The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-10-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time was for a final decision on an asylum application in each of the last five years.
Mr Robert Goodwill
Information regarding Asylum data is published as part of the Government’s Transparency agenda the latest release of which can be found at can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-november-2016
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Faulkner of Worcester on 2015-11-04.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to determine the application for the confirmation of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway byelaws.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
I regret the delay in dealing with this matter and have asked officials to bring it to a conclusion as soon as possible.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2015-12-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what he weight he plans to give to the views of people living close to the proposed shale gas well at Roseacre and Preston New Road in the process for considering planning appeals by Cuadrilla Resources to build wells at those sites.
James Wharton
A planning appeal is a quasi-judicial process, and every application needs to be considered on its individual merits, with due process, in light of the relevant material considerations. To avoid prejudicing the decisions, I should not comment further but can reassure my hon. Friend that all relevant issues identified by local people in the current appeals by Cuadrilla Resources will be given very careful consideration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeffrey M. Donaldson on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve the attendance of reservists at weekly drills, training exercises and medical assessments.
Mr Julian Brazier
The majority of Reserve personnel train on a regular basis, effectively balancing their commitment to their Service with the competing demands of a busy modern life. The Ministry of Defence recognises and rewards reservists’ commitment to our nation in various ways.
We have provided better equipment, and more opportunities for interesting and challenging experiences, including exercises, adventurous training and overseas training.
Volunteer reservists are paid for attendance at training and also receive a tax-exempt training bounty provided they fulfil their Service’s annual training requirement including a two week camp or course. They have also received an annual paid leave entitlement since 1 April 2013.
In addition, since April 2015, reservists have been eligible for the new Armed Forces Pension Scheme for non-mobilised service, based on paid attendance.
These are just some examples of the actions the Department has taken to demonstrate that reservists are valued and valuable.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen on 2016-02-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what additional steps, if any, they will take to monitor and enforce compliance with the School Admissions Code in the light of their decision to limit those who can formally object to school admission arrangements; and what estimate they have made of what percentage of the objections submitted to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator by (1) parents, and (2) groups or organisations, were successful between 2012 and 2015 inclusive.
Lord Nash
The School Admissions Code exists to ensure that places in all state funded schools are allocated in a fair and transparent manner. The Department for Education will shortly be consulting on a package of changes to the Code, which will include measures to assist parents and promote fairness and transparency. The proposed changes in relation to objections are designed to ensure that the Schools Adjudicator is able to focus on the concerns parents may have about the fairness of the admission arrangements of their local school and is not held up by the need to also consider large numbers of objections referred by interest groups from outside the area. Local authorities will continue to have the right to object so that they are able to act on behalf of the local community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-02-29.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are aware of the recent case of 15 year-old Matthew Garnett who, as a consequence of being on the autistic spectrum, has been confined to a psychiatric intensive care unit for six months without having been moved to a more appropriate care facility, and what action they are taking to prevent such cases arising in future.
Lord Prior of Brampton
We are aware of this case, and we welcome NHS England’s confirmation that Matthew will be moving to a more appropriate facility in the next month.
Delivery of appropriate care for the few individuals with very complex needs will always be a challenge. The people who can best assess local care needs and ensure that those needs are met are local commissioners, though some people will require care that is commissioned on a national level for rare conditions, including some mental health conditions with comorbidities such as autistic spectrum disorders or learning disabilities. This includes inpatient treatment for children and young people with mental health conditions.
NHS England is continuing Care and Treatment Reviews for children and young people with learning disabilities in inpatient settings and 52 week residential schools. These reviews ensure the care and setting are appropriate to the child or young person’s needs, and where needed, allow planned moves to community-based care or more appropriate inpatient accommodation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the oral Answer of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, what assessment he has made of whether evidence of the reported airstrike in Yemen on a market place in the Hajjah Governorate provides grounds for determining that international humanitarian law has been broken.
Mr Philip Hammond
We are aware of allegations regarding a strike on a market on north-western Yemen in Hajjah Governate on 15 March. The MoD monitors incidents of alleged International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations, including this incident, using all available information. The UK has encouraged Saudi Arabia to investigate allegations of breaches of IHL. The Saudi Arabian Government announced on 29 February that they are forming an independent committee to examine military activity in civilian areas in order to minimise possible civilian casualties; assess the Coalition’s rules of engagement; assess accidents, verification and targeting procedures and advise how they can be improved; and provide a clear, full and objective report for each investigation made including conclusions, lessons learnt and recommendations for future actions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.
To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what progress has been made on the Near Neighbours programme.
Mrs Caroline Spelman
The Church Commissioners welcome the Government’s recent announcement of a further £1.5 million for the Near Neighbours programme, which is administered by the Church Urban Fund. This third round of funding for Near Neighbours will help it build on its successful track record of delivering projects up and down the country to transform local areas by strengthening relationships between those of different religious and ethnic backgrounds on issues of shared concern.
The Near Neighbours programme has offered small grants between £250 and £5,000, providing seed capital for local groups and organisations who are working to bring together neighbours, to develop relationships across diverse faiths and ethnicities in order to improve their communities. The Near Neighbours grants fund has so far awarded seed capital worth £3.66m to over 1,120 projects. These projects have impacted the lives of 941,000 people and 71% of projects have continued to run after the initial seed capital was spent. All Near Neighbours projects are designed to change hearts and minds by bringing together different communities within a neighbourhood so that they can work together on issues of shared concern and common values.
More information on Near Neighbours can be found on its website at: https://www.cuf.org.uk/how-we-help/near-neighbours
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female offenders received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales in each of the last six years; and what the offence group was for such offenders.
Caroline Dinenage
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts taking into account all the circumstances of each case. In order to pass a custodial sentence the court must be satisfied that the offence is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community order can be justified. Where a custodial sentence is imposed it must be for the shortest period commensurate with the seriousness of the offence.
The number of female offenders who received an immediate sentence of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more in each police force area in Wales by offence group from 2010 and 2015 can be viewed in the table. This information is a further breakdown of the sentencing data tool, published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what works took place on the engines of the Type 45 Destroyers while they were collectively docked during the summer of 2016.
Harriett Baldwin
The planned maintenance periods in 2016 for all Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyers have included work on the propulsion systems.