Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met with his Guyanese counterpart; what the content of discussions at that meeting was; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
My rt hon. Friend, the Member for Richmond (Yorks), the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Hague), met his Guyanese counterpart, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the eighth UK-Caribbean Ministerial Forum on 16-17 June 2014, which she co-chaired. The two day event focussed on economic development, energy, education and security.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend, the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), recently issued a statement on 8 January 2015 concerning Guyana’s recent prorogation (suspension) of Parliament, and we welcome President Ramotar’s subsequent announcement that national and regional elections will be held in Guyana on 11 May 2015.
We will continue to engage regularly with Guyana on UK Government priorities.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met with his Chilean counterpart; what the content of discussions at that meeting was; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
There are regular high level meetings between the UK and Chilean government. I last met my Chilean counterpart during the Presidential Inauguration in March 2014, where we discussed priorities for the United Nations Security Council and the Human Rights Council, and ongoing cooperation between our two countries on a range of issues. I hosted the Ministers for Finance and Economy during Chile Day – an annual business investment event – in October 2014, and I hosted the Minister for Mines later that month, to discuss opportunities for British companies in the Chilean mining sector, during her visit for London Metals Week.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met with his Brazilian counterpart; what the content of discussions at that meeting was; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
I last spoke with my then Brazilian counterpart Eduardo Dos Santos, Vice Foreign Minister, in July 2014. We discussed a number of issues including the UK Brazil annual strategic dialogue, the BRICS Summit, Science without Borders and the UK's and Brazil’s priorities ahead of the UN Human Rights Council.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), spoke to his counterpart, Foreign Minister Vieira in January 2015, shortly after the latter's appointment. They plan to meet later this month at the UK Brazil annual strategic dialogue where they will discuss a wide range of foreign policy issues.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to councils of damage caused by parking on the pavement; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Information on local authority traffic regulation orders is not collected centrally.
We are currently considering responses received to our recent consultation on the Cycling Delivery Plan, including issues relating to increasing walking and promoting safe walking.
The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the cost to councils of damage caused by parking on pavements. The Department has recently announced how it is allocating just under £6 billion in funding for local highways maintenance to councils in England, outside London and this funding could be used to help repair footways.
The provisions of the Pavement Parking Private Members' Bill warrant both an impact assessment and a full public consultation. The Bill has yet to receive a second reading in this House and is most unlikely to complete its Parliamentary passage in the time available. It would be inappropriate for the Department to invest public resource in the circumstances.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will conduct an impact assessment into the potential effects of the Pavement Parking Private Members' Bill; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Information on local authority traffic regulation orders is not collected centrally.
We are currently considering responses received to our recent consultation on the Cycling Delivery Plan, including issues relating to increasing walking and promoting safe walking.
The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the cost to councils of damage caused by parking on pavements. The Department has recently announced how it is allocating just under £6 billion in funding for local highways maintenance to councils in England, outside London and this funding could be used to help repair footways.
The provisions of the Pavement Parking Private Members' Bill warrant both an impact assessment and a full public consultation. The Bill has yet to receive a second reading in this House and is most unlikely to complete its Parliamentary passage in the time available. It would be inappropriate for the Department to invest public resource in the circumstances.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many local authorities have implemented traffic regulation orders to tackle pavement parking in their area; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Information on local authority traffic regulation orders is not collected centrally.
We are currently considering responses received to our recent consultation on the Cycling Delivery Plan, including issues relating to increasing walking and promoting safe walking.
The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the cost to councils of damage caused by parking on pavements. The Department has recently announced how it is allocating just under £6 billion in funding for local highways maintenance to councils in England, outside London and this funding could be used to help repair footways.
The provisions of the Pavement Parking Private Members' Bill warrant both an impact assessment and a full public consultation. The Bill has yet to receive a second reading in this House and is most unlikely to complete its Parliamentary passage in the time available. It would be inappropriate for the Department to invest public resource in the circumstances.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will consider the issue of pavement parking as a barrier to safe walking within his Department's Cycling and Walking Delivery Plan; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Information on local authority traffic regulation orders is not collected centrally.
We are currently considering responses received to our recent consultation on the Cycling Delivery Plan, including issues relating to increasing walking and promoting safe walking.
The Department for Transport has made no assessment of the cost to councils of damage caused by parking on pavements. The Department has recently announced how it is allocating just under £6 billion in funding for local highways maintenance to councils in England, outside London and this funding could be used to help repair footways.
The provisions of the Pavement Parking Private Members' Bill warrant both an impact assessment and a full public consultation. The Bill has yet to receive a second reading in this House and is most unlikely to complete its Parliamentary passage in the time available. It would be inappropriate for the Department to invest public resource in the circumstances.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government took to ensure that the recent election in Sri Lanka was free and fair; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
The UK joined an EU Heads of Mission statement on 2 January calling for the elections to be peaceful, credible and transparent. We encouraged the government of Sri Lanka to invite international observers, including from the EU and the Commonwealth, and provided support to local election monitoring groups. Officials from the British High Commission in Colombo also travelled around the country in the run-up to elections, observing the preparations and voting process, and co-ordinating closely with like-minded diplomatic missions and local groups.
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many students in England and Wales graduated in STEM subjects in each of the last five years.
Answered by Greg Clark
The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK Higher Education Providers. Statistics on the number of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic First Degree qualifiers at English and Welsh Higher Education Providers over the last five years are provided in the table.
In the 2013/14 academic year, a new methodology was implemented (which counted Open University students by their national centre and not the administrative centre). Therefore, this new methodology has been applied for the previous years to ensure consistency with the data.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency will publish statistics for the 2014/15 academic year in January 2016.
First Degree Qualifiers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic Subjects
English and Welsh Higher Education Providers
Academic Years 2009/10 to 2013/14
2009/10 | 2010/11 | 2011/12 | 2012/13 | 2013/14 | |
England | 116, 000 | 121,315 | 128,165 | 135,825 | 142,160 |
Wales | 8,445 | 9,055 | 9,565 | 9,670 | 10,135 |
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five
2. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic subjects has been classified by using the Joint Academic Coding System and is comprised of the following subject areas: Medicine & dentistry; Subjects allied to medicine; Biological sciences; Veterinary science; Agriculture & related subjects; Physical sciences; Mathematical sciences; Computer science; Engineering & technology; Architecture, building & planning
Asked by: Simon Kirby (Conservative - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his new Sri Lankan counterpart on protecting the Tamil and Muslim minority communities; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Swire
On 9 January the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), congratulated Maithripala Sirisena on his victory in the Presidential elections, and also encouraged President Sirisena to support the ongoing UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights investigation into human rights abuses. The issues of the past must be addressed so Sri Lanka can move forward to a brighter, peaceful future where all Sri Lankans can play a role.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), said that Sri Lanka has a renewed opportunity now to grow as a stable, prosperous and inclusive country, reflecting the wishes of all its people.
I personally spoke to the new Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on 12 January and made clear that we look forward to working with the new government and reinvigorating the long standing partnership between the UK and Sri Lanka. We will continue to engage with the new Sri Lankan government on the concern of minority communities.