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172521

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2015
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Democratic Republic of Congo
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take in response to the shooting of the Northern Irish missionary, Ms Maud Kells OBE, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	220093
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2015 answer text We were very concerned to hear about the shooting of a British national in the Democratic Republic of Congo. FCO officials in London and the Democratic Republic of Congo are providing consular assistance. The Government will continue to provide assistance and seek updates from the local authorities who are investigating. answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 13/01/2015 14:41:40 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

173741

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2015
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Nigeria
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support his Department is offering to the Nigerian government in response to the recent killings by Boko Haram in Nigeria.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	220760
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2015 answer text The UK has taken an active role in leading international support to Nigeria in its fight against Boko Haram. We are providing a substantial package of UK military, intelligence and development support, which includes training and advice to Nigerian units deploying against Boko Haram, intelligence support and support to the Nigerians in bringing increased development and prosperity to the North East. We are also working closely with our international partners to support the large numbers of people displaced by the conflict in the North East. answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Mr David Lidington question first answered 20/01/2015 14:11:56 answering member 15 label Biography information for Sir David Lidington
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

156352

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2014
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Cannabis
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with police forces on steps to tackle cannabis cultivation across the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	214833
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>We work closely with the police to support the policing of illegal cannabis cultivation and meet them on a regular basis to discuss this issue. <br><br>We have, for example, recently worked in partnership with the police and Crimestoppers on a ‘scratch and sniff’ cannabis card campaign, which ran for one month earlier this year. This involved distributing cards to the public to <br>inform them about the signs to spot and the specific smell of cannabis when it is growing and encourage them to alert the police to suspicious activity. Hot spot areas were targeted by police forces throughout the UK. We are currently <br>working with the police to asses the effectiveness of the campaign but initial reports suggest that this has led to an increase in police activity and built on the success of last year’s campaign.<br><br>The police also work to improve their knowledge and understanding of the trade through activity-led intelligence gathering.<br><br>As well as working with the police, we work with other partners with an interest in this area, such as energy companies and the property sector, to promote cooperation and the sharing of best practice in tackling cannabis cultivation across the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornsey and Wood Green answering member printed Lynne Featherstone question first answered 24/11/2014 14:53:13 answering member 1531 label Biography information for Baroness Featherstone
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

173746

	registered interest
	date	14/01/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Defence
	answering dept id	11
	answering dept short name	Defence
	answering dept sort name	Defence
	hansard heading	Armed Forces: Mental Health Services
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to provide care and support for members of the armed forces who have a mental illness.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	220791
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2015 answer text <p>We take the mental health of our personnel and veterans very seriously, and are committed to ensuring that help is available for everyone who needs it. For serving personnel, the Defence Medical Services (DMS) have in place a variety of measures to identify issues at the earliest possible opportunity. These include pre- and post-deployment briefing, and a range of professional support, assessment and treatment both during and after deployments, as well as peer-group mentoring through the Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) process.</p><p>On major operations such as in Iraq and Afghanistan, we deploy mental health professionals as part of the medical team in support of our troops to provide advice and treatment. Personnel who require further treatment are referred back to the UK, where our services are configured to provide community-based mental healthcare in line with national best practice. This care is delivered primarily through unit-based primary healthcare centres and our network of 16 military Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs) across the UK (plus centres overseas), where the DMS have developed a significant capability in managing traumatic stress conditions. Patient care, when required, is available through a contract with a group of eight specialist NHS Trusts across the UK.</p> answering member constituency Broxtowe answering member printed Anna Soubry question first answered 21/01/2015 16:35:01 answering member 3938 label Biography information for Anna Soubry
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

156271

	registered interest
	date	18/11/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Sudan
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to address the persecution of Christians in the Sudan region.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	214894
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>We raise our concerns about freedom of religion with the Government of Sudan as part of our regular engagement on human rights issues. Most recently our Embassy in Khartoum raised this issue with the External Affairs Secretariat of the National Congress Party (the ruling political party) and Sudan’s National Human Rights Commission. Additionally, our Embassy regularly engages with Christian groups based in Sudan, and where possible, follows up on specific cases. We also highlight our concerns in the Department’s ‘Human Rights Country of Concern’ quarterly update for Sudan.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge question first answered 24/11/2014 16:16:46 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

