for the number of operators who have been trained to undertake licensed action but does know how many are trained and are licensed. Industry organisations are responsible for running the training courses and Natural England only holds the number of trained operators who were put forward by the control companies, and subsequently become authorised to undertake licensed action. For 2016, over the 10 licensed areas, 1446 operators are authorised to carry out badger culling (latest figures: 17/10/16).

2. Natural England does not hold figures for the number of operators who attended refresher training. All operators who have been licensed in a previous year to undertake controlled shooting of badgers and who wish to be licensed again for the current year must attend refresher training. Industry organisations are responsible for undertaking refresher training. Natural England holds confirmation that each of these operators has attended refresher training.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government applied to the European Commission globalisation adjustment fund to secure support funding for the British steel industry plants recently closed or under threat of closure.

Priti Patel

The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market.

Member States are responsible in the first instance for tackling trade adjustment redundancies – the fund is therefore designed to add to national, regional and local assistance.

The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.

In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar and up to £9 million for TATA Steel in Scunthorpe.

Only if more support is necessary other suitable sources of support will be considered.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of potential savings to the NHS arising from an expansion of the availability of Take-Home Naloxone.

Jane Ellison

No estimate has been made of the potential savings to the National Health Service arising from expanding the availability of take-home naloxone.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ ‘Consideration of naloxone’ (2012) reported that there is a lack of published research on the cost-effectiveness of naloxone provision and said that naloxone provision in local areas would be a local decision including an assessment of its cost-effectiveness.

To help local areas introduce effective and efficient take-home services, Public Health England published advice on promoting wider availability of naloxone to reduce overdose deaths in February 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a ban on snares.

Rory Stewart

Policy on wildlife management issues including snares is a devolved matter so I can only speak for England.

In 2012 Defra published research on the extent of use and humaneness of snares in England and Wales. This research included an analysis of the issues covered by the code. Ministers are currently considering options.

Defra and its agencies do not use snares on their property.