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  • Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nigel Dodds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that UK assistance to the Democratic Republic of Congo is not misused or misappropriated.

    Justine Greening

    DFID takes seriously tackling the misuse or misappropriation of UK Aid, and has a range of robust controls and measures in place to safeguard the UK taxpayers’ money.

    In the DRC this includes regular rigorous risk assessments of the fiduciary environment to determine the way in which UK Aid is provided. Currently this means DFID funds in DRC are channelled through United Nations agencies and NGOs, rather than provided directly to the government. All partners selected are subject to pre-funding due diligence checks and regular scrutiny during implementation.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department has allocated to aid Palestinian citizens who have been injured, orphaned, made homeless and lost their livelihoods as a result of Israel’s recent air strikes; and whether she plans to keep the level of such funding under review in the light of future developments in that conflict.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID is one of the biggest donors to the Gaza crisis, providing over £17 million of emergency aid since the current conflict began. The level of funding is being kept under constant review.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what funding her Department allocates to Palestine; and if she will commission a review of how effective that funding is in serving her Department’s objectives in Palestine.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID will provide nearly £350 million in support of Palestinian development from 2011-15. In addition, we have also provided £17 million of emergency aid since the current conflict began. We regularly review progress and assess that UK aid is on track to deliver key results as set out in our Operational Plan.

    Additionally, the International Development Committee’s recent report was supportive of the work that we are doing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, whilst noting the need for political progress.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will place in the Library any correspondence her Department has received from the Serious Fraud Office on what steps it is taking to investigate reports referred to it by her Department that UK aid may have been channelled via CDC Group and Energy Capital Partners into companies linked to James Ibori; and if she will make a statement.

    Justine Greening

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by the Solicitor General on 15 July 2014, Official Report, column 592W.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many times her Department has referred cases of suspected bribery, fraud or money laundering concerning UK aid money to (a) the Serious Fraud Office and (b) the Crown Prosecution Service since 2009-10.

    Justine Greening

    It is not the policy of this Department to comment on Serious Fraud Office or Crown Prosecution Service matters.

  • Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2014, Official Report, columns 176-7W, on computer software, what estimate the Commission has made of the (a) average and (b) aggregate amount of time spent by (i) hon. Members, (ii) Members’ staff and (iii) others in migrating to Office 365.

    John Thurso

    (a) Parliamentary ICT (PICT) estimates that, following the migration of a user’s mailbox to Microsoft 365, it takes the user’s computer (laptop or PC) an average of five minutes to reconfigure Outlook.

    It can take a user an average of approximately five minutes to reconfigure a mobile device – other than a BlackBerry – that uses ActiveSync to connect to parliamentary email. Following that reconfiguration, it can take up to a maximum of 60 minutes for the device automatically to re-connect to parliamentary email.

    BlackBerry devices need to be physically reconfigured by PICT, and this process can take over an hour – the length of time is linked to the age and model of the device. Furthermore, it takes longer to reconfigure a personal BlackBerry device than a BlackBerry issued by PICT. PICT has issued 92 BlackBerry devices for use by hon. Members and their staff to access parliamentary email.

    (b) It is not possible to provide a figure for the aggregate time taken to reconfigure the above devices because more than one device can be reconfigured at the same time.

  • Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 8 July 2014, Official Report, column 176-7W, on computer software, what further feedback the Commission has received from (a) hon. Members, (b) hon. Members’ staff and (c) other users on migration to Office 365 since that Answer was given.

    John Thurso

    In the period 22 June to 16 July, 3,482 mailboxes assigned to hon. Members and their staff had been migrated. In that period, PICT logged 766 cases from hon. Members and their staff – either by phone or at PICT Local – directly related to issues resulting from the migration of their mailboxes. Parliamentary ICT (PICT) acknowledges that the implementation has not been as simple and straightforward as was hoped, and is aware that it has caused problems for some hon. Members.

    Since the answer to the hon. Member on 8 July, three hon. Members have given PICT written feedback on the migration of their mailbox. One was complimenting the PICT team on making it a smooth process. One was questioning the process and the distinction between the upgrade to Office 2013 and the migration of a mailbox to Microsoft 365. One had a problem with the limit on the number of people who can be added to a single email distribution list in Microsoft 365.

    Two further hon. Members have given positive oral feedback and asked to join the pilot of the wider suite of tools within Microsoft 365. Oral feedback from the teams of House staff who are also piloting the use of this wider suite of tools continues to be positive.

    The Director of PICT would be delighted to meet the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife, or any other interested Member, to discuss the feedback in more detail.

  • Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, who decided on which days to migrate the IT accounts of hon. Members and hon. Members’ staff to Office 365.

    John Thurso

    