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  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation and contact her Department has undertaken with local authorities on the suitability and conduct of landlords engaged by Serco and its subcontractors to provide accommodation to refugees and asylum seekers under the COMPASS contract.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office works closely with COMPASS providers and local authorities through Strategic Migration Partnerships to plan for the most appropriate dispersal of asylum seekers.

    These partnerships allow Providers to formally consult with local authorities and statutory bodies to ensure all new proposed property procurement and landlords meet the required contractual and statutory standards.

    Any Local Authority that has concerns about the suitability or conduct of individual landlords can raise this with the Home Office and COMPASS providers either directly or through the Strategic Migration Partnerships.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of all secondees to her Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office has seconded less than five people from consultancy firms including those listed, in the last three financial years. It is not possible to provide a further breakdown as it would breach the Department’s obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998, not to disclose to a third party, personal information about another person.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government will be represented at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees to be hosted by President Obama on 20 September 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government has no plans to introduce additional pathways for refugees to come to the UK. The UK is already a leading resettlement state, offering a number of safe and legal pathways for refugees. In the year ending June 2016, a total of 3,439 people were resettled in the UK.

    In addition to the 20,000 Syrian refugees and up to 3,000 vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North Africa region that the Government has committed to resettle by 2020, the UK has also committed to relocate unaccompanied refugee children from France, Greece and Italy. Under the family reunion policy we have reunited around 22,000 refugees with their immediate family over the past five years and will continue to do so. The Government supports the principle that those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach. This allows vulnerable persons to receive help quickly rather than risking their lives on hazardous journeys into and across Europe or falling victim to criminal gangs who are exploiting the situation. Providing humanitarian aid in the region is the best way to provide much needed support to the majority of those fleeing persecution while working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resettle the most vulnerable who cannot reasonably remain.

    HM Government will be represented at the UN General Assembly high level meeting on 19 September and the Leaders’ Summit on refugees to be hosted by President Obama on 20 September.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many times her Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    Rory Stewart

    Detail on all DFID spend is available via our departmental website.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will publish a list of all secondees to her Department from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.

    Rory Stewart

    DFID has not seconded any individuals from PWC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG in the last 3 years. Nor have we seconded any individuals from any other consulting firm in the same period.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of the UK’s aid assistance to the Palestinian Territories.

    Rory Stewart

    As I have recently taken up my new role, I am conducting an examination of DFID’s support to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to ensure UK taxpayers’ money is spent in the right places and in the right way. The UK remains committed in its support for a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many of her Department’s staff are in receipt of support for private school fees for children whose parents are stationed (a) in the UK and (b) overseas.

    Rory Stewart

    This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much was spent by her Department on private school fees for children whose parents are stationed (a) in the UK and (b) overseas in the last financial year.

    Rory Stewart

    This information is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost to the taxpayer.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to implement the actions identified for it in the Government’s Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategy 2016-2020, published in March 2016; and when a member of staff from her Department last attended a Violence against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting chaired by the Home Office.

    Rory Stewart

    DFID has made significant progress in scaling up efforts to address violence against women and girls, nearly doubling our programming, from 64 programmes in 2012 to 127 in 2016, and working with partners across all sectors. Our £36 million programme to end Child, Early and Forced Marriage is helping thousands of girls escape losing any choice or control over their future. We have committed £8 million to support AmplifyChange, an initiative to support civil society activists to end child marriage and address a broader range of gender issues. In 2015 we provided £2.25 million of support to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and Girls which provides grants to organisations across the world to tackle gender-based violence.

    ICAI published its review of DFID’s efforts to eliminate violence against women and girls on Tuesday 17 May 2016. This review gave DFID’s performance a ‘Green’ rating, the highest achievable. The UK and DFID’s new Secretary of State will continue to lead the global effort to improve the lives of women and girls.

    The last Home Office chaired Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Stakeholder Meeting took place on July 11 2016. No officials from other departments were invited to this meeting. However, one of the action points arising from this meeting was to invite other departments in future. An official from DFID’s VAWG Team will attend the next meeting.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department will commit to maintaining or increasing funding that is allocated to eradicating violence against women in armed conflict, facilitating universal access to reproductive healthcare and supporting equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK has put the empowerment of women and girls at the heart of our international development work, and is delivering significant results for women and girls. We played an instrumental role in influencing the global agreement for Sustainable Development Goal 5 ‘to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’. We also made firm commitments to support women and girls in the 2015 UK Aid strategy, underpinned by the 2014 International Development (Gender Equality) Act legislation, which ensures that UK Aid development and humanitarian work considers gender issues as a core part of everything they deliver. The UK is a global leader in promoting, protecting and supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including neglected and difficult issues. The 2012 London Summit on Family Planning put the issue firmly back on the international agenda, and the UK is a core convenor of the FP2020 movement established at the Summit to drive forward progress.

    Full attainment of political, social and economic rights for women and girls is a UK priority, recognising its centrality to greater peace and stability. Violence against women and girls is one of the most systematic, widespread human rights violations worldwide. Globally, 1 in 3 women is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. DFID has made significant progress in scaling up efforts to address violence against women and girls, nearly doubling our programming from 64 programmes in 2012 to 127 in 2016 (including the £25 million ‘What Works to Prevent Violence’ programme). The UK and the new Secretary of State will continue to lead the global effort to improve the lives of women and girls, promoting gender equality and women and girls empowerment in all contexts.