Leo Docherty

By longstanding constitutional convention, the content of advice given by the Attorney General or by any Law Officers, or the fact that such advice has been given, is not disclosed outside of Government.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

DCMS is a sponsor of VisitBritain and VisitEngland - who provide support for all types of hospitality and tourism stakeholders.

VisitBritain and VisitEngland make available a comprehensive library of guidance for tourism businesses - ranging from step by step marketing guides to advice on how to implement tourism related regulation.

In addition, VisitEngland supports tourism businesses through the £40 million Discover England Fund. There are no airshows included in the current projects.

Aviation heritage plays a valuable role in our tourism economy. Events such as the Farnborough Airshow attract hundreds of thousands of tourists, and support the local economy, as well as being good for our aerospace and defence industry. My Department sponsors the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, which is visited by almost 400,000 visitors every year, and houses everything from Spitfires to Concorde.

The Heritage Lottery Fund is also open to applications which celebrate our rich aviation history. Recent recipients include Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, an historic site for aviation manufacturing and a successful tourist attraction given £4.7million, and the Stow Maries First World War Aerodrome in Essex, recently granted £4.3million to turn it into a major visitor attraction.

The Government wants as many pupils as possible to benefit from the life-changing activities offered by becoming a Cadet. The Cadet Expansion Programme was launched in June 2012 with the aim to deliver 100 new Combined Cadet Force units in state-funded schools by September 2015. This initial target was delivered six months early, in March 2015. The Government has committed to extend the number of cadet units in UK schools to 500 by March 2020 and the Department is on track to meet this target, with 453 school cadet units established so far.

The Department works closely with the Department of Health and Social Care on the mental health of children.

There is a range of more general evidence on the benefits of participation in sport and physical activity. The Chief Medical Officer’s annual report in 2012 highlighted that regular participation in physical activity offers children health and social benefits, impacting on physiological health as well as social wellbeing.

‘How healthy behaviour supports children’s wellbeing’, a report published by Public Health England (PHE) in 2013 summarised evidence in this area: https://www.gov.uk/
government/publications/how-healthy-behaviour-supports-childrens-wellbeing.

PHE also published guidance in 2015, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/
publications/what-works-in-schools-to-increase-physical-activity-briefing.

PE remains compulsory at all four key stages in the national curriculum. Through the primary PE and sport premium, the Government has provided over £600 million to primary schools to be spent on the improvement of PE and sport. The Government doubled funding for the premium to £320 million a year from September 2017.

There are no plans to formally review funding for Sixth Form Colleges but the government does recognise there are funding pressures within the 16 to 19 year olds education system. The government will continue to keep the question of 16 to 19 year olds funding under consideration as it does with all areas of expenditure.

We will conduct a major review of funding across tertiary education. In the Industrial Strategy, it was stated that this review will consider a range of specific issues within post-18 education.

The government will set out further details of the review shortly.

Through the primary PE and sport premium, the government has invested over £600m of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport since 2013. The government has doubled the premium from September 2017 using revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy.

£100m from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy will be used for the Healthy Pupils Capital Fund. The funding is for one year only (2018-19). It is intended to facilitate an improvement in children’s physical and mental health by increasing and improving access to and use of relevant facilities, such as kitchens, dining facilities, changing rooms and sports facilities.

The new PE curriculum is designed to ensure that all pupils develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities, are physically active for sustained periods of time and lead healthy and active lives.

The department also funds targeted grants to support the delivery of the School Games and helps schools to ensure PE and sport is inclusive.

The Government has already made great strides in empowering teachers to tackle bad behaviour, making clear teachers can use reasonable force to maintain behaviour, extending their searching powers and allowing teachers to impose same-day detentions.

Recognising poor behaviour is still a problem in some schools. The Government commissioned behaviour expert Tom Bennett to conduct two independent reviews on behaviour. The first, focused on initial teacher training (published July 2016). The second, focused on behaviour management in schools, with a particular focus on leadership, culture and systems used to tackle disruptive pupil’s behaviour (published March 2017). This review highlighted strategies school leaders can employ to design, build, and maintain a school culture that prevent classroom disruption, maintain good discipline and promotes pupils’ education, focus and wellbeing.

