Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in the Maldives.
Answered by Lord Swire
We are concerned with the increasing political tensions in the Maldives and the arrest on 22 February 2015 of former President Mohamed Nasheed on charges of terrorism. I issued a statement on 26 February urging calm across the Maldives and calling for all political parties to act with moderation and restraint. I also expressed concern at the continued detention of former President Nasheed, and that it is made clear the importance for international confidence in the Maldives that Mr Nasheed, like all other citizens, is seen to be enjoying due legal process and respect for his fundamental rights. I have also raised these concerns directly with the Maldives Foreign Minister.
The UK continues to coordinate with the US, Commonwealth, EU and others.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the combined effect of poor mobile phone signal and poor broadband provision on rural communities and businesses.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Government recognises the importance of a good broadband and mobile connectivity to rural communities and businesses. We are meeting the challenge by:
- Rolling out superfast broadband to over 40,000 premises a week and investing £10m to develop options for the most remote areas;
- Tackling mobile partial not-spots through an agreement with mobile network operators that is legally binding and guarantees £5bn commercial investment by 2017. Each operator will cover 90% of the UK’s landmass, halving partial not-spots and cutting complete not-spots by almost two-thirds;
- Investing £150 million to bring mobile services to remote areas of the UK with no mobile coverage.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent progress has been made on reducing violence against women.
Answered by Jo Swinson
The Coalition Government ring-fenced £40m as part of our strategy to end violence against women and girls. We have criminalised forced marriage, introduced new stalking offences and announced a new offence of coercive and controlling behaviour in relation to domestic abuse. The prevalence of sexual assault against women has fallen to a new low of 2.2%, the reporting of these hidden crimes has increased and prosecutions for domestic and sexual violence are rising.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce funding for music hubs in 2016-17.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Secretary of State confirmed £75 million of funding for music hubs for 2015-16 on 26 January 2015. The next spending review, covering the 2016-17 financial year, will take place after this year’s general election, and therefore no commitments can be made at this stage.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of savings related to PFI contracts in the NHS since 2010.
Answered by Jeremy Hunt
Since May 2010, £179 million of signed savings on National Health Service private finance initiative (PFI) contracts has been reported by the Department of Health to HM Treasury.
Our reforms have made it illegal for any government to drive the private sector into the NHS as Labour did, as Labour’s PFI deals are costing the NHS more than £1 billion a year.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to widen access to higher education.
Answered by Vince Cable
The most recent UCAS statistics show another record year for university entry for disadvantaged students. 18.2% of 18 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds obtained a university place via UCAS in 2014.
By 2018/19, Universities expect to spend £735m on bursaries, outreach and supporting retention and student success through their agreements with the Director of Fair Access.
Our reforms have been fair, progressive and given our universities sustainable funding for the future.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve the labelling of milk products so that it is easier to identify their country of origin.
Answered by George Eustice
The Secretary of State met with European Commissioners in November to press for better country of origin labelling of milk and milk products. We have been encouraging businesses to volunteer the origin of the liquid milk in dairy products through the UK industry Voluntary Principles on Country of Origin Labelling.
The Commission is due to publish a feasibility report in February on origin labelling of milk and milk products. We expect this be discussed at the 16 March Agriculture and Fisheries Council.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help dairy farmers to export more milk products.
Answered by George Eustice
Growing UK food exports is a key Defra priority. In 2013 Defra and UKTI launched the ‘UK Food and Drink International Action Plan’. Since the Plan’s launch, 2,500 companies have received UKTI support for exporting, contributing to £305 million of export business won.
The Secretary of State recently visited China, and was accompanied by a range of UK dairy businesses who met Chinese buyers, distributors and retailers. In 2014 the Government championed British food and drink in Dubai (Gulfood), New York (Fancy Foods), Paris (SIAL) and at the Liverpool International Business Festival. We also showcased British food and drink at the Commonwealth Games and Tour de France.
In 2013 we opened 112 markets for animals and animal products contributing to an increase in exports to non-EU markets of £179 million to £1.35 billion. In 2014 we opened over 100 markets including markets for dairy in Madagascar, Morocco and Serbia. We continue to work with industry to extend market access for UK produce.
UK dairy exports now stand at record levels. In nominal terms, the total value of dairy exports has increased by 62% since 2009, driven by price and volume changes. Last year our dairy exports reached £1.3 billion.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of cross-border water regulation in England and Wales as it relates to domestic and commercial properties in England supplied by Welsh Water; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Stephen Crabb
The cross-border boundary for water regulation in England and Wales is complex. The Silk Commission acknowledged this in its second report.
The Government is currently considering the recommendations made by the Commission as part of my commitment to reach a political consensus on the way forward on Welsh devolution. This includes the proposal to align the boundary for legislative competence for water with the national border. I will announce the outcome of this work by St David’s Day.
Asked by: Jesse Norman (Conservative - Hereford and South Herefordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has issued to local authorities and police forces on the use of community protection notices to tackle shops that persistently (a) sell prohibited goods to underage persons and (b) sell smuggled or counterfeit tobacco.
Answered by Baroness Featherstone
The Government published statutory guidance on 21 July 2014 for police, local councils, social landlords and others on the use of new anti-social behaviour powers in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, including the
community protection notice and closure power, which both came into force on 20 October 2014. This is general guidance and does not specifically refer to using the powers to tackle shops that persistently sell prohibited goods to
underage persons or sell smuggled or counterfeit tobacco. However, the closure power can be used to close these premises for up to six months if they are causing nuisance or disorder. The statutory guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332839/StatutoryGuidanceFrontline.pdf.