The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many migrants have been rescued by British ships because they have found themselves in difficulty crossing the Mediterranean or Adriatic seas.
Earl Howe
In total, British ships have rescued over 24,000 migrants in the Mediterranean since April 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in implementing the recommendations put forward by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Government shares the concerns of the UN Commission of Inquiry regarding human rights in Eritrea, in particular shortcomings in the rule of law and indefinite national service.
We have made clear to the Eritrean Government the tangible improvements we want to see, including amending its national service system and fully implementing its own constitution. We are also urging the Government of Eritrea to increase further its engagement with international human rights bodies, such as the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which recently visited Eritrea and was allowed access for the first time to a place of detention. We are supporting UN and EU programmes set up to address recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review on human rights, and are funding a programme on strengthening the rule of law implemented by the Slynn Foundation.
The mechanism of the Special Rapporteur is an important tool for the international community to strengthen its engagement with Eritrea. The UK Statement to the Human Rights Council on 21 June called on both the Special Rapporteur and the Government of Eritrea to consider ways that they might work together constructively to enhance the progress Eritrea has begun to make in its human rights observance.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 13387, what information her Department holds on the number of sites approved for fracking in England and Wales; what the location is of each such site; and if she will make a statement.
Andrea Leadsom
There are currently no sites approved for fracking in England and Wales. Any operator would need a Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) in place before commencing hydrocarbon operations. A PEDL does not, in and of itself, allow an operator to commence hydrocarbon operations. Rather, they grant exclusivity to licensees within a defined area. All operations would also require local planning permission,Environment Agency permits, Health and Safety Executive scrutiny, Oil and Gas Authority consent and access agreement(s) with relevant landowner(s).
The Infrastructure Act 2015 introduced a range of further requirements that must be met before an operator can carry out hydraulic fracturing in a responsible, sustainable and safe manner. A hydraulic fracturing consent will not be issued unless my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is satisfied that the conditions are met. The Secretary of State must also be satisfied that it is appropriate to issue the consent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the recent review into pathways for victims of sexual assault; and if he will make a statement.
Jane Ellison
The independent review of pathways for victims of sexual assault was commissioned by NHS England. Work on next steps, including production of a summary report, is ongoing.
Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) service models vary from area to area, dependant on the commissioning decisions taken by police and Police and Crime Commissioners in partnership with their NHS England commissioners. Data on the numbers of SARCs offering therapeutic services is not collected centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-01-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will add pulmonary arterial hypertension to the conditions which are exempt from prescription charges.
Alistair Burt
There are no plans to change the list of medical conditions which provide exemption from prescription charges.
Other extensive exemption arrangements are in place, in England, including those based on low income, which support those who cannot afford to pay for their prescriptions. For those who need multiple prescriptions and do not qualify for exemption, Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPC) can be purchased, which allow someone to claim as many prescriptions as needed. A 12 month PPC costs £104 and benefits anyone who needs 13 or more prescriptions a year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-05.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to improve HM Revenue and Customs’ response times to written correspondence from members of the public.
Mr David Gauke
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has taken major steps to improve their customer service, including recruiting 3,000 new staff into customer service roles and undertaking their biggest-ever training programme to enable them to build customer support teams that can move across a wide range of work according to customer demand. HMRC have also introduced digital mail scanning to help manage the more than 1million items of post they receive every month.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-03-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will request that English Heritage flies the Union Flag over national monuments in its custody in place of its own house flag on each day of the week.
David Evennett
There is not an intention to request changes to the English Heritage Trust’s flag flying protocol. Where English Heritage Trust sites, particularly those with military or royal connections, have more than one flagpole, the flag flying policy states that the Union Flag should be flown daily.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2016-03-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of public houses which have gone out of business since 1 July 2007.
Anna Soubry
The Government does not compile statistics on pub closures and has made no estimate of the number of pubs that have closed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-05-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of capping housing benefit to the same level as local housing allowance on the number of specialist homes in (a) Sunderland, (b) the North East, and (c) England.
Justin Tomlinson
We recognise the importance of assessing the potential impact on specialist homes. However, as the policy is not yet fully developed we are unable to provide any Information relating to this at this time.
For this reason on 1 March 2016 we announced, via a Written Ministerial Statement, that the effect of the LHA cap for those living in social sector supported housing would be deferred by a year, pending the outcome of a review, This means that the measure will only effect those who have taken on or renewed a tenancy from April 2017 rather than April 2016.
We have done this because we understand the importance of ensuring that both those living in supported housing and those who provide this type of accommodation receive appropriate protections. This is why we are awaiting the outcome of a “Supported Accommodation” research project and subsequent policy review, to ensure support is focused on the most vulnerable and appropriate groups are safeguarded.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the Ethiopian government on the implications for her Department’s supported programmes in Oromia of the response of that government to protests in that region.
Mr Nick Hurd
I visited Ethiopia on the 17th of June and held discussions with senior Ministers in the Ethiopian Government, reiterating our concerns about the response to the protests in Oromia. I emphasised that civil and political rights are an important aspect of DFID’s Partnership Principles assessments, which inform decisions on the shape of our programme.