Neil Carmichael

In 2014-15, Central Government spent over £12 billion (27.1%) with small and medium sized businesses, which shows a continued year on year increase in SMEs winning public procurements.

The Government is determined to deliver its new target of one third of spend with SMEs by the end of this Parliament. The Crown Commercial Service is working with departments to develop and implement individual plans to deliver in 2020.

Ensuring there is competitive broadband market is a matter for Ofcom, although the Government has a keen interest in an efficient and effective market, capable of delivering users the level of service they require. Ofcom regularly monitors and regulates competition in electronic communications markets through market reviews. In June 2014 Ofcom published a Statement on its Fixed Access Market Reviews 2014 and announced a number of changes designed to promote competition in the markets. The Regulator also announced in March this year a Strategic Review of Digital Communications in the UK, in order to assess future issues around infrastructure and competition.

Thirty university technical colleges (UTCs) have opened since 2010. A further 31 are in the pipeline.

In 2013 the Department for Education consulted on a range of proposals to improve permanence for looked after children. The Department will take into account a range of evidence, including the financial case for improved practice in local authorities, to deciding how best to proceed and will publish a formal response later this year. The Government has also commissioned the National Children’s Bureau and the Centre for Child and Family Research at Loughborough University to deliver an action research project. The project is working with frontline practitioners and families to support improved practice in returning children home, and includes a focus on developing cost-effective services that help support children to return home successfully from care.

The schools involved in the 2012-13 pilot 3D Printer Project explored innovative ways of teaching STEM subjects, stimulating pupil interest and enriching the curriculum. Participating schools explored the potential benefits and challenges of using this technology in the curriculum and some shared their experiences with other schools wishing to introduce 3D printers. As set out in the report, feedback confirmed that 3D printers have significant potential as a teaching resource and can have a positive impact on pupil engagement and learning.

In October the Secretary of State for Education commissioned a further 3D Printer Project, working with the Design and Technology Association and 42 teaching school alliances, to further develop our understanding of the educational opportunities offered by 3D printers. Like the pilot project, it is exploring new ways of teaching STEM subjects using a 3D printer, but with an emphasis on using it in ways that enhance learning over other approaches. The schools involved will develop and deliver continuous professional development (CPD) on using a 3D printer to teach STEM subjects to teachers across their teaching school alliances. We plan to make the best of the STEM teaching and CPD resources developed by the participants available to schools across England.

The countries from which dogs were imported into the UK in 2016 for non-commercial reasons under the Pet Travel Scheme, as indicated in data provided by carriers, are listed in part (a) of the attached Annex. Countries from which dogs were imported into the UK for commercial reasons are listed in part (b).

Defra is working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for International Trade to ensure the UK gets the best possible deal on market access for our agri-food sector when we leave the EU.

In particular, we want a reciprocal deal that delivers no tariffs on trade between the UK and EU. We are also working to minimise burdensome non-tariff-barriers to such trade, while maintaining high standards for food safety, animal welfare and the environment.

During this financial year the Environment Agency will invest £380,000 in maintaining flood defences and structures on the Severn Estuary in Gloucestershire. An additional £2 million will be invested to repair flood defences and structures damaged during the winter floods.

The Severn Estuary Flood Risk Management Strategy identified a need for around £58 million of funding in Gloucestershire over the next 100 years to maintain or improve flood defences in the Estuary.

The appalling violence that Daesh inflicts is a contributory factor to migration both within and from the Middle East. There are 13.5 million vulnerable and displaced people inside Syria, and over 4.8 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring counties. That is why the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion to Syria and the region, the largest ever UK response to a humanitarian crisis.

I have had a number of constructive discussions with the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevedo, including a recent face-to-face meeting and I will have many more such meetings. He has been very supportive of the UK’s position.

I have also met Ministers and Permanent Representatives from a broad cross-section of WTO Members.

The main measures to mitigate noise are new road surfacing and noise barriers. Highways England has three resurfacing schemes in their forward programme for this area. The resurfacing will be done after essential repairs to bridge structures have been completed to avoid disruption to users of the M5.

Later this month works to inspect the condition of the noise fence from junction 11A to Gloucester Painswick bridge which covers the Upton St Leonards section of the M5 motorway will start and opportunities for a temporary noise barrier looked at.

We have received representations from the logistics industry about a shortage of HGV drivers. We are currently having discussions with other Departments and stakeholders in logistics to see what can be done to boost the number of drivers entering the industry. The Skills Funding Agency already provides funding to support driver training courses.

The Government plans to respond to this consultation by the end of the year.

Strategic health authorities were abolished in 2013 by the National Health Service Act 2006 (as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012). Since then NHS England and clinical commissioning groups have taken on responsibility for NHS planning and delivery.