The UK is providing £205 million of UK aid to Yemen in the financial year 2017/18; and also pressing other countries to take steps to increase the flow of aid to Northern Yemen. In Saudi Arabia in December last year, the Secretary of State underscored requests made by the Prime Minister the previous month for unhindered access for imports of commercial and humanitarian food, fuel and medical supplies throughout the country. The Saudi-led Coalition recently extended their window for food and fuel imports into the important ports of Hodeidah and Saleef for another 30 days (until 22 February) and we continue to monitor the situation closely.

In the North of Yemen we are working with UN and NGO delivery partners who are operating under very difficult circumstances to reach the most vulnerable Yemenis. The UK is the 2nd largest donor to the UN Humanitarian Appeal for Yemen, which for 2018/19 is the biggest in the world, with an estimated cost of £2.96 billion intended to reach 22.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. This includes 11.3 million in acute need.

The RMT’s current mandate for strike action on South Western Railway expires in April. During the recent RMT strikes over Christmas and New Year, South Western Railway operated around 70% of their services, keeping passengers on the move. In December the Secretary of State met with Mick Cash to renew his offer of guarantees of employment to people who currently fulfil the role of the second person on the train beyond the length of the franchises. The Secretary of State and I continue to encourage a dialogue between the parties to resolve the RMT union’s dispute and avoid further unnecessary strikes for passengers.

There is currently a major £130 million investment in the modernisation of radiotherapy equipment in England. Combined with new approaches to surgery, it is hoped that around 6,000 brain tumour patients a year will benefit from effective but less invasive treatments.

Improving early diagnosis of all cancer is a priority for this Government however we recognise that diagnosis of brain tumours can present certain challenges in general practice. As such, we support the work of HeadSmart in increasing awareness of symptoms that might be brain cancer. As well as making the National Health Service in England aware of the benefits of HeadSmart we have highlighted its benefits with Directors of Public Health, health visitors and school nurses, to encourage their use by professionals in signposting to specialist advice if needed. Further information is available at:

https://www.headsmart.org.uk/

NHS England has confirmed £200 million of transformation funding over the next two years, to encourage local areas to find new and innovative ways to diagnose cancer earlier. NHS England’s Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate (ACE) programme is testing innovative ways of diagnosing cancer earlier, with ACE Wave 2 piloting multi-disciplinary diagnostic centres for patients with vague or non-specific symptoms, such as brain cancers.

Finally, the government has committed its support to the newly established Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce. The Taskforce is a radical new taskforce representing cancers with stubbornly poor survival rates, specifically lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers. Although cancer survival rates are at an all-time high, these cancers all have a five-year survival rate of less than 20%. The Taskforce calls for the changes required in research, diagnosis, treatment and care to level up the less survivable cancers with those where great progress has been made.

There is currently a major £130 million investment in the modernisation of radiotherapy equipment in England. Combined with new approaches to surgery, it is hoped that around 6,000 brain tumour patients a year will benefit from effective but less invasive treatments.

Improving early diagnosis of all cancer is a priority for this Government however we recognise that diagnosis of brain tumours can present certain challenges in general practice. As such, we support the work of HeadSmart in increasing awareness of symptoms that might be brain cancer. As well as making the National Health Service in England aware of the benefits of HeadSmart we have highlighted its benefits with Directors of Public Health, health visitors and school nurses, to encourage their use by professionals in signposting to specialist advice if needed. Further information is available at:

https://www.headsmart.org.uk/

NHS England has confirmed £200 million of transformation funding over the next two years, to encourage local areas to find new and innovative ways to diagnose cancer earlier. NHS England’s Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate (ACE) programme is testing innovative ways of diagnosing cancer earlier, with ACE Wave 2 piloting multi-disciplinary diagnostic centres for patients with vague or non-specific symptoms, such as brain cancers.

