UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report by Save the Children Nowhere safe for Yemen’s children: The deadly impact of explosive weapons in Yemen.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are very concerned by reports of any civilian casualties as a result of the ongoing fighting in Yemen. A political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and protect Yemen’s children, their families and communities. The UK is actively supporting the UN’s efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire and a return to the political transition in Yemen. The UK is providing £75 million to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which includes funding to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Save the Children, and the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) to provide specific support to children on protection, malnutrition, health, water and sanitation.

  • Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will nominate a candidate to serve on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and if not, why not.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The UK strongly supports the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and is committed to advancing women’s rights through the United Nations machinery.

    We have not nominated a candidate to the CEDAW Committee and do not intend to do so. Our decision not to nominate a UK expert for election to the Committee is based on a number of considerations, including the need to allow for a reasonable amount of time and substantial resources to mount a campaign.

    CEDAW Committee members serve in their personal capacity and do not represent the Member State that nominated them. We have full faith in the independence of the Committee and applaud the high quality of its work.

    UK nationals are well represented on other UN treaty monitoring bodies, such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of brownfield land sites in the Essex County Council area have been re-designated as community land trusts in each of the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by Community Land Trusts.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to pages 49-50 of the Survey of the Provision in the UK of Access to Remedies for Victims of Human Rights Harms involving Business Enterprises, by the British Institute for International and Comparative Law, published on 17 July 2015, what assessment he has made of the merits of the report’s recommendations to (a) establish a permanent cross-government Business and Human Rights Unit and (b) extend some aspects of UK criminal law legislation to provide access to remedies to victims of human rights abuses by business enterprises overseas.

    Dominic Raab

    The Government has no plans to establish a permanent cross-government Business and Human Rights Unit; however, departments continue to cooperate as necessary. Victims of overseas human rights abuses by UK businesses can already seek redress through UK courts. We are one of the few jurisdictions in the world where this can happen.

  • Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance to schools on how to identify and manage incidences of parental alienation.

    Edward Timpson

    Protection from abuse and neglect is a fundamental right of all children and young people, regardless of their family situation, and the government will continue to review how schools, police, social services and other agencies work together to protect all children.

    The Department published updated statutory guidance in 2015 on Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. All school and college staff should be aware of the various forms of abuse, including emotional harm, so that they are able to identify children in need of help and support and know what action to take. This would include recognising where children are suffering as the result of family relationship breakdown.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the socio-economic groups to which those deciding to have a termination of pregnancy after the 20 week scan of a neural tube defect-affected pregnancy belong.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the socio-economic group for women having abortions is not collected centrally.

    In 2014, 442 abortions were performed because of neural tube defects; 34% of these were performed at 20 weeks gestation or over.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that non-UK citizens who are not eligible to vote are not able to vote in the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    John Penrose

    The EU referendum will be overseen by the Chief Counting Officer, chair of the Electoral Commission, who is responsible for making sure the referendum is held in accordance with the legislation governing the conduct of the poll. The Electoral Commission has issued a statement setting out the actions that have been taken to address an issue with elections software used by a number of local authorities in England and Wales that meant that some non-eligible EU citizens had mistakenly received poll cards and, in some instances, postal votes. The Commission explains that the software provider has resolved the issue and none of the affected electors will be shown as eligible on the electoral registers to be used at polling stations on the 23 June. Any incorrectly issued postal votes will be cancelled.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to (a) improve public awareness of the law and (b) make it easier for the law to be understood by people without legal expertise.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    Information is provided on the ‘crime, justice and the law’ section of the GOV.UK website to help the public be aware of their rights and the law. In addition, the legal services regulators have a duty to promote public understanding of citizens’ legal rights and duties. The regulators have established the “Legal Choices” website, which provides information to help with decisions on whether and how to seek legal advice and the available services the public might choose.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any approach has been made to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority regarding the possibility of performing spindle-chromosome complex transfer in the UK; and if so, when any such approaches were made and by whom.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that no such approach has been made to the Authority.

  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the options that were agreed by the UK, Morocco and the Saharawi under the 1990-91 ceasefire agreement for a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara have changed.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The options for a referendum on the self-determination of Western Sahara, as set out in the UN Secretary General’s 1990 report and the 1991 MINURSO mandate, have not changed. The UK fully supports UN-led efforts to encourage Morocco and the Polisario Front to agree a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.