The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any staff of her Department are engaged in considering the effects of drone strikes on civilian populations as part of her Department’s work in the Middle East and North Africa.
Mr Desmond Swayne
In countries where DFID has humanitarian programmes, we monitor the general humanitarian situation in close communication with partners on the ground.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department will assess (a) the effect of drone strikes on civilian populations and (b) access to civilian compensation schemes as part of its humanitarian mission in Iraq and Syria.
Justine Greening
We are monitoring the impact of military operations on civilian populations in both Iraq and Syria and ensuring our humanitarian response is targeted to those most in need. To date, the UK has pledged £800 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region, and a further £39.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. Access to civilian compensation schemes is an MoD lead and therefore does not form part of our humanitarian mission.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Clappison on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department provides to religious minorities affected by the activities of ISIL in Iraq and Syria.
Justine Greening
UK aid is reaching hundreds of thousands of vulnerable displaced people across Iraq and Syria, including those religious minorities affected by ISIL’s activities. All UK funded aid is distributed on the basis of need to ensure civilians are not discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, or ethnicity. DFID continues to work with the UN and the international community to ensure all minorities’ rights are protected and our aid reaches those in greatest need. To date, the UK has pledged £800 million in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region, and a further £39.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what research her Department has undertaken on access of civilian victims of drone strikes in Afghanistan to civilian compensation schemes administered by troop contributing nations.
Justine Greening
Access to civilian compensation schemes is a Ministry of Defence lead. There is a system in place for handling all claims for compensation brought against the Ministry of Defence by Afghan civilians.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any employees of Rio Tinto plc have been seconded to her Department in the last five years.
Justine Greening
Fewer than 5 former DFID officials have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five year. The exact number has been withheld to protect the identity of those individuals involved. No employees of Rio Tinto have been seconded to DFID in the last 5 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether any former officials in her Department have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five years.
Justine Greening
Fewer than 5 former DFID officials have taken employment with Rio Tinto plc in the last five year. The exact number has been withheld to protect the identity of those individuals involved. No employees of Rio Tinto have been seconded to DFID in the last 5 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the outcomes were of her visit to New York and Washington in February 2015 to brief US administration representatives on the progress of the Stormont House Agreement.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
I updated a number of key figures in the US Administration, in Congress and in the Irish-American community on the Stormont House Agreement. It is evident from these meetings that there is strong US support for the Agreement, and ongoing interest in its implementation, including the devolution of corporation tax powers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with (a) Ministers of the Scottish Government and (b) his ministerial colleagues on the sharing of Scottish NHS data with HM Revenue and Customs in relation to implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax.
Mr Alistair Carmichael
The Scottish Government is consulting until the end of February on whether HMRC should be allowed access to NHS Scotland data (name, date of birth, postcode and gender data) to support the identification of Scottish taxpayers, who will pay tax at the Scottish rate of income tax from April 2016. Discussions have taken place between the two administrations and there will be further discussions after the conclusion of the consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2015-02-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many children in Scotland are living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty.
Mr Alistair Carmichael
Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income series. These estimates are available as three-year averages to 2012/13, and show that in 2010/11-2012/13 the number and percentage of children in relative and absolute low income was 0.2 million (17%) and 0.2 million (18%) respectively.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2015-02-11.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission issues on the sale of electoral registration details of electors who (a) are on the open register and (b) have opted not to be included on the central register.
Mr Gary Streeter
Electoral legislation prescribes in what circumstances and to whom electors’ details on the full and open electoral registers can be sold.
The ‘full’ electoral register includes the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote. Access to, and use of, the full electoral register is carefully controlled. It is only available for sale to certain government departments and other bodies, as well as to credit reference agencies, and may only be used for the purposes for which it has been supplied (for example, credit reference agencies may only use it for credit reference purposes).
The open register is an extract of the electoral register, which electors can opt out of. The open register can be bought by any person, company or organisation.
The Electoral Commission’s guidance to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) summarises what they are required to do by law. The guidance makes clear the difference between the open and the full registers, and sets out who can have access to them and the prescribed fees for supply.
Individuals applying to register to vote are provided with information on the open and full registers, including what they are used for and who can be provided with data from them.
As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, EROs wrote to all existing electors who had been automatically transferred to the new registers. This letter included information on both the open and full register. The Commission’s report on the first phase of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, published in October 2014, noted that when EROs began sending these confirmation letters it became clear from the response that many people who were on the open register were not aware of that fact, and were unhappy about how their information was being used.
The Commission remains of the view that the open register should no longer be compiled or made available for sale. The Commission has also recommended that, should the open register be retained, electors should be asked whether they wish to opt in, rather than opt out.