Finally, the government has committed its support to the newly established Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce. The Taskforce is a radical new taskforce representing cancers with stubbornly poor survival rates, specifically lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers. Although cancer survival rates are at an all-time high, these cancers all have a five-year survival rate of less than 20%. The Taskforce calls for the changes required in research, diagnosis, treatment and care to level up the less survivable cancers with those where great progress has been made.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office continues to press Turkey and Saudi Arabia to carry out thorough investigations until responsibilities are clearly established and there is proper accountability and due process for any crimes committed. The Foreign Secretary spoke to the Saudi Foreign Minister on 20 October and I, and, our Ambassador to Riyadh, have subsequently reiterated this to the Foreign Minister.

On 24 October, the Prime Minister spoke to King Salman to reiterate the UK’s grave concerns about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and strongly urged Saudi Arabia to cooperate with the Turkish investigation and to be transparent about the results.

On 7 June, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a unilateral, temporary Eid ceasefire. We welcome and support this initiative to try and reduce violence. We hope that the Taleban will join the ceasefire.

This follows President Ghani's offer to the Taleban of peace talks without preconditions. He made this bold offer in February at the meeting of the Kabul Process for Peace and Security Cooperation. He invited the Taleban to contribute to creating a political process to resolve the conflict. Regional states and the international community endorsed this offer.

We believe it is now for the Taleban to respond. They have talked publicly about desiring peace for Afghanistan. If they wish to play a political role in the country's future, and if they share the goals of stability and security for its population, they must enter a political process.

The British Government believes that a political solution is the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. This long term effort will require careful diplomacy, difficult decisions and compromises on all sides. We should not expect a quick breakthrough. We will continue to support the Afghan people as they seek the peace they so deserve.

​The supply of ballistic missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen is in direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 2216. This threatens regional security and prolongs the devastating conflict. The British Government is providing £1.3 million in funding for the UN Inspection and Verification Mechanism (UNVIM) to counter weapons flows into Yemen. We also aim to increase UNVIM capacity through the deployment of additional inspectors to UNVIM's Djibouti Headquarters and to ports around the region. This could increase UNVIM's inspection capacity fivefold.

The UK is committed to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) by all parties. We assess that the deal is working and is the only diplomatic way to neutralise the nuclear threat from Iran. Under the deal Iran has given up two-thirds of its centrifuges and 95% of its uranium stockpile. The deal also provides for unprecedented access and monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA continues to report Iran's compliance with its nuclear commitments under the deal.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office published its response to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee investigation on "Libya: Examination of Intervention and Collapse and the UK's Future Policy Options" on 11 November 2016. Helping to bring stability to Libya is a vital part of UK efforts to tackle the threat from terrorism and the challenge of irregular migration. That is why the UK is at the forefront of efforts to support the UN Special Representative, Ghassan Salamé in reaching out to all sides in Libya to revitalise the political process and work to amend the Libyan Political Agreement so that it delivers for all Libyans. A secure and stable Libya, better able to deal with the threat from terrorism and the challenge of migration, is firmly in the UK interest.

We are absolutely committed to tackling county lines. The action we are taking is set out in the Serious Violence Strategy published on 9 April.
We are delivering a cross-Government and agency programme of work to tackle county lines through the County Lines Action Plan (which is published as an Annex to the Serious Violence Strategy). Last December we introduced the Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Orders to enable police to shut down phone lines used to facilitate drug deals, and we have announced funding of £3.6million to establish a new National County Lines Co-Ordination Centre. Raising awareness of county lines and the appropriate safeguarding response is also very important. In July last year we published guidance on county lines for frontline practitioners to help them identify and respond to county lines exploitation and we are currently delivering a nationwide awareness-raising communications campaign.

On 9 April 2018, the Government published the Serious Violence Strategy that set out action being taken to address serious violence and in particular the recent increases in knife crime, gun crime and homicide. This also includes the national knife crime media campaign, #knifefree, to raise awareness of the consequences of knife crime among young people and to encourage them to take up positive activities.