172580

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2015
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Offences against Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to comments made by the director of Parents Against Sexual Exploitation on BBC Radio 4 on 31 December 2014, what assessment she has made of (a) the geographical extent of the incidence of young people being groomed for sexual abuse and (b) the adequacy of skills in police forces to deal with such abuse.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	220088
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2015 answer text <p>We know that child sexual abuse and exploitation are not confined to any particular areas of the country. It can take on many different forms. There were 495 sexual grooming offences recorded by the police in England and Wales <br>in the year to June 2014, a 32% increase from 376 offences in the year to June 2013.<br><br>This Government is absolutely determined that every case of child sexual abuse or exploitation is fully investigated and all perpetrators prosecuted, we will do nothing to jeopardise those aims.<br><br>The Home Secretary has written to all chief constables to ask them to take on board the lessons from the Jay report into the failings in Rotherham, and from the rolling Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary inspections into how <br>forces are protecting children.<br><br>The National Policing Lead for child protection and abuse investigation has taken action to revise the national policing child sexual exploitation (CSE) action plan to take account of the learning from the Jay report and other <br>recent publications. All chief constables have committed to a policing action plan that aims to raise the standards in tackling CSE so that the police are providing a consistently strong approach to protecting vulnerable young people. <br><br>All frontline police officers receive training in identifying, protecting and safeguarding children. The College of Policing has issued authorised professional practice for police in relation to investigating child abuse and <br>exploitation. The College of Policing has maintained its commitment to training, and has in the last 18 months introduced a Professional Register for those who are trained as Child Abuse Investigators. Dedicated child protection <br>police officers also receive specialist training in investigating child abuse cases and the College of Policing are delivering additional training for frontline staff to recognise, protect and refer children at risk of child <br>sexual exploitation. This will result in greater awareness and better handling of victims by the police along with improved police performance in tackling the perpetrators.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hornsey and Wood Green answering member printed Lynne Featherstone question first answered 19/01/2015 15:33:01 answering member 1531 label Biography information for Baroness Featherstone
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

61663

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2014
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Education: Basic Skills
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to ensure a high standard of teaching in numeracy and literacy.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	200344
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2014 answer text <p>We have published a more rigorous curriculum for English and mathematics. The new national curriculum sets expectations that match those in the highest-performing education jurisdictions in the world, challenging pupils to realise their potential in an increasingly competitive global market. It increases the level of demand from an early age, with greater emphasis on arithmetic, including learning times tables to 12 x 12 by age 9 and removing calculators from key stage 2 tests in mathematics, and on phonics, grammar and vocabulary development in English. GCSEs in English language and mathematics are also being reformed to be more challenging and give stronger guarantees of literacy and numeracy, with the mathematics GCSE in particular covering more than the current GCSE.</p><p> </p><p>We are confident that our reform to the national curriculum will give teachers greater flexibility and freedom, which will help to raise standards and expectations for all pupils. It has been significantly slimmed down and will free-up teachers to use their professional judgement to provide support that best meets the needs of their pupils.</p><p> </p><p>We have invested in and reformed initial teacher training (ITT) to focus on attracting the very best graduates with the right qualities for teaching into the profession through making more scholarships available; using bursaries to attract more of the most talented graduates in key subjects such as maths and physics and supporting the expansion of the highly-successful Teach First programme. Teach First is now the largest graduate recruiter in any sector in the United Kingdom.</p><p> </p><p>In 2013/14, we recruited 96% of the overall number of trainees we set out to recruit and the proportion with first-class or 2:1 degrees has risen 3 percentage points (74%) – a record compared to last year (71%). We have raised the bar for entry into ITT by making skills tests tougher, limiting candidates to two re-sits and making passing the tests in literacy and numeracy a requirement before entering, rather than exiting, ITT.</p><p> </p><p>Sir Andrew Carter has been appointed to lead an independent review about the effectiveness of ITT. As part of this, the review will look at ITT courses for both primary and secondary teaching to consider how well trainees are equipped to become outstanding teachers.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 19/06/2014 16:27:54 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

64733

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	Saudi Arabia
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to improve the situation of Christian people in Saudi Arabia who face difficulties as a result of publicly practising their faith.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	203144
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2014 answer text <p>We have made clear to the Saudi authorities our strong support for the right to freedom of religion or belief. The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Warsi raised the importance of religious tolerance in meetings with Governor and Mayor of Makkah, Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, and the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in February 2014.</p> answering member constituency Faversham and Mid Kent answering member printed Hugh Robertson question first answered 04/07/2014 13:19:30 answering member 1415 label Biography information for Sir Hugh Robertson
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

91297

	registered interest
	date	09/09/2014
	answering body	Department of Health
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health
	answering dept sort name	Health
	hansard heading	NHS: Interpreters
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent on interpreters in England and Wales in the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	208666
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/10/2014 answer text <p>We do not hold this information centrally. National Health Service organisations have a duty to follow equalities legislation. This includes making sure their communities can understand information about the NHS services and that patients and clinicians can communicate with each other. However, we would encourage the NHS to be efficient and save money where possible by working together and sharing resources.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 13/10/2014 14:54:19 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson

61707

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2014
	answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept id	16
	answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
	hansard heading	China
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in China.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	David Simpson
	uin	200350
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2014 answer text <p>We do have concerns about restrictions to civil and political freedoms in China, particularly around ethnic minority rights; the death penalty; and freedom of expression, association and assembly.</p><p>The climate for human rights defenders and civil society is very difficult, and security in areas with ethnic minorities remains tight.</p><p>Ministers regularly raise human rights issues with Chinese counterparts, and we highlight our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 19/06/2014 15:20:57 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
	tabling member	1597 label Biography information for David Simpson