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  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, with reference to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 7713, what progress has been made on developing device independent applications for the distribution of select committee papers; and how many hon. Members have now been issued with (a) android and (b) iPad devices.

    Tom Brake

    Options for the distribution of committee papers are being explored. One option involves using a SharePoint based system to distribute committee papers and this is due to be tested with a select committee soon.

    Documents for select committees are circulated to committee members electronically, predominantly in PDF format. The PDF format can be read on a number of different devices.

    594 Apple iPads and 25 tablets of other makes have been purchased by or issued to Members’ offices in this Parliament.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Education Cannot Wait fund for education in emergencies enhances the capability and effectiveness of existing bodies such as the UNHCR and the Emergency Education Cluster and does not duplicate their work.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Education Cannot Wait is designed to bring together the expertise, energy and capabilities of different actors, to work together more effectively on education in emergencies and protracted crises. A diverse range of organisations were involved in the development of the fund – including UN agencies, donors, recipient countries and civil society – through a consultative process co-chaired by the UK and Canada. The fund is intended to enable agencies to do more of what they currently do well in the sector, for example through providing support to strengthen the humanitarian education cluster at a global and local level. The UK will continue to engage closely during Education Cannot Wait’s inception phase, to ensure that this objective is fully reflected in its final design and finance mechanisms, and that a wide range of organisations are represented through the fund’s governance structure.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of climate change on (a) agriculture, (b) food security and (c) levels of malnutrition in developing countries.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID is supporting research organisations to make assessments of the impact of climate change on agriculture, food security and malnutrition. This includes support to the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Programme. One of its recent assessments found that 60% of production of beans in sub-Saharan Africa was at risk from climate change. DFID also supports the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition which has recently made an assessment of the effects of climate change on food systems and nutrition.

    DFID is using these assessments to inform our policies and programmes on agriculture. For example DFID’s Agriculture Policy Framework includes action on climate change as one of its priorities for our programmes. An example is our support to the International Fund for Agriculture Development’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP). Our support to ASAP is helping 6 million smallholder farmers to cope with the effects of climate change and at the same time increasing their agriculture productivity, incomes and food security.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage other donors to fund Education For All: the fund for education in emergencies at its launch at the World Humanitarian Summit.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK has played a leading role in the development of the Education Cannot Wait fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, which was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit on 23rd May. The UK has committed to provide £30 million in support over two years to the new fund as a founding donor, which was announced by the International Development Secretary at the fund’s launch. The UK is working closely with UNICEF and other partners to encourage a broad funding base to Education Cannot Wait, including funding from non-traditional donors, private sector and philanthropic organisations. An example is UK technical support to the fund’s case for investment and other key communication and outreach products, to raise awareness of the fund with others.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provision HM Prison Service makes to meet the spiritual needs of prisoners who speak Welsh in prisons in (a) Wales and (b) other parts of the UK.

    Andrew Selous

    The spiritual needs of Welsh speaking prisoners have been, and continue to be, provided by chaplains working in multi-faith teams. The framework for providing faith services in languages other than English is detailed in Prison Service Instruction 05/2016 Faith and Pastoral Care of Prisoners.

    This can be found on the Justice website at the following link:

    https://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis

    “

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates have (a) resigned or (b) given notice to resign to HM Courts and Tribunals Service since February 2016; and how many magistrates resigned or gave notice to resign in equivalent periods in 2014 and 2015.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The numbers of magistrates who resigned between 1 February and 20 May this year and each of the two preceding years are shown below:

    2016: 223

    2015: 360

    2014: 305

    The Judicial Office is notified of resignations, and processes them, on a rolling basis. The figure for 2016 does not, therefore, include any resignations which have been received locally by bench chairmen or advisory committees, but not yet communicated to the Judicial Office. That information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish his Department’s post-implementation review of tribunal fees.

    Dominic Raab

    Following public consultation, the government introduced fees in Employment Tribunals as a way of reducing the burden on the taxpayer and to encourage parties to seek alternative ways of resolving their disputes.

    On 11 June 2015, we announced the start of the post-implementation review of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals. The review will report in due course.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to carry out an (a) impact and (b) equality assessment of the Government’s policy of replacing the Human Rights Act 1998 with a British Bill of Rights.

    Dominic Raab

    We will set out our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course. We will fully consult on our proposals.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for the provision of rehabilitation and re-education for perpetrators of coercive control and intimate partner violence who are serving (a) custodial and (b) non-custodial sentences.

    Andrew Selous

    The Ministry of Justice works with its partners to deliver a range of services and programmes across custody and community which aim to reduce and manage the risk posed by perpetrators of coercive control and intimate partner violence. We use structured risk assessment to understand the risks, needs and circumstances of individual offenders. We then match individuals to appropriate interventions and services, such as the Building Better Relationships accredited programme, to reduce their risk, protect the community and ensure public money is spent in the best way.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of stopping survivors of domestic abuse from being cross-examined by their abusers in family court proceedings.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The family courts take the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. The Child Arrangement Programme and Practice Direction 12J sets out a strong and clear framework for judges to apply to the management of difficult court room situations, to ensure they are handled sensitively for alleged victims of domestic violence and other vulnerable witnesses. All judges receive specific training on this framework and they can intervene to prevent inappropriate questions or have questions relayed. Practical protections, for example, protective screens, video links, separate waiting rooms and separate entrances are available where appropriate.