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  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, on immigration detention, HCWS679, whether notice will be given to pregnant women who will be detained.

    James Brokenshire

    At present, detention is authorised by an officer of at least the rank of Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) or Higher Executive Officer (HEO). As stated in the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement of 14 January, the Government is developing a new approach to the case management of those detained. This is intended to replace the existing detention review process with a clear removal plan for all those in detention.

    It will ensure that all detainees, including pregnant women, spend the minimum possible time in detention. Under the new policy in order for detention to be extended beyond 72 hours ministerial authorisation will be required and the maximum detention period will be one week.

    Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards already provide independent oversight of detention facilities and conditions of detention. Individuals, including pregnant women, are given prior notification of their liability to removal from the UK by the Home Office and they would be detained only for the purposes of identification or removal.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 April 2016 to Question 33257, what the Government’s policy is on (a) granting residency to and (b) possible prosecution of people who arrive in the UK as either refugees or asylum seekers who are married to a child under 16 when such marriages were undertaken legally outside the UK and were not performed under duress.

    James Brokenshire

    People of any age who are able to establish a protection need will normally be granted asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK irrespective of whether they are married to a child under 16 where the marriage was undertaken legally outside the UK and not under duress.

    A person under 18 who seeks asylum as the spouse or civil partner of another asylum seeker will not be allowed to do so and must apply for asylum in their own right as a minor. Any minor seeking asylum or refugee granted leave on this basis who is known to be in a relationship akin to marriage will be referred to the local authority social services at the earliest opportunity, irrespective of the legality of the marriage or whether the marriage is believed to have taken place under duress.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to ensure that protection and empowerment of girls is given equal priority to that of women at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    It is a priority of the UK to secure Summit outcomes that promote the protection and empowerment of both women and girls, strengthening their voices, choice and control in crisis settings. Women and girls share equal status within that priority.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to ensure that the global risk platform to be debated at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 meets the needs of people affected by natural and social disasters.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is part of the discussions on the Global Risk Register and is helping to ensure they review how the national and international systems address the needs of affected populations quickly and effectively.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will take steps to address the issue of funding for child protection interventions in humanitarian contexts at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The World Humanitarian Summit presents a major opportunity to reflect on the international humanitarian system, including how it delivers for the most vulnerable, such as children. The UK recognises the critical importance of protecting children in times of crisis and expects this issue to be raised at the Summit, where the UK will be launching new commitments on funding and delivering education in emergencies.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations the Government has made to the Israeli government on the confiscation near Qalqillhya on 7 May 2015 of 3,000 metres of water pipes funded by her Department as part of a project with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Palestinian Ministry of Ariculture.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The confiscated pipes have all been returned.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many times she has attended public meetings of the International Development Committee since her appointment.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Ministerial attendance at public meetings of the International Development Committee is a matter of public record. Details can be found online at http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/formal-minutes/

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  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29547, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of steps taken to reach vulnerable Yazidis now located in Turkish camps to enable them to be resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme; and if she will make a statement.

    Richard Harrington

    UNHCR identifies Syrian refugees for resettlement using their established vulnerability criteria. Membership of a minority religion is not in itself one of the vulnerability criteria but members of minority religious groups, such as Syrian Yazidis, may qualify under one of the criteria.

    The seven vulnerability criteria used by the UNHCR are Legal and or Physical Protection Needs; Survivors of Torture and/or Violence; Medical Needs; Women and Girls at Risk; Family Reunification; Children and Adolescents at Risk and Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions.

    We are providing support to UNHCR to strengthen their resettlement work with Syrian refugees and specifically to intensify their outreach to groups that might be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/discrimination, or who might be unaware of the safe space that UNHCR can provide and the options available to them. This includes all religious minorities, people with disabilities, and survivors of torture and sexual violence.

    On 21 April my Rt Hon. Friend James Brokenshire laid a Written Ministerial Statement launching a new resettlement scheme for ‘Children at Risk’ from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The scheme will not target unaccompanied children alone, but will be extended to all ‘Children at Risk’ as defined by the UNHCR. Through this category we will resettle the most vulnerable children accompanied by their families where the UNHCR deems resettlement is in the best interests of the child.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) access to justice and (b) early settlement of claims of changes made in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The last government implemented reforms to the justice system through provisions contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. Part 1 of the Act reformed the legal aid system and Part 2 reformed costs and funding arrangements for civil litigation.

    There will be post-implementation reviews of Parts 1 and 2 of the Act between three to five years after implementation (that is, between 2016 and 2018), although the government has indicated that it will carry out the review of Part 2 towards the end of that period.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33485, in what capacity those polygraph examinations have been conducted; and for what reasons polygraph examinations have been so used to examine sex offender behaviour.

    Andrew Selous

    The legal basis for the polygraph scheme is in the Offender Management Act 2007. Sections 28 to 30 enable a polygraph licence condition to be added to the release licence of certain sex offenders. In January 2014, following a successful pilot, the condition was introduced nationally.

    Polygraph testing has proven to be a valuable additional tool for National Probation Service offender managers in the management of certain sex offenders in the community. It increases the chance that those sexual offenders will make critically significant disclosures relevant to their management, supervision, or risk assessment. Furthermore, it has increased the likelihood of preventative actions being taken by offender managers to protect the public from harm, such as warnings and recall to custody.