Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with devolved administrations on the operation of the Apprenticeship Levy.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Department for Education officials hold regular discussions with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to consider the implications of the apprenticeship levy on their own apprenticeship programmes and for cross-border employers.
We want to ensure that apprenticeship funding works for employers and learners, wherever they are in the UK.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive about shortages of GPs.
Answered by David Mowat
My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not had any discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive about shortages of general practitioners (GPs).
Health is a devolved subject; therefore GP recruitment in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the value was of his Department's naval maintenance contracts by shipyards in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales in the last 10 years.
Answered by Harriett Baldwin
The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what steps he is taking to ensure that Wales receives the maximum funding possible from the EU before the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Alun Cairns
The Government is taking a practical approach to EU funding. As my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor has made clear, structural and investment funds projects signed before the date of exit will be fully funded by the Treasury even where payments fall after we leave the EU; in keeping with the devolution settlement, it will be for the Welsh Government to decide the conditions used to assess projects within its devolved competence.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the funding levels are for Combined Cadet Forces in schools in 2016-17.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
There is no set budget for the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) and the cost of Ministry of Defence (MOD) sponsorship of the CCF is calculated retrospectively.
The latest assessment of the cost to the MOD of funding the CCF was for Financial Year (FY) 2013-14 when the total was £30.144 million. This figure covered the running costs and fixed costs of over 350 cadet units with a total of over 41,000 cadets. Running costs include equipment, rations, uniforms, transport, and remuneration for Adult Volunteers. Fixed costs include training infrastructure and overheads, regional structures, and central management administration and support.
The baseline cost of the CCF for FY 2016-17 will not be substantially different from the 2013-14 figure, although the Government has committed an additional £50 million from LIBOR fines to the joint MOD/Department for Education Cadet Expansion Programme to increase the number of cadet units in schools to 500 by 2020. Most of the new units will be CCF contingents.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will take steps to let current EU staff and students know they are welcome to stay beyond the UK exit from the EU.
Answered by David Jones
The Prime Minister has been clear that during negotiations she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not also protected.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will take steps to make international collaboration between UK and EU universities a key part of the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Government has been clear that we will make a success of Brexit, including for our world class universities. The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains a world leader in international research and innovation collaboration and that is why the Government has been consulting, and will continue to consult, with a broad range of stakeholders in this sector.
We are not going to provide a running commentary on every twist and turn of the negotiations, but we will work hard to get the best deal for Britain, its universities, and the wider research sector.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent changes have been implemented on internal UK flight security checks; and what plans he has to change those security checks in the future.
Answered by John Hayes
Flights departing from UK airports fall under the same EU and UK aviation security regulation, regardless of whether they are to a domestic or international destination.
We keep our aviation security measures under constant review.
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the capability of the current Royal Navy fleet to police British waters and protect UK interests abroad.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Royal Navy continues to meet all of their current operational commitments, including the contribution to the protection of British waters and UK interests abroad.
I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the former Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Mr Mark Francois) on 24 March 2015 to Question number 218389 to the hon. Member for Gelding (Vernon Coaker).
Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department's plans are for the unused housing at RAF Aldergrove.
Answered by Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton
Demolition of the unused housing at RAF Aldergrove is planned to commence in 2017.