Tag: Tania Mathias

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support refugees from Iran; and what recent assessment she has made of the safety of Iranian refuges in Iraq.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Since 2011, the UK has provided £163 million of core funding to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to deliver protection and assistance to refugees globally. The UK works with the Government of Iraq, Kurdish Regional Government, the UN and the international community to support the rights of all minorities and to ensure our aid reaches those in greatest need.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how his Department monitors the use of UK-manufactured arms by those countries to which they are sold.

Anna Soubry

All export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account all relevant factors at the time of application. We draw on all available information, including checks using both open and classified sources, reports from non-government organisations and our overseas network, involving Desk and Post in the Foreign Office, when considering licence applications.

Foreign Office posts and departments in London monitor conditions in the respective countries – including human rights, regional tensions and the risk of exports being diverted to unintended end use – and advise on developments that might affect licensing policy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that UK aid spent in Africa supports small-scale organic farmers.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID’s Agricultural Policy Framework, published last year, sets out the approach and steps DFID will take to support agriculture. Depending on context and need, this is expected to include support to small scale organic, or smallholder, farmers in Africa. Our priorities include helping smallholder farmers to increase their productivity, and to better link them to markets to sell their produce so as to increase their incomes, improve their livelihoods and contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction.

For example we are providing support to the International Fund Agriculture Development’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme. This will help smallholder farmers in Africa cope with the impacts of climate change by providing extension services to farmers, improving irrigation and infrastructure, and helping farmers to increase their harvests through improved seeds and better soil and land management practices.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many long-haul business passengers terminated at Heathrow Airport in 2011; and what proportion of those passengers were (a) UK residents and (b) foreign visitors.

Mr John Hayes

In 2011, around 5 million long-haul business passengers terminated at Heathrow. Of these passengers, 53% were UK residents and 47% were foreign visitors.

This estimate includes arrivals and departures at Heathrow but excludes transfer passengers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students who have not achieved at least a C grade in English and mathematics GCSE will be required to resit those exams as many times as it takes them to achieve that grade.

Robert Halfon

Departmental funding rules require full time students with prior attainment of a D to work towards achieving a C grade or higher in GCSE English and maths. Students who achieve lower than a D grade at 16 may study other qualifications such as Functional Skills as a ‘stepping stone’ towards GCSE.

For those opting to retake their GCSE(s) or being required to do so due to having previously attained a grade D, there is no requirement for them to repeatedly re-sit the GCSE exam. Schools and colleges have the freedom to determine when a student is ready to re-sit their GCSE. This is because our 16-19 English and maths requirements relates to enrolments rather than exam entries. This provides a school or college the flexibility to determine when best for a student to be entered for and sit an exam. For some students that might be the following November, while other students may require

a year, or two years study and tuition before they are ready to re-sit the exam.

If students resit their GCSE part way through their programme and fail to gain a grade C then they are expected to continue studying for the GCSE.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has taken steps to recover costs to the NHS resulting from the actions of Hungarian journalist Ani Horvath as part of an investigation of fraud in the European Health Insurance Cards scheme.

Ben Gummer

The Department is undertaking a major piece of work to examine and identify areas for improvement in all the administrative systems relating to European Economic Area healthcare payments (incoming and outgoing), including the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme.

If an EHIC is used fraudulently, the Department will seek to recover the full cost of treatment from the card holder.

The Department takes any allegations of fraud and abuse seriously and has been working with the NHS on an on-going basis to detect and tackle any suspected fraud and error since the introduction of the online EHIC application system in 2006.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase border security at ferry ports.

James Brokenshire

This Government has taken a number of steps to bolster the security of the border across different modes of transport, including ferry travel.

Border Force carries out 100 percent checks of all passengers and drivers arriving at all ferry ports against police, security and immigration watchlists. It works closely with the police and other law enforcement organisations to deliver effective and intelligence-led responses to a range of security threats. Officers use hi-tech equipment and an array of search techniques to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods – including drugs, firearms and tobacco – that smugglers attempt to bring into the country. Border Force has started to roll out its Advanced Freight Targeting Capability to ferry traffic. This will equip Border Force’s intelligence to target suspicious freight consignments arriving into the UK via ferries in a more effective and efficient fashion.

In 2015, Border Force connected to the European watch list system, SIS II. As a result of this step, Border Force has been able to access data pertaining to thousands of European Arrest Warrants, thus allowing more fugitives to be detained and arrested when they arrive at ferry ports and points of arrival in the UK.

Exit Check data on those leaving the UK has been collected from passengers on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes from 8 April 2015 and this is already providing the police and security services with more information on the movements of known or suspected criminals, supporting the wider work already taking place across government and law enforcement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department is (a) carrying out and (b) encouraging into extending the use of materials that biodegrade more quickly.

Rory Stewart

In October 2014, Defra commissioned the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) project on biodegradable plastic carrier bags – solutions through innovation. The project is contracted to the plastic packing manufacturer Aquapak Polymers Ltd, and is due to report in December this year. The project is testing the biodegradability of a hydrophilic polymer under simulated composting and anaerobic digestion conditions, and in experiments simulating natural conditions, and testing the impact on aquatic life.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) models and (b) criteria his Department is using to make a cost and benefit analysis of the effect of the proposed Northwest runway at Heathrow Airport on economic growth and the environment.

Mr John Hayes

The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Government accepted the Commission’s shortlist in December 2015 and is considering all of the evidence very carefully before reaching a view on its preferred scheme. The Government is not providing a running commentary on this work and nor would it be appropriate to outline specific pieces of evidence before an announcement on its preference. Any work to inform an announcement will be set out in subsequent publications and associated consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional resources are being provided for post-16 students who are required to resit English and mathematics GCSEs.

Robert Halfon

Funding for the study of English and maths, including GCSE resits, is provided through the 16-19 national funding formula. The formula incorporates disadvantage funding for providers including a funding uplift of up to £960 per full time student per year to provide for the additional costs incurred for teaching students who have low prior attainment, as indicated by not achieving English and/or maths GCSEs at grade C or above by the end of year 11 (typically age 16). This additional funding is not intended to solely fund maths and English qualifications, but to fund support for students to achieve their learning goals, including maths and English.

For the past three years the Government has also invested in programmes to support improvements in the teaching of maths and English in Further Education (FE) settings. This year, funding will provide up to 13,000 training opportunities for FE practitioners to improve their subject knowledge and confidence in their teaching of maths or English, fund bursaries for 300 graduates to train to become maths or English teachers in FE settings and further build evidence on evidence of what constitutes effective delivery and teaching of English and maths for students aged 16 to 18 that have not yet achieved level 2 English and maths.