UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many single destitute asylum seekers were granted accommodation and support under section 4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in the last year because they were (a) unable to leave the UK due to medical reasons and (b) taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK; and how many such applications were made within 21 days of that person’s appeal rights being exhausted.

    James Brokenshire

    Our records indicate that a total of 105 destitute asylum seekers were granted accommodation and support under section 4 of the Immigration and Nationality Act in the last year (2015) due to pregnancy, medical reasons or because they were taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK.

    A full breakdown of categories is given below:

    (a) unable to leave the UK due to medical reasons – 42 (including 6 due to late pregnancy)

    (b) taking all reasonable steps to leave the UK – 63

    (c) how many of these applications were made within 21 days of that person’s appeal rights being exhausted:

    – Medical – 1

    – Steps to Leave – 5

    This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support children with Kawasaki disease.

    George Freeman

    The Government published the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases in November 2013. The strategy contains over 50 commitments to ensure people living with a rare disease, such as Kawasaki disease, have access to the best evidence-based care and treatment that health and social services, working with charities, researchers and industry can provide.

    It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training in both scarlet fever and Kawasaki disease.

    Health Education England works with bodies that set curricula such as the General Medical Council and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.

    The Department and its arm’s length bodies have not published any specific guidance on the similarities between Kawasaki disease and scarlet fever.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on the assessment and initial management of fever in under 5s sets out the circumstances in which a diagnosis of Kawasaki disease should be considered, and Public Health England (PHE) has endeavoured to keep healthcare professionals, schools and the general public informed of the increased incidence of scarlet fever through timely information, news stories and updates on the PHE website and by using social and other media. These awareness raising measures assist general practitioners and other frontline healthcare professionals in reaching a correct diagnosis more quickly and encourage patients to seek medical advice early so that suspected cases receive prompt antibiotic treatment to reduce the risk of complications and limit further transmission.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to tackle persistent staff segregation by gender at some independent faith schools, as recently identified by the Chief Inspector of Schools.

    Lord Nash

    Independent schools have to meet the standards set in regulations. If segregation results in disadvantage for pupils of one gender, either directly or through inappropriate modelling of gender roles through staff segregation visible to pupils, then it is likely that the standards have not been met and regulatory action by this Department will follow. If there is a possibility that staff segregation disadvantages staff of one gender and there may be a direct breach of the Equality Act 2010, we will not hesitate to make a referral to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

  • Lord Shipley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Shipley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shipley on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect work to begin on the new court complex in Sunderland under the Court Reform Programme.

    Lord Faulks

    No decisions have been taken regarding the court estate in Sunderland.

    Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) keeps its operational estate under review to make sure that it aligns with the delivery of reformed court and tribunal services. The reform of court and tribunal services which is underway will provide greater access to the courts using modern technology, reducing the need for attendance at court.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the announcement by the Home Office that they have secured the necessary places with councils and devolved administrations across the UK to settle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020, whether the majority of those refugees will be settled in the UK by 2018; and if not, what steps they are taking to speed up the admissions process.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government has been working with local authorities and devolved administrations across the UK in order to ensure we have the capacity and infrastructure to meet our commitment to resettle 20,000 vulnerable Syrians by the end of this Parliament and through these discussions local authorities have committed their involvement in the resettlement programme between now and 2020.

    We are not complacent. There is still a significant amount of work to be done with regions and local authorities to turn these pledges into arrivals. But we are committed to resettling 20,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees by the end of this Parliament and we are on track to do that.

    The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK. We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the well-being of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46417, what assessment the Government has made of the likelihood of reaching its target of resettling 20,000 Syrians before the end of the current Parliament at current resettlement rates.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Work continues with local authorities and International Partners to deliver the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over the lifetime of this Parliament and we are on track to do this.

    Progress on resettlement will be indicated in quarterly immigration statistics. The last set of statistics, published on 25 August 2016 showed that 2,646 Syrians were relocated to the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme between October 2015 and June 2016.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) complaints have been made about and (b) investigations have been conducted into bus companies by the North East Traffic Commissioners in each year since 2010; and what enforcement action has been taken as a result following each such complaint or investigation.

    Andrew Jones

    The Traffic Commissioner for the North Eastern Traffic Area role is defined in the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981 and is a regulatory role as opposed to an investigatory role. When complaints regarding the operation of Public Service Vehicles are received they are forwarded to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) who may carry out an investigation and provide a report to the Traffic Commissioner, should concerns be identified. Complaints and investigations may relate to issues of vehicle maintenance, driver behaviour or the reliability of local bus services. The Traffic Commissioner can request that DVSA conduct an investigation or DVSA may carry out an investigation under their own initiative. Between April 2010 and March 2015, 91 complaints have been received by the Traffic Commissioner relating to PSV operators.

    The table below shows the number of public inquiries held between April 2010 and March 2015 at which the Traffic Commissioner considered regulatory action against the holder of a PSV operator’s licence.

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    Total

    Number of public inquiries completed

    19

    26

    19

    35

    50

    149

    Licence revocations

    7

    10

    7

    9

    25

    58

    Licence suspensions

    0

    4

    2

    3

    3

    12

    Reduction of vehicles authorised on licence

    3

    3

    4

    2

    2

    14

    Other conditions imposed on licence

    0

    0

    3

    3

    0

    6

    Formal warning given

    8

    9

    7

    11

    12

    47

    Disqualification of licence holder under the 1985 Act

    0

    1

    2

    4

    4

    11

    No action taken

    2

    1

    2

    7

    6

    18

    Penalty imposed under Section 155 of the 2000 Act

    1

    0

    0

    0

    0

    1

    Note: the figures in the last 8 rows may not equal the number of public inquiries held, as more than one action may betaken against a licence holder.

    DVSA started to investigate Bus complaints, under the BOAM (Bus Operator Account Management) scheme in 2012. The first recorded compliant is dated 04/01/13. The BOAM scheme covers complaints for late and early running services, under the Traffic Commissioner’s statuary guidance of up to 1 minute early and 5 minutes late. If a service fails to operate or if the services either cuts short a route or diverts from a route.

    Between 2012 up to the present date DVSA received, 97 complaints. Out of those complaints DVSA investigated 94. Three complaints did not fall under BOAM, so were not investigated.

    12 complaints were referred to the Office of the Traffic Commissioners once the complaint was investigated.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) maintain and (b) increase the proportion of land used for growing cucumbers.

    George Eustice

    Commercial cucumber growers in the UK require heated glasshouses.

    In 2010, we introduced the National Planning Policy Framework which encourages sustainable growth in rural areas and promotes the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses. We aim to remove the barriers to building glasshouse nurseries.

    There are several examples where large industrial plants have constructed substantial heated glasshouse facilities adjacent to their factory to make use of surplus heat and carbon dioxide in horticultural production. The government supports innovative initiatives of this sort.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the five most common causes of death of children were in (a) England and Wales and (b) each London borough in (i) 2014, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2005 and (iv) 2000.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Quin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Quin on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect all valid claims from farmers in 2015 to the Rural Payments Agency to be paid.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The 2015 Basic Payment Scheme payment window runs between December 2015 and June 2016. As of the end of January the Rural Payments Agency had paid around 66,800 farmers approximately £1 billion. The Rural Payments Agency is focused on paying the remainder as promptly as possible.

    2015 was the first year of the new complex Common Agricultural Policy. The Rural Payments Agency anticipates improvements on payment performance for the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme.