The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work with other countries to seek the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of forced organ harvesting in China.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
We have no plans to seek the establishment of an International Commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of forced organ harvesting in China.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to ways to prohibit British citizens from travelling to China for the purpose of obtaining an organ transplant until the practice of forced organ harvesting ceases.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
I refer the noble Lord to the answer the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma) gave on 14 September in response to Written Question 45143 from the Hon. Member for Strangford (Mr Jim Shannon), copied below for ease of reference:
“As My Rt Hon. Friend, the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hugo Swire, stated to the house on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round. My officials also raised the issue with their Chinese counterparts on 1 September 2016. However, despite the fact that UK physicians always advise patients against, it is very difficult to prevent UK citizens travelling to less well-regulated countries to seek an organ transplant. Although numbers are not known, it is thought that very few patients in the UK choose to do so.”
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the use in Florida of the organophosphate insecticide Naled, which is banned in the EU, what advice they are giving to British citizens intending to visit Florida; and what steps they are taking to place that advice on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The method of mosquito control in other countries is not a matter routinely covered by FCO travel advice. Currently, specific UK health travel advice for Florida and the wider US is supplied by the National Travel Health Network and Centre, to which the FCO website country pages have links.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial contribution they have received from the Church of England to fund the provision of facilities for refugees.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Government recently launched a community sponsorship scheme to enable community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to putting in place immediate arrangements for members of the armed forces to be trained in train driving, operating and management.
Earl Howe
Defence has no current plans in place to provide training in train driving, operating or management.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are planning to take to honour the British soldiers who fought in Musa Qala in Afghanistan in the autumn of 2006.
Earl Howe
Service in Afghanistan is recognised by the Operational Service Medal. All those who deployed to Afghanistan will have been eligible to receive the medal if they met the qualifying criteria. There is a long-standing rule that decisions taken with regards to medallic recognition should not be revisited once five years have passed since the conclusion of a military operation. The ‘five year’ rule has been looked at by the Committee on the Grants of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee) on a number of occasions, and on each occasion it has concluded that the rule is sound and should not be changed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements they have put in place to ensure that there is proper routine and emergency veterinary treatment for government cats, and any other officially owned animals in government service.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Individuals in each government department are responsible for the care of cats and any other animals residing in their buildings. We are mindful of our duties under the Animal Welfare Act, and this includes the provision of routine and emergency veterinary treatment. While no care or food costs for any animals in government buildings are funded by the public purse, these animals are supported and cared for thanks to voluntary fundraising.
I also refer my noble friend to the answer to him of 16 September 2016 to Question 1605.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in each month since December 2014, how many Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship were available, how many applications for such certificates were (1) granted, and (2) refused, and what was the minimum point score for successful applications.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The data requested is set out in the table below
|
Allocation Month |
RCoS available |
No of RCoS Granted |
No RCoS refused |
Minimum points score[1] |
Minimum salary required to meet points score |
|
Dec-14 |
2481 |
1819 |
0 |
32 |
£20,500 |
|
Jan-15 |
2416 |
1670 |
0 |
32 |
£20,500 |
|
Feb-15 |
2392 |
2409 |
0 |
32 |
£20,500 |
|
Mar-15 |
1690 |
1919 |
0 |
32 |
£20,500 |
|
Apr-15 |
2528 |
1888 |
0 |
32 |
£20,800[2] |
|
May-15 |
2285 |
2277 |
0 |
32 |
£20,800 |
|
Jun-15 |
1690 |
1215 |
1329 |
50 |
£46,000 |
|
Jul-15 |
2040 |
1943 |
1201 |
45 |
£32,000 |
|
Aug-15 |
2347 |
2418 |
583 |
36 |
£24,000 |
|
Sep-15 |
1544 |
1520 |
891 |
35 |
£23,000 |
|
Oct-15 |
2111 |
1953 |
374 |
22 |
£22,000 |
|
Nov-15 |
2011 |
2100 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Dec-15 |
1989 |
1774 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Jan-16 |
1926 |
1441 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Feb-16 |
2439 |
1760 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Mar-16 |
2661 |
1748 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Apr-16 |
2175 |
1692 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
May-16 |
2464 |
1849 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Jun-16 |
2575 |
1853 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Jul-16 |
2701 |
2238 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
|
Aug-16 |
2695 |
1952 |
0 |
21 |
£20,800 |
(1) The points table used to score applications changed in October 2015.
(2) The minimum salary to qualify under Tier 2 increased from £20,500 to £20,800 in April 2015, in line with wage inflation. This information is available in the public domain and can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employer-sponsorship-restricted-certificate-allocations/allocations-of-restricted-certificates-of-sponsorship
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the total mileage of each UK motorway is subject to speed restrictions lower than 70 mph.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The number of miles of a motorway subject to speed restrictions varies on a daily basis, depending on planned roadworks as well as temporary restrictions that need to be imposed due to incidents. There also are some sections, such as motorway to motorway junctions, which have speed restrictions due to the road geometry or for other safety considerations. Every effort is made to keep such restrictions to a minimum.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-09-13.
To ask the Leader of the House what explanation she has received from the Ministry of Justice concerning its failure to answer by 9 September a Question for Written Answer that was asked on 20 July (HL1379).
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park):
I regularly stress to departments the importance of giving timely answers to Questions for Written Answer. My office immediately approach departments who have not responded to questions after 10 working days, and remain in contact with them until the questions are answered. This process has been followed in both of the cases to which the noble Lord refers.
In the case of the Ministry of Justice question, I am informed that the delay related the process of transferring it to the right department for response. After discussion it was transferred to the Cabinet Office, who will provide a substantive answer by close of play this week. As regards the Department for Education questions, I am informed that the delay related to gathering complex data spanning a long period and the need to obtain clearance from across government. Both of the questions concerned have now been answered.
Regarding timely replies more generally, I have recently written to the three departments with the greatest proportion of late responses in the last session and I regularly set out the House’s expectations as they apply to QWAs to my frontbench team. Notwithstanding the cases referenced above, I am pleased to say that the proportion of on-time responses from the Ministry of Justice rose from 74% of questions in 2014-15 to 87% in 2015-16; while the Department for Education answered well over 90% of questions on time in both sessions.