The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many people of each gender work in her Department.
Mrs Theresa Villiers
The number of men and women working in my Department as of January 2016 is as follows:
Male – 57
Female – 69
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-01.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 26 January (HL4928), whether any assets linked to North Korean individuals or organisations that are not associated with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) nuclear programmes are held in the UK; and what steps they are taking to freeze assets held by individuals or organisations that are not associated with the DPRK nuclear programme that they suspect to be linked to weapons proliferation, smuggling, money laundering, or human rights abuses in North Korea.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
Existing UN and EU sanctions against North Korea, which include measures such as asset freezes, are based upon UN Security Council Resolutions prohibiting the further development of North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Therefore, the current requirement to freeze funds or economic resources only occurs in circumstances where the funds and economic resources are controlled by the persons and entities designated by the Sanctions committee, the Security Council or the EU council as being engaged in North Korea’s nuclear-related, ballistic missile related, or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes.
The UK is currently discussing a response to the nuclear test of 6 January with key allies and partners. We want the response to be robust and send North Korea a clear signal that it must change its approach to international peace and security, We are also using our position as a member of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to discuss ways in which the international community can increase the pressure on North Korea to improve its appalling human rights record. North Korea will be discussed during the forthcoming March session of the HRC.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-25.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who will attend the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in March on their behalf.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
The Government will use the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment remain at the top of the global political agenda. We will negotiate with other UN Member States to agree a set of ambitious, action-oriented and forward-looking recommendations for governments around the world to accelerate progress on gender equality and ensure accountability.
At the first session after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, we will press for a meaningful follow-up process that places gender equality at the heart of the new agenda while ensuring that the CSW remains the prime global forum on gender equality and the laboratory of ideas that it is today.
Furthermore, we will enhance the UK’s reputation as a world leader in this area by promoting relevant national policies but also by exchanging ideas with other UN Member States. In line with the session’s themes this year, we will be focusing on women’s empowerment and on violence against women and girls in high level discussions, events and bilateral meetings.
In addition, the Government will host and support a number of events to raise the profile of certain issues which still prevent us from achieving equality, such as inequality in the workplace, discrimination in all its forms and violence against women and girls.
Lastly, but very importantly, we are working with civil society to ensure their participation remains an integral part of the CSW programme and their concerns are heard at the national and global levels.
Sixty years after the first session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the UK Government will send a strong signal that gender equality must be at the heart of economic and social development of all countries. We will have a ministerial team of four, led by the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, and including the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development. Parliamentary Under Secretary for Women, Equalities and Family Justice Caroline Dinenage MP and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Baroness Verma, in her capacity as Ministerial Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Overseas, will also attend.
The UK Government currently has two confirmed side events at this year’s Commission on the Status of Women. The first one will focus on getting more women and girls into science and technology and the second one will be on the gender pay gap.
We will also be taking part in other events where major issues such as women’s economic empowerment and violence against women are discussed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-21.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost of online retail fraud was to retailers in each year for which data is available.
Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not hold the information requested.
The Home Office runs an annual Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) which asks business premises in different sectors about their experience of various crime types, including fraud, in the latest year.
In order to keep the length of the survey, and hence the burden on respondents, to a minimum, businesses are only asked about the cost of the latest incident of each crime type experienced in the year. Therefore, it is not possible to provide an aggregate cost of fraud or overall crime to businesses in the retail sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their programme for the development of the Type 26 Frigate.
Earl Howe
I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Philip Dunne), in the House of Commons on 11 April 2016 to Question 32497.
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-03-24/32497/
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the coastguard response time was to the incident off Portobello in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.
Mr Robert Goodwill
HM Coastguard were notified by the Scottish Ambulance Service of two persons in the water off Portobello in Edinburgh at 0237 GMT on 15 May 2016. The Coastguard Rescue Teams from Fisherrow and Queensferry were tasked at 0241 GMT and were on scene at 0257 GMT. The two persons in the water were recovered to dry land by the Police at 0304 GMT.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his Department’s policy to comply with the EU 2020 target on renewable energy.
Mr Nick Hurd
There will be no immediate changes to our relationship with the EU. Until we have left the EU, the UK will remain a member of the EU with all of the rights and obligations that membership entails.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to work with the Palestinian Authority to promote gender equality in the Palestinian territories.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works closely with other government departments, including the Department for International Development (DFID), and with the Palestinian Authority to enhance gender equality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. DFID has supported interventions to tackle violence against women and girls by working with the Palestinian security and justice sectors. Under the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme, we attach great importance to gender sensitivity in project design and implementation. Our Consulate General in Jerusalem host events to celebrate the achievements of Palestinian women, including during last year’s International Day of Women.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 7.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum for the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Functions) (Local Housing Allowance Amendments) Order 2015 (S.I., 2015, No. 1753), how the Government plans to define higher rent increases for the purposes of determining eligibility for additional funding under the Targeted Affordability Fund.
Justin Tomlinson
Since 2014/15 the Government has made available £140 million in Targeted Affordability Funding (TAF). Over the next five years TAF will be drawn from recycling a percentage of the savings from the freeze of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. As a result of the level of savings produced by the freeze next year there will be no TAF available in 2016/17; however, there will be funding from 2017/18 to 2020/21.
From 2017/18 around 30 per cent of the potential savings per year from the freeze to LHA will be used to support areas where higher rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation.
The level of TAF in 2016/17 would have been the same if, as planned, LHA rates had been uprated by CPI inflation. This is because the CPI forecast in September was zero (0.01 per cent) and therefore LHA rates would not increase in 2016/17 but would remain at the 2015/16 levels.
The amounts of TAF which will be available each year from 2017/18 and the plans to distribute it will be announced in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 20339, what the repayment requirements are for universal credit advance payments; and whether interest is charged on those payments.
Priti Patel
Universal Credit (UC) Advance Payments of benefit are recovered from the UC award over a period of six months. In exceptional circumstances recovery can be deferred for up to 3 months.
No interest is charged on advance payments of benefit.