Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Home Office:
What steps is he taking to divert young people away from violent crime.
Answered by Sajid Javid
Diverting young people away from crime is at the heart of the Serious Violence Strategy.
I have just awarded £17.7m to support 29 projects working with young people through the Early Intervention Youth Fund,and I am setting up a new £200m Youth Endowment Fund to provide long term support to stop children getting involved in crime and violence.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for International Trade:
What his priorities are for the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting on 14 September 2018.
Answered by Liam Fox
At the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting I will voice our continued support for the multilateral trading system and call on all G20 countries to be WTO compliant. I will make the case against protectionism, emphasise that disputes should not be resolved through unilateral action, but through the multilateral route. I will also be discussing the New Industrial Revolution and will champion the importance of digital trade.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
What steps he is taking to invest in infrastructure in the Chelmsford area.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Infrastructure investment is at the heart of our strategy to drive productivity growth across the country:
Through the £1.4 billion that will be invested as part of the Greater Anglia Franchise, a new fleet of over 1000 vehicles will be delivered by September 2020.
The South-East LEP has secured £590 million from the Local Growth Fund for schemes to boost growth and help deliver new housing.
£100-250 million will be invested to widen the A12 to provide extra capacity between Chelmsford and Colchester.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Education:
What assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental health support available to students attending university.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The University Mental Health Charter announced in June 2018 will drive up standards in promoting student and staff mental health and wellbeing. The Charter, which will reward institutions that deliver improved student mental health outcomes, will develop in an iterative process, shaped by co-production with students, staff and partner organisations.
71 per cent of universities do not have an explicit strategy for mental health provision although 94 per cent of higher education institutions (HEIs) report an increase in demand for counselling services over the past five years. In some HEIs, up to one in four students are using, or are waiting to use, counselling services.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what weighting will be given to national security objective 3 on UK prosperity in the procurement of the replacement long-range air defence deployable radar.
Answered by Guto Bebb
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 May 2018 to Question 143866 to the hon. Member for Portsmouth South (Mr Morgan).
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has plans to (a) bring forward legislative proposals to make compulsory and (b) promote the use of reflective or fluorescent clothing for motorbike riders.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government already advises motorcyclists to wear high visibility clothing - Rules 86 and 87 of the Highway Code includes the advice to “wear a light or brightly coloured helmet and fluorescent clothing or strips, in daylight” and “wear reflective clothing or strips to improve your visibility in the dark”.
The Government has no plans to bring forward proposals to make compulsory the use of reflective or fluorescent clothing for motorcyclists.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what contribution the UK has made to the European Union's Global Satellite Navigation System to date.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not the individual programmes.
Details of the UK’s contribution to the EU budget can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/european-union-finances-2017
Details of the EU’s spending on programmes can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/figures/interactive/index_en.cfm
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what contribution the UK has made to the Copernicus Programme to date.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not the individual programmes.
Details of the UK’s contribution to the EU budget can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/european-union-finances-2017
Details of the EU’s spending on programmes can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/figures/interactive/index_en.cfm
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
What steps his Department is taking to support the development of artificial intelligence.
Answered by Margot James
Artificial Intelligence is already starting to transform the way we live and work. We are ensuring that the UK is an excellent place for AI development, with more PhD places, a Fellowship programme and an Industry Council to provide leadership.
Our Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation will ensure we have a governance regime that supports great innovation while at the same time ensuring AI is safe, trusted and works for people.
Asked by: Vicky Ford (Conservative - Chelmsford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
What recent discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the arrests of human rights defenders in that country.
Answered by Alan Duncan
The Foreign Secretary most recently raised this issue with Foreign Minister Cavuşoğlu on 1 February. Both he and I regularly discuss human rights concerns with our Turkish counterparts. We urge Turkey to respect its international human rights obligations and to uphold the rule of law.