The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of patients who will have to use other hospitals if Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is closed.
Ben Gummer
No estimate has been made. These are matters for the National Health Service.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 28 April (HL Deb, col 1244), what provision was made in the Treasury document published on 18 April on the economic efforts of a UK withdrawal from the EU for funding the health, education, welfare and other costs associated with the forecast increase in that document of three million in the population of the UK by 2030.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
“HM Treasury analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives” shows that after 15 years, even with savings from reduced contributions to the EU, receipts would be £20 billion a year lower in the central estimate of the EEA, £36 billion a year lower for the negotiated bilateral agreement and £45 billion a year lower for the WTO alternative. £36 billion is more than a third of the NHS budget and the equivalent of 8p on the basic rate of income tax.
The HMT analysis does not forecast immigration but uses the latest figures from ONS as a modelling assumption. These numbers do not take account of future Government actions to reduce immigration, including the emergency brake on welfare agreed as part of the renegotiation.
The Government is committed to controlling migration by dealing with those who shouldn’t be here, by deporting illegal immigrants and improving the skills of British workers, so we reduce the demand for skilled migrants.
The Prime Minister has re-negotiated the UK’s position within the EU to close back-door routes into the UK and exert greater control over EU migration by tackling the draw of our welfare system.
But net migration remains too high and there is still more work to do.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Moonie on 2016-06-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect the Watchkeeper Programme to achieve Initial Operating Capability 2, previously expected to be achieved by April, and when they now expect Equipment Support Systems to be released to service.
Earl Howe
It is expected that the Watchkeeper programme will declare Initial Operating Capability 2 standard by July 2016. An initial set of release to service recommendations for the Watchkeeper system at Equipment Standard 2 should be provided by March 2017. This will provide sufficient clearance for the Army to fly the Watchkeeper system in that configuration and support delivery of Full Operating Capability by the target date of April 2017.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to secure the co-operation of voluntary organisations that are ready to assist in welcoming child refugees.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
UK Government officials have confirmed that the Citizens UK list has been passed to the French authorities, who are primarily responsible for migrants on French territory.
We continue to work with the French authorities and others to speed up exist-ing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary. We will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.
We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe; over 70 of these are from France.
It is important that the due processes under the Dublin Regulation are followed. This position was recently confirmed in a Court of Appeal judgement (“ZAT and others”). Families are only contacted once a transfer request has been made and a family link has been established. When we accept a request to transfer an unaccompanied minor we liaise with Local Authorities and the child’s family.
A new scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a refugee family was launched by the Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 July. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ web-page has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to pre-screen young refugees from the camp in Calais before they enter the UK.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The EU’s Dublin Regulation clearly sets out the criteria for transferring asylum claims between Member States. The Government wishes to reaffirm that migrants in Calais have not yet been determined as refugees, and furthermore, the Dublin Regulation is the EU’s mechanism for transferring asylum claims, rather than a resettlement route. Section 67 of the Immigration Act sets out that ‘unaccompanied refugee children’ will be relocated to the UK. In respect of Calais, the Government has been clear that unaccompanied children will be prioritised if they meet the Dublin criteria.
We work closely with the French authorities and their partner agencies to ensure all those who come to the UK from the camps in Calais are eligible under the Dublin Regulation. All individuals are referred to the UK authorities by the NGO France Terre D’asile (FTDA) and are then interviewed by French and UK officials. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.
Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Where we believe someone is significantly over 18, they will be refused. The Home Office does not use dental x-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum as they have been described by the British Dental Association as inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical.
Since June the Home Office has been working closely with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships across the UK to ensure that we have the structures in place to support the transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children, both within the UK and from Europe.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-09.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has received from the Government on providing the latest electoral registration statistics in response to Freedom of Information requests.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission has received no specific guidance from the Government in relation to the Freedom of Information Act, although it is aware of the general guidance produced by both Government and the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding the Act and the handling of requests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-12-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will meet (a) Surfers Against Sewage and (b) other charities and non-governmental organisations to discuss measures to keep the UK’s beaches clean for sport and recreational activities.
Rory Stewart
The vast majority of our beaches are high quality. We are determined to keep them that way and we are willing to work with all those who want to achieve this. Defra officials regularly meet Surfers Against Sewage and other environmental Non-Government Organisations to talk about the issues impacting our beaches. I would be pleased if they would contact my office to discuss a meeting.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Written Statement of 25 March 2014, 9WS, whether it is still the Government’s policy not to grant an arms license if there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
Anna Soubry
The framework for arms export licensing remains as set out in the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, known as the Consolidated Criteria. All licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated Criteria. A licence would not be granted if to do so would be a breach of the Criteria, including if there was a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-02-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the £536 million spent by the Department for International Development on malaria in 2013–14 was disbursed, and how much of the total committed to malaria in 2014–15 has not yet been spent.
Baroness Verma
The methodology used to monitor UK malaria spend between 2008/09 and 2014/15 was published in the 2010 Framework for Results for Malaria. In 2013/14 the UK provided £536 million to help reduce malaria deaths. The UK is helping to tackle malaria through bilateral and multilateral channels. The UK’s bilateral support includes: malaria-specific bilateral programmes (36% of total malaria spend in 2013/14); support to strengthening health systems (20% of malaria spend in 2013/14); and other bilateral support including the delivery of interventions to reduce malaria in pregnancy and supporting malaria related research (10% of 2013/14 malaria spend).
The main contribution to tackling malaria through multilateral channels is the UK support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (31% of total malaria spend in 2013/14).All of the Department’s 2014/15 spend on malaria has been disbursed. The UK’s investment on malaria has contributed to saving more than six million lives over the past 15 years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Louise Ellman on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many Yazidi refugees have been relocated to the UK under the Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme to date; and if she will make a statement.
Mr Desmond Swayne
The Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme is based on need; it prioritises the most vulnerable Syrian refugees who cannot be supported effectively in their region of origin. In order to protect the vulnerable refugees selected for resettlement in the UK, we do not release detailed information about arrivals. However, Syrian Yazidis can certainly qualify for resettlement under the scheme if they are assessed as coming under one of the seven UNHCR vulnerability criteria, such as women and girls at risk, survivors of violence and torture and those with physical and legal protection needs.