The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the selection process and timetable are for appointing the UK’s new judge on the European Court of Human Rights.
Dominic Raab
This information is available at https://jac.judiciary.gov.uk/vacancies/018.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has produced to assist police forces in apprehending foreign-born minors and their transfer into the care of local authorities; and if she will make a statement.
Karen Bradley
Guidance to the police on the identification and support of unaccompanied minors from overseas currently exists in two complementary guidance documents, both produced by the then Association of Chief Police Officers and currently supported by the National Policing Lead and the College of Policing: Guidance on the Management, Recording and Investigation of Missing Persons (2010) and Interim Guidance on the Management, Recording and Investigation of Missing Persons (2013). Advice to practitioners, including the police, is also contained within two pieces of statutory guidance from the Department for Education: Care of unaccompanied and trafficked children (2014) and Safeguarding Children who may have been trafficked (2011).
The College of Policing ran a public consultation in 2015 on revisions to the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance to the police on the handling of missing persons investigations. This is currently being developed following consultation. The APP is expected to contain reference to unaccompanied foreign children, highlighting their vulnerabilities and the potential danger of exploitation, and re-affirm the need to investigate these cases effectively, considering the risks to the child, particularly from adults who may purport to be relatives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his Nigerian counterpart international assistance that can be provided to that country to tackle Boko Haram during 2016.
James Duddridge
We regularly talk to our Nigerian counterparts, at the highest levels, about UK assistance to Nigeria to help them tackle Boko Haram. I raised this with the Nigerian Foreign Minister earlier this month at the African Union summit. This week the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon. Baroness Anelay of St John’s returned from Nigeria where she met Nigerian ministers and reiterated the UK’s support to Nigeria in combating Boko Haram.
We are providing a substantial and increasing package of intelligence, military and development support to Nigeria. This includes training and advice on counter-insurgency. Almost 1000 Nigerian military personnel have benefited from UK training to prepare them for counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria and up to 300 UK military personnel are expected to provide training to the Nigerian Armed Forces this year (2016). We have also provided £5m to support a regional taskforce against the group and are also providing £6.7m humanitarian assistance for Nigeria to support those affected by the Boko Haram conflict.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that seven day NHS provision will be accessible in all parts of the country.
Ben Gummer
The Government has committed that by 2020 patients with urgent and emergency care hospital needs will have access to the same high quality hospital care at the weekend as they do during the week. This means that these patients will have access to the same level of consultant review, diagnostic tests and treatments seven days a week. Hospitals will deliver this seven day provision for 25% of the population by March 2017, 50% by March 2018 and the rest of England by 2020.
The Government has also committed that by 2020 everyone will be able to access routine general practitioner appointments at evenings and weekends. NHS 111 will give patients easy, 24/7 access to integrated urgent care services, offering clinical assessment, advice and treatment. A range of professionals will be directly available to speak to callers who need it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-04-11.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for food fraud in the form of meat substitution there were in each of the last three years.
Lord Prior of Brampton
Local authorities are responsible for prosecuting meat species substitution offences. Generally, these prosecutions are taken forward under regulations relating to the labelling and mis-description of food, rather than under fraud legislation. The Food Standards Agency has taken on the task of compiling a register of successful food law prosecutions and is just completing the first year of data collection on local authority food prosecutions. However, it does not hold definitive data on prosecutions for offences of this nature in the last three years.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to engage with international partners to tackle the persecution of secularists or of people with no faith in Bangladesh.
Mr Hugo Swire
As I said to the House on 24 May, there is more we can do to help the Government of Bangladesh to tackle the challenges they face. I raised my concerns about the situation there most recently with the Bangladesh High Commissioner on 24 May.
