The carrier strike group has not only visited and worked with over 44 nations on its tour, but has had visits from 63 Ministers. It is great convenor and a great presence that, made in Britain, definitely does go around the world showing that Britain can do both soft and hard power, and do it with quality.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1539", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wyre and Preston North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Ben Wallace"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "904140"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-15T17:10:12.66Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Warships: Deployment"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "What assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of Carrier Strike Group\u2019s ongoing deployment.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4739", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jerome Mayhew"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Broadland"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jerome Mayhew"} ], "uin" : "904139"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378289", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Defence"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378289/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) promotes lifelong learning.<\/p>
<\/p>
Eligible Service personnel and veterans can access three schemes which can help individuals pursue their personal and professional development through education, both during their Service and, for two of the schemes, up to ten years after discharge.<\/p>
<\/p>
In 2019, the MOD introduced Holistic Transition support, building on the highly successful Career Transition Partnership, which has provided employment support and job finding services for the last 20 years.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4600", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Leo Docherty"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Aldershot"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Leo Docherty"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-15T17:23:56.687Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Veterans: Education and Training"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "What progress his Department has made on supporting education and reskilling opportunities for former service personnel.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4623", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Tonia Antoniazzi"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Gower"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Tonia Antoniazzi"} ], "uin" : "904141"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378290", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Defence"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378290/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Defence\u2019s budget is growing year on year over the spending review period. We received a record settlement for Defence in 2020 of £16.5 billion. From 2019-20, the total Defence budget\u2019s annual growth is 1.5% in real terms, with CDEL increasing from £10.3 billion in 2019-20 to £16.2 billion in 2024-25, and RDEL increasing from £30.6 billion to £32.4 billion.<\/p>
This year Defence also received over £2 billion additional funding for running costs to counteract costs arising from the Health and Social Care Levy and expected increases in inflation in the wider economy.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1539", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wyre and Preston North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Ben Wallace"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-12-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378290/answer/previousversion/32245", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1539", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Ben Wallace"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wyre and Preston North"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Ben Wallace"} } , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-12-08T12:45:15.97Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Armed Forces: Public Expenditure"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "What assessment he has made of the impact on armed forces personnel and their families of the decrease in average annual real-term growth from 2021 to 2025 in day-to-day spending of his Department, as a result of the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4765", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North East Fife"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Wendy Chamberlain"} ], "uin" : "904142"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378291", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Defence"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378291/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
We monitor our carbon emissions from UK military activities and publish them in our Annual Report.<\/p>
The Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach we published in March 2021 sets out our route to making Defence more sustainable and reducing emissions.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4507", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Jeremy Quin"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Horsham"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jeremy Quin"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-15T16:55:57.377Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Armed Forces: Carbon Emissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "What steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) reduce carbon emissions from UK military activities.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4432", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Patrick Grady"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Glasgow North"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Patrick Grady"} ], "uin" : "904143"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378292", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Defence"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378292/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Last year the Ministry of Defence invested over £20 billion in industry and commerce across the UK directly and indirectly supporting many thousands of jobs.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4507", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Jeremy Quin"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Horsham"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Jeremy Quin"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-15T16:56:29.26Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Defence: Employment"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "What steps his Department is taking to support defence jobs throughout the UK.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4606", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for David Duguid"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Banff and Buchan"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "David Duguid"} ], "uin" : "904144"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378293", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Defence"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378293/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The total strength of the Armed Forces is 168,880.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4528", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for James Heappey"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Wells"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Heappey"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-15T17:41:11.88Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "11"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Defence"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Armed Forces"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "What recent assessment he has made of the strength of the armed forces.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3952", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chesterfield"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Toby Perkins"} ], "uin" : "904145"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378364", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378364/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Following President Biden's 14 April announcement that US troops would withdraw, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) came up against the hard reality that it could not continue the mission without the US. The UK worked intensively with the US and NATO Allies, both on military and civilian channels to ensure an orderly and co-ordinated withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4366", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for James Cleverly"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Braintree"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "James Cleverly"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-23T17:40:58.5Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "208"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the (a) appropriateness of the timing and (b) adequacy of the management of the US withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"} ], "uin" : "74980"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378368", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Treasury"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378368/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The FCA has published research on cash acceptance by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which found that the primary motivation for accepting cash is to provide customers with choice. While it remains the individual retailer\u2019s choice as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card, nearly all (98%) of surveyed businesses stated they would never turn away a customer if they needed to pay by cash.<\/p>
<\/p>
Nonetheless, the Government recognises that the ability to transact in cash remains important to millions of people across the UK and has committed to legislating to protect access to cash.<\/p>
<\/p>
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government has worked closely with the financial regulators to ensure firms maintain branch access for essential services, while balancing the needs of their customers with the safety and welfare of staff.\u202fThe vast majority of\u202fpeople have continued to have access to cash during the pandemic.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Government recently consulted on legislative proposals to make sure people only need to travel a reasonable distance to pay in or take out cash. The Government\u2019s proposals stand to support the continued use of cash in people\u2019s daily lives and to help local businesses to continue accepting cash by ensuring access to deposit facilities.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Government also made legislative changes to support the widespread offering of cashback without a purchase by shops and other businesses as part of the Financial Services Act 2021. Cashback without a purchase has the potential to play an important role in the UK\u2019s cash infrastructure. The financial services industry is already seeking to take advantage of the changes to the law for the benefit of cash users; working with retailers to roll out new services to local communities.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4051", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for John Glen"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Salisbury"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "John Glen"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-11-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-11-19T16:04:16.597Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "14"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Treasury"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2021-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Money: Coronavirus"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that businesses accept cash as a method of payment for goods during the covid-19 outbreak.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"} ], "uin" : "74981"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378369", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1378369/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Preventing children\u2019s exposure to harmful material is a priority for the government. Under our proposals in the Online Safety Bill, social media companies will be required to assess the risks of children being exposed to harmful content on their services and implement effective safety measures to protect them. They will also have to ensure that only children who are old enough are able to access their service.<\/p>