Strategic Clinical Networks admin funding is allocated on an equal share basis. Programme funding is allocated on an un-weighted population basis.

In 2013/14 and 2014/15 funding allocations covered both Strategic Clinical Networks and Clinical Senates. In 2015/16, funding for Strategic Clinical Networks has been separated.

For both 2013/14 and 2014/15, the allocations were:

The 2015/16 programme budget allocations for Clinical Networks were:

The admin funding for Clinical Networks in 2015/16 is currently being determined as part of the implementation of NHS England’s Organisational Alignment and Capability Programme.

Strategic Clinical Networks admin funding is allocated on an equal share basis. Programme funding is allocated on an un-weighted population basis.

In 2013/14 and 2014/15 funding allocations covered both Strategic Clinical Networks and Clinical Senates. In 2015/16, funding for Strategic Clinical Networks has been separated.

For both 2013/14 and 2014/15, the allocations were:

The 2015/16 programme budget allocations for Clinical Networks were:

The admin funding for Clinical Networks in 2015/16 is currently being determined as part of the implementation of NHS England’s Organisational Alignment and Capability Programme.

We are seeking to reach a positive conclusion to the negotiations with the manufacturer for supply of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero^® at a cost-effective price, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation as soon as possible. The Department has had a number of meetings with the manufacturer and is continuing to meet.

We are committed to patients having greater choice and control over their healthcare, as this can help drive up standards and improve patient care.

We believe that patient empowerment is vital to the National Health Service in the 21st century. This Government is committed to continuing to develop digital platforms to enable this to happen, such as My NHS and the NHS e-Referral Service.

We have received representations from both Parliamentarians and non-governmental organisations in relation to this case.

We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt, including asset freezes and travel bans against human rights defenders and NGOs. I have frequently raised this with the Egyptian Ambassador and issued a statement on 22 March. Officials regularly raise our concerns with representatives of the Egyptian Government in both Cairo and London, most recently in May.

At the end of January I visited Sri Lanka where I met President Sirisena, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Samaraweera, and a number of Deputy Ministers of the newly elected government. I was delighted to welcome Foreign Minister Samaraweera’s to the UK in February, which was followed by the visit of President Sirisena and Foreign Minister Samaraweera in March. During this visit the President had an audience with Her Majesty The Queen and met the Prime Minister, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Whitney (Mr Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Defence, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon). Foreign Minister Samaraweera also met the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and Minister of State for the Department for International Development, my right Hon. Friend the Member for New Forest West (Mr Swayne), as well as myself.

Meetings focussed on the new Sri Lankan government’s plans to build lasting reconciliation across Sri Lanka, and encouraging Sri Lanka to deliver on its commitments to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In particular, the Prime Minister welcomed the early commitments announced by President Sirisena to lead a more democratic and accountable government but was clear that, meaningful engagement with the ongoing UN process ahead of its report in September is central to the UK’s continued support for Sri Lanka.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London and at the British High Commission in Colombo remain in regular and close contact with the new Sri Lankan government.

37 countries have ratified the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and its first five annexes. This comprises all 29 Consultative Parties, i.e. those with voting rights at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, and eight non-Consultative Parties. In addition, twelve Consultative Parties have ratified Annex VI of the Environmental Protocol on liability arising from an environmental emergency. A further three Consultative Parties have notified of their progress towards ratification of Annex VI. Annex VI will come into force when ratified by all 28 Consultative Parties that were entitled to attend the twenty-eighth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

With the exception of those relating to Shaker Aamer, the British Government receives no specific assurances from the US administration about the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, as no British nationals remain among them. However, whilst Shaker Aamer is not a British national, his connections to the UK mean that he remains a high priority for the British Government. We continue to seek assurances regarding Mr Aamer’s health and welfare through our engagement with the US authorities, and we continue to make clear to the US that we want him released and returned to the UK as a matter of urgency.

The government will shortly publish its plan for improving the UK’s productivity.

The numbers of positive conclusive decisions made through the National Referral Mechanism for claims of adult-sexual exploitation are*:

*The data is based on management information provided by the National Crime Agency. The veracity of this information has not been verified by the Home Office

Under the Family Reunion Rules, children cannot sponsor family members. Any grant of leave in such cases would be on an exceptional basis outside the Immigration Rules. To obtain the information would involve examining individual case records and would incur a disproportionate cost.

The day-to-day investigation into cases of child sexual abuse, including abuse that has taken place in the past, is an operational matter for the police. The Home Office has funded Operation Hydrant, which is the national policing response to the oversight and co-ordination of all child abuse investigations concerning persons of public prominence or those offences which have taken place in institutional settings

Managing agents must comply with the obligations in the lease, and must comply with landlord and tenant legislation. This sets out a framework of rights and protections for leaseholders, and also places particular obligations on landlords, and managing agents acting on their behalf.