Our High Commission in Dhaka regularly meets international partners to discuss the treatment of secular activists and minority groups in Bangladesh. Most recently, on 22 May, our High Commissioner met Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali, with other EU Ambassadors, to discuss signs that intolerance across Bangladesh is increasing
In September 2015, officials from the British High Commission in Dhaka met Heiner Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, during his visit to Bangladesh. We urge the Government of Bangladesh to implement the recommendations in his report, which includes a call for the government to “protect the vibrant civil society and pluralistic society in Bangladesh”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-07-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the appropriateness of the application of the CITES Annex 1 listing to elephants; and what assessment she has made of the potential effect of that listing on the domestic trade in ivory.
Rory Stewart
All proposals for the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) are currently being assessed against the established scientific criteria for listings set out in the Convention. Where justified by the scientific evidence, the UK will advocate further protection to support the survival of endangered species. This includes in negotiations with the Member States of the EU to ensure that our positions on proposals are taken into account before the final negotiating position for the EU and its Member States is agreed.
If the elephant uplisting proposal is successful at CoP17, it will prohibit international, commercial trade in ivory apart from in exceptional circumstances. The commercial use of ivory would generally be prohibited domestically, subject to certain exemptions, such as for worked, older pre-Convention items.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-09-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of agricultural produce imported from the Republic of Ireland in the last year for which figures are available.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In 2015, according to the latest HMRC data, the UK imported approximately £4 billion of goods relating to food, animal feed and drinks, as detailed in the table below:
UK imports of food, feed and drink from Republic of Ireland, 2015.
|
SITC |
||
|
Division |
||
|
Code |
Description |
£ million |
|
01 |
Meat |
1 384 |
|
02 |
Dairy |
648 |
|
03 |
Fish |
38 |
|
04 |
Cereals |
285 |
|
05 |
Fruit and Veg |
250 |
|
06 |
Sugar |
41 |
|
07 |
Coffee, tea, etc. |
184 |
|
08 |
Animal feed |
188 |
|
09 |
Misc. |
653 |
|
11 |
Drink |
273 |
|
22+S4 |
Oils |
39 |
|
Total |
3 983 |
Defra’s aggregate ‘Food, Feed and Drink’ is composed of the following divisions from the Standard International Trade Classification:
01 Meat: meat from cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, poultry, horses etc.
02 Dairy: includes milk, milk products, and all types of eggs.
03 Fish: All types of edible marine life excluding mammals.
04 Cereals: includes rice, wheat, barley, oats, maize etc.
05 Fruit and vegetables: includes fruit and vegetables, nuts (exc. groundnuts), juices, jams, marmalades etc.
06 Sugar: includes sugar and sugar confectionery (exc. chocolate or cocoa), honey and liquorice.
07 Coffee, tea, etc.: includes all types of coffee and tea, cocoa, chocolate and spices.
08 Animal feed: includes hay, fodder, bran, sharps, and all types of pet or animal food.
09 Miscellaneous: includes margarine, sauces, vinegar, soups, yeasts, cooked/stuffed pasta and baby food.
11 Drink: includes alcoholic drinks of all kinds and natural or artificial waters.
22+S4 Oils: includes animal/vegetable oils, fats and waxes; groundnuts (peanuts), soya beans and seeds.
Source: HMRC
© Crown copyright, 2016
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many times the National Grid has used the demand side balancing reserve in each of the last 10 years.
Andrea Leadsom
The Demand Side Balancing Reserve (DSBR) was introduced by National Grid ahead of winter 14/15 to help manage electricity margins ahead of the introduction of the Capacity Market in 2018/19. Since its introduction, the DSBR has only been despatched on one occasion.
Both last year and this year, National Grid will have instructed units within the DSBR as part of testing their capability to ensure they are able to achieve the level and speed of turn-down for which they are contracted.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to improve the personal fitness and health of police officers.
Mike Penning
The Winsor review of police officer and staff pay and conditions, which the Home Secretary commissioned, recommended in March 2012 that fitness testing should be introduced. Following consideration by the Police Advisory Board, mandatory fitness testing was implemented on 1 September 2014.
The management of initiatives that support officers to improve fitness is a matter for individual police forces and the College of Policing has issued guidance in this area.