The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps are being taken at border controls to prevent the Zika virus entering the UK.
James Brokenshire
Border Force Officers will refer any passengers that require medical attention in accordance with established procedures and advice from Public Health England.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the implications are for the timescale of projects her Department funds in developing countries of the 15 year timescale that has been set for achieving the sustainable development goals.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The Global Goals will be the starting point for all DFID’s work in the coming years. All DFID programmes have to consider at the design stage what longer-term impact they will have and how the envisaged benefits of the programme will be sustained beyond the period of DFID’s support, and all individual DFID programmes and DFID’s overall portfolio are reviewed on a regular basis, with the rate of progress towards the Global Goals a key factor.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of high inflation in Malawi.
Mr Nick Hurd
Malawi has one of the highest rates of inflation in Africa: double digit inflation is commonplace. High inflation, alongside high fiscal deficits, debt and interest rates, are lowering business confidence and crowding out private investment. Social services are being delivered from a constrained budget with high levels of government borrowing. Poor harvests in 2015 and poor rainfall due to the ongoing El Nino are affecting the national economy and Malawi is now facing its worst food insecurity crisis in a decade. The UK and international partners are responding.
DFID Malawi works closely with other development partners, in particular the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to monitor the macroeconomic situation in Malawi. The IMF’s Article IV Consultation in December 2015 concluded that “an appropriately tight fiscal policy is needed to support monetary policy actions aimed at placing inflation on a downward trajectory.” DFID is working with the World Bank to inform the Government of Malawi’s next Development Strategy.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the prevalence of hunger in Malawi.
Mr Nick Hurd
DFID has a significant programme of ongoing support in health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation and economic development, particularly in rural areas and with the private sector, for growth, jobs, incomes and food insecurity. We support increasing access to justice for women and vulnerable groups, accountability and governance reforms.
The UK was one of the first development partners to respond to Malawi’s international appeal for emergency aid in October 2015. The UK has now committed £14.5m through partners including the World Food Programme, UNICEF and an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) consortium led by Save the Children. This support includes:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans the Government has to contribute to the funding agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015 to assist developing countries in adapting to the effects of climate change.
Mr Nick Hurd
The Government will provide £5.8 billion over the next five years to support developing countries in tackling climate change through the UK International Climate Fund, including at least £1.76 billion in 2020, ensuring that the UK plays its part in achieving the goal of mobilising $100 billion of climate finance a year by 2020. We plan to spend 50% of our climate finance on adaptation and 50% on mitigation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what costs in each category of expenditure his Department incurred in relation to the proposed tender of criminal legal aid contracts.
Mr Shailesh Vara
This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the number of weapons confiscated at each UK prison for each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
Data on the confiscation of all types of weapons for the period requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost. I refer the Hon Member to PQ24706, which contains data on firearms, and PQ24558, which contains data on knives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23485, for what reasons the information sought could only be provided at disproportionate cost; and what discussions his Department has had with other Government departments on holding this information in a way which permits its less costly provision.
Dominic Raab
The Ministry of Justice is one of the largest government departments and has responsibility for a number of different parts of the justice system – the courts, tribunals, prisons, legal services, youth justice, probation services, and attendance centres. The Department includes terms and conditions in its contracts that require third parties such as contracted-out services and suppliers (e.g. courier and postal services) to inform us of any data or security breaches that may have taken place. To identify any breaches involving document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials by external consultants or other third parties that may have taken place would require a search across all the Department’s branches, which would incur a disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in which prisons the eight apparent homicides referred to in the Safety in Custody Statistics, England and Wales: Deaths in prison custody to December 2015; Assaults and Self-harm to September 2015, published on 28 January 2016, took place.
Dominic Raab
The eight apparent homicides occurred at the following prisons: HMP Dartmoor, HMP Doncaster, HMP Long Lartin, HMP Nottingham, HMP Peterborough, HMP Ranby, HMP Swaleside, HMP Wandsworth.
The classification of these deaths remains provisional until confirmed at inquest.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library the improvement plan developed by South Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company in response to the audit conducted by his Department.
Andrew Selous
The action plan developed by South Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company in response to the operational assurance audit last year is commercially sensitive.
We hold providers rigorously to account for their performance and take action wherever they are falling short. Following an audit by the Ministry of Justice, South Yorkshire CRC has now developed an action plan. We will continue to monitor the CRC’s performance closely.
Our probation reforms are designed to make sure almost all offenders receive support on release, including, for the first time, those sentenced to less than 12 months.