This includes providing information about service charges where a written request is made. Managing agents should also comply with two Codes of Practice approved by the Secretary of State for the management of residential leasehold property.

Since 1 October 2014 managing agents have also been required to belong to one of three Government approved redress schemes, to whom leaseholders can take a complaint.

We continue to consider ways to improve transparency in the residential leasehold sector without adding disproportionate burdens and costs.

Planning guidance sets out the action an authority should take where a neighbourhood plan comes forward before an up-to-date Local Plan is in place (further details can be found at: http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/neighbourhood-planning/what-is-neighbourhood-planning/what-is-a-neighbourhood-plan-and-what-is-its-relationship-to-a-local-plan/)

A local planning authority should take a proactive and positive approach, working collaboratively with a parish or town council or a designated neighbourhood forum particularly sharing evidence and seeking to resolve any issues to ensure that the draft neighbourhood plan has the greatest chance of success at independent examination.

Town and parish councils and designated neighbourhood forums can also use the planning guidance on housing and economic development needs assessments to identify specific local needs that may be relevant to a neighbourhood but any assessment at such a local level should be proportionate.

We are clear that our prisons must become places of discipline, hard work and self-improvement, for offenders to improve their maths and English and get a job on release

Alongside our work to boost staffing numbers, these reforms will help offenders turn their lives around, reduce reoffending and create safer communities.

Our recent White Paper on prison reform described how we have already stripped out unnecessary rules and governance from our education contracts to allow governors more oversight and control of existing services. Over the coming months, we will make prison governors fully responsible for education provision in their prisons once existing contracts end, commissioning the services they think are most appropriate in their individual prison. This will allow governors to decide how to structure their educational regime, and who delivers it, while following a core common curriculum set nationally which will focus on maths and English.

To support this, prisons will create a personalised learning plan based on an assessment of need on reception, integrating it into the individual’s sentence plan, and we will use the same awarding bodies for particular types of provision to enable continuity of learning if prisoners move elsewhere. To ensure the quality of education delivery in prison improves, we will make sure that those providing that education have the right skills and capabilities to do so.

The White Paper Prison Safety and Reform set out a suite of performance measures through which governors will be held to account for outcomes in their prisons including educational progress made by prisoners. We will compare levels of attainment of maths and English on release with those at the start of custody, and look at the number of qualifications, or other accredited and work-focussed activity, prisoners complete. In future, we will develop measures that assess individual progress against milestones in a Personal Learning Plan.

The government is determined to tackle the problem of drugs in prisons in England and Wales by addressing both supply and demand.

We have introduced new legislation to criminalise supply and possession of psychoactive substances in prison. We have developed and introduced new tests for specified psychoactive substances into all prisons, and have trained 300 dogs to detect such substances.

We are working with healthcare partners to provide effective drug treatment programmes and on communications to make sure that prisoners are aware of the dangers of taking psychoactive substances and visitors of the consequences of attempting to bring them in.

We will shortly set out further details of our plans to make prisons places of safety and reform in a white paper.

The Government’s long-term economic plan is working for Northern Ireland. Last year legislation was passed to allow the devolution of corporation tax rate-setting powers which has the potential to boost investment and could bring benefits for an estimated 34,000 companies of all sizes in Northern Ireland.

The Government is fulfilling its manifesto commitment to seek a reformed relationship with Europe and then put the results of that negotiation to the people in a referendum.

The promotion of tourism to Northern Ireland is primarily a devolved matter, but I take every opportunity to support it. Northern Ireland is one of the most beautiful parts of the United Kingdom.

I welcome the fact that almost 1.8 million people visited it in 2014, representing a five per cent increase over 2013.

The global media coverage of the G8 summit, which the Prime Minister brought to Fermanagh, and of the Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza, significantly raised Northern Ireland’s profile. The Irish Open at Royal County Down and the return of the Tall Ships to Belfast should attract new visitors.

I am also pleased that the new British-Irish Visa Scheme in China and India will enable visits to both Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, on a single visa of either country.

We believe the United Kingdom’s interests will best be served by membership of a reformed European Union. That is why we will negotiate a new settlement for Britain in Europe, and then ask the British people to decide the question in a referendum.

Infrastructure investment is at the heart of our long term economic plan for Wales. We have worked hard to secure the full South Wales electrification package and pushed through the financial deal to upgrade the M4.

After decades of under investment by previous governments, we are determined that the people in Wales benefit from our commitment to bring modern transport infrastructure to everyone.