The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many new athletics tracks have been built since August 2012.
David Evennett
According to Sport England’s Active Places Power database which maps community sports facilities in England, 15 new athletics tracks have been built in England since 2012. This data can be found at: www.activeplacespower.com
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-03-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the value of sanctioned Iranian assets currently held by (a) the Government and (b) any other entity within the UK.
Harriett Baldwin
Financial sanctions are implemented in the United Kingdom by HM Treasury. When assets are frozen they remain where they are held and are not seized or confiscated by the government or the Treasury. As such, the government does not hold frozen assets belonging to designated Iranian or other persons subject financial sanctions.
Every year the Treasury requests information from businesses on funds they hold that are frozen under financial sanctions legislation. The most recent data from September 2015 showed that there was approximately £728,450,000 of funds frozen under the Iran (non-proliferation) sanctions regime.
In July 2015 the EU/E3+3 and the Islamic Republic of Iran reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). On 16 January 2016 the initial sanctions relief provided for under the JCPoA came into effect. Part of this relief included the lifting of the asset freeze against certain individuals and entities with frozen balances of approximately £657,830,000. Therefore approximately £70,620,000 remains frozen.
The next phase of sanctions relief under the JCPoA is due on Transition Day in eight years’ time, or when the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that all nuclear material in Iran remains in peaceful activities, whichever is earlier.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many and what proportion of Syrian opposition groups which the Joint Intelligence Committee has identified as non-extremist are currently represented in the UN-led peace negotiations in Geneva.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
There are currently four representatives of Armed Opposition Groups in the seventeen member negotiating team of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee in Geneva, including Mohammed Alloush (representing one of the armed groups), who is the Chief Negotiator.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the First Report from the Women and Equalities Committee, Session 2015-16, on Transgender equality, HC 390, what consultation she has undertaken on the potential implications for single-sex provision in women’s refuges and other services for victims of domestic or sexual violence of changes to the Equalities Act 2010 recommended in that report; and if she will make a statement.
Caroline Dinenage
The Government has welcomed the report from the Women and Equalities Select Committee into transgender equality.
The report provides a substantial number of recommendations covering almost a dozen public bodies, including several recommendations which call for significant changes to legislation and reforms to the NHS. Government is carefully considering these recommendations.
We continually engage with stakeholders from women’s and transgender communities and we would consider their views before making any changes to legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of instances of sexual harassment that have taken place in schools in each of the last three years.
Nick Gibb
The information requested is not available.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-15.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe following her five-year prison sentence in Iran; and what priority they assign to reuniting Nazanin and her daughter with her husband in the UK.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government continues to raise its strong concerns about Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s five year sentence. Iran does not recognise dual nationality for Iranian nationals and therefore has not provided any information to us about Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case or the charges against her. On 11 September our Acting Ambassador to Tehran raised our concerns with the Iranian Government and pressed for urgent confirmation of the charges. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), raised our strong concerns for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe with Iranian President Rouhani on 9 August. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), similarly raised her case with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 4 August, and followed up in writing on 29 August. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) met Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family on 8 September to reassure them that we will continue to raise her case with the Iranian authorities at the highest levels at every available opportunity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the concentration of flight paths over residential areas near Heathrow Airport.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government’s overall policy on aviation noise, as stated in the 2013 Aviation Policy Framework (APF), is ‘to limit and, where possible, reduce the number of people in the UK significantly affected by aircraft noise’. To achieve this, the Government believes in most cases it will be preferable to concentrate aircraft over as few routes as possible. The APF does however go on to say that ‘where there is intensive use of certain routes, and following engagement with local communities, it may be appropriate to explore options for respite which share noise between communities on an equitable basis, provided this does not lead to significant numbers of people newly affected by noise.’
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of making penalties for data breaches a criminal act in which negligence is involved.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government keeps the sanctions available for breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) periodically under review. The Information Commissioner alreadyhas the power to serve a Civil Monetary Penalty of up to £500,000 for‘serious’ contraventions of the DPA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government’s policy is on further developing the necessary facilities and skills for the UK to become a world centre of expertise in the dismantling of formerly-armed nuclear warheads.
Michael Fallon
As we set out in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we will reduce the overall stockpile of nuclear warheads to no more than 180 by the mid 2020s. The Government is investing in the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which is responsible for supporting the entire life-cycle of the UK’s nuclear warheads, from design and manufacture, to maintenance and certification of the existing warhead stockpile, and, ultimately, to decommissioning and disposal. In addition, the UK is co-operating with international partners – particularly the US and Norway – on a verification regime for the dismantlement of a nuclear weapon that could support any potential future nuclear disarmament treaty.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the US Department of Defense’s decision to delay the acceleration of orders of the F-35 until 2021.
Mr Philip Dunne
The US Department of Defense budget decision in relation to accelerating F-35 orders does not impact on the UK’s F-35B Lightning II procurement policy, which we will continue to progress in line with the Strategic Defence and Security Review. The programme remains on track for initial operating capability in 2018.