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  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new businesses have been set up in Manchester, Withington constituency since May 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    There is no single data source that comprehensively measures all business start-ups within the UK.

    However, ONS has published statistics showing that there were 2,210 businesses newly registered for VAT or PAYE in the Manchester, Withington constituency between 2010 and 2014. Some newly registered businesses will have been trading for a number of years and other active businesses will not be covered because they are operating below the VAT and PAYE registration thresholds.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the value of the higher education sector to the economy.

    Joseph Johnson

    Higher education is an important source of productivity growth. It equips individuals with the skills and abilities they need to succeed in the workforce, and helps drive innovation by strengthening the economy’s knowledge base, as well as enriching our cultural and intellectual life. The BIS research paper The relationship between graduates and economic growth across countries (2013) provides an estimate of the sector’s contribution, and is available online at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229492/bis-13-858-relationship-between-graduates-and-economic-growth-across-countries.pdf

    “

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with the Home Office on the effect of existing legislation on overseas students on steps to increase the number of international students studying in the UK.

    Joseph Johnson

    Officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills meet with Home Office officials and representatives from the education sector on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues related to international students studying in the UK.

    The Government is fully committed to controlling migration and supporting the global competiveness of our higher education system. We are delivering this through promoting our universities as places where the brightest and the best of the world’s talent should come to study, whilst tackling immigration abuse where it exists in our education system.

    There remains no cap on the number of genuine international students who can come to study in the UK.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Home Office refused visas to two marathon runners from Palestine who were due to compete in the Derry Walled City marathon on 5 June.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

  • Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the number of children waiting to join the Scout movement, what plans they have, if any, to review the procedures for repeat Disclosure and Barring Service checks of volunteers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has introduced an Update Service to enable existing criminal record certificates to be kept up to date whilst reducing the need for repeat checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The DBS is driving greater uptake of the Update Service which will continue to reduce the need for repeat checks, whilst continuing to safeguard children. The Update Service and criminal records certificates are provided free of charge to volunteers. It is for the Scout Association to determine when criminal records checks should be undertaken and whether to enable volunteers to make use of the Update Service.

  • Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which trade agreements would have to be individually negotiated in the event of a vote to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum, broken down by region.

    Lord Price

    As set out in the Government’s documents to inform the debate ahead of the referendum, were the UK to leave the EU, as well as losing the UK’s guaranteed access to the Single Market, the UK would also lose the use of the EU’s free trade agreements with over 50 economies worldwide. These countries are listed on page 45 of the Government’s “Alternatives to membership: possible models for the United Kingdom outside the European Union”. This page also provides a map highlighting trade agreements in place, those under negotiation, and those currently being planned for.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the risk that President Joseph Kabila may attempt to change the constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to remain in power and not hold the elections scheduled for November.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is clear: a President may serve two terms of five years. In 2015 President Kabila made a tentative attempt to change the Constitution to enable him to stay on beyond the end of his current, final term of office but was rebuffed by the Congolese Parliament. The risk that he will attempt to do so again remains, but the UK position is clear: we do not believe that constitutions should be amended for the benefit of incumbent leaders. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), has repeatedly urged Foreign Minister Tshibanda to do all in his power to ensure the DRC government enables elections to take place in line with the Constitution.

    We remain concerned by the lack of progress towards elections in the DRC. Primary responsibility for organising the elections rests with the government and institutions of the state of the DRC. The UK stands ready to support elections. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for International Development, my Hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), announced in March that the UK would make up to £11.4million available to support the election process, provided certain conditions were met. But we have also been clear that individuals responsible for repression and human rights violations in the run-up to the election period will have to face the consequences of their actions.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) about reports that uranium from the DRC has been sold to North Korea.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 8 March, which I repeated in the House of Lords the same day [HLWS571], the Government remains deeply concerned by North Korea’s continued development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and its sustained prioritisation of these programmes over the well-being of its own people. All states are obliged to abide by UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting uranium transfers to North Korea. We would take any credible reports of such transfers from anywhere in the world very seriously. We have not engaged with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on this issue.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have raised the recent murder of Khurram Zaki, and his campaign work, with the government of Pakistan.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We condemn the murder of Khurram Zaki in Karachi on 7 May. As a journalist and human rights activist, Khurram Zaki campaigned against sectarian violence and religious extremism in Pakistan. His murder is a sad reminder of the hostile climate in which Pakistani campaigners and journalists operate.

    Under its National Action Plan, the Government of Pakistan is taking steps to improve security by tackling terrorist and extremist elements. We continue to urge Pakistan to honour in practice all its human rights obligations and uphold the rule of law. During his visit to Pakistan in March, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the importance we attach to safeguarding the rights of all Pakistan citizens regardless of ethnicity, faith or political views.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much UK aid has been given to Pakistan over the last five years; and how much of that has been used to promote human rights, the rule of law and the protection of minorities.

    Baroness Verma

    Since financial year 2011-12, the UK has provided more than £1.2 billion of official development assistance to Pakistan. A commitment by Pakistan to respect human rights is one of the four principles set out in the Partnership Principles Assessment which provides the basis for regular bilateral assistance talks between the UK and Pakistan.

    The UK Government raises human rights issues and the rights of minorities on a regular basis at the highest levels in Pakistan and we ensure our development assistance targets poor women and men, regardless of race, religion, social background, or nationality. Through DFID’s Peacebuilding Support Programme (PSP) we are supporting the provincial Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to improve security and access to justice for 250,000 citizens and the new Rule of Law programme will strengthen security and justice institutions across the country. The Aawaz voice and accountability programme works in 45 districts with over 3 million poor people including minority communities to promote their rights and DFID’s education programme has enabled 4.6 million more girls to attend primary and secondary school, to stay longer and learn more.