We will continue to encourage police forces in England and Wales to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. In February this year, Hampshire Police participated in Operation Sceptre, which includes targeted stop and searches, weapon sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers, the use of surrender bins and educational activities. We also announced up to £1million for a new round of the anti-knife crime Community Fund which will invite bids for funding later this Spring from community groups to tackle knife crime in their area.

There is no reason to require UK passports to be manufactured in the United Kingdom. Up to 20 per cent of blank passport books are currently produced in Europe with no security or operational concerns.

All passports are personalised with the holder’s details in the United Kingdom, meaning that no personal data leaves the UK. This will continue under the next passport contract.

We are committed to giving the police the necessary tools to do their job and TASER^®, a form of conducted energy device (CED), provides officers with an important less-lethal, tactical option when facing potentially physically violent situations.

While its use must be in line with the Home Secretary’s authorisation of the device, the deployment of TASER^® is an operational matter for Chief Officers. It is for them to determine the number of devices and specially trained officers based on their force assessment of threat and risk.

We have established an Anti-social Behaviour Advisory Group which provides a forum to discuss the use of anti-social behaviour powers with a range of police officers, local authorities, charities and government departments. We also published refreshed statutory guidance for frontline professionals on the use of these powers on 24 December 2017.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is committed to making it easier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to do business with defence, as we recognise that they are a rich source of innovation. We are working to improve our engagement with SMEs throughout our supply chain; for example, encouraging early visibility of forthcoming requirements, and expressing our requirements as outputs rather than detailed solutions to facilitate innovation.

The MOD is also encouraging SME involvement in the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and the £800 million Defence Innovation Fund. DASA helps government defence and security departments collaborate with the private sector and academia to rapidly develop innovative solutions to our most pressing national security and defence challenges. Since its establishment, DASA has committed £53 million to suppliers, with around half of the contracts awarded to SMEs.

To help develop innovative technologies, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has also just launched 'SME Searchlight', an initiative to actively find and engage SMEs for defence research.

Gurkhas continue to make an outstanding contribution to the UK through their service in the British Army and are rightly held in high esteem. Gurkhas are recruited on an annual basis, based on the requirements set by the Brigade of Gurkhas, and we plan to continue annual recruiting on an enduring basis.

The Government is committed to ensuring that Gurkha veterans continue to receive a fair pension which provides for a good standard of living in Nepal. Gurkha pensions are currently increased in two ways. The first is through an annual increase based on the rate of inflation set by the Nepali Central Bank each year. The second is following a review of the outcome of the 10 yearly Indian Central Pay Commission to determine whether changes made to Indian pension rates, which Gurkha pension rates are currently based on, require increases to be made to British Gurkha Pension rates. The latest review is nearly complete and we expect to announce the outcome in due course.

In respect of Northern Ireland, the Government believes that the institutions proposed in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement are the best way to ensure a fair, balanced and proportionate approach to addressing the legacy of the past. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is currently consulting on how the Stormont House Agreement could be implemented. In recognition of the fact that others - such as the House of Commons Defence Committee - support different ways forward such as the creation of a statute of limitations, the NIO consultation includes an open question to allow those views to be expressed. The Government will consider all responses to the consultation before deciding on next steps.

In respect of Iraq, the Iraq Historical Allegations Team was closed in June 2017 and its remaining caseload passed to the service police, who expect their investigations to be substantially complete around the end of 2018.

On Afghanistan, Operation Northmoor has completed over 95% of its caseload. Investigations are expected to be concluded by the end of 2018.

The Ministry of Defence is not aware of any historic criminal investigations in respect of events in the Falklands or other combat theatres.

No decisions have been taken on sending additional UK troops to Afghanistan. The UK makes an important contribution to the non-combat NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, and as a result, our contribution is kept under regular review to ensure it remains suited to the needs of the mission.

Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANGS) is provided and managed to mitigate harmful effects of new housing developments on European sites protected under the Habitats Regulations 2010. SANGS provides recreational space for local residents, diverting them away from protected sites.

Where there is limited green space available, Natural England positively encourage the use of existing leisure facilities if they are seen as meeting the requirements to provide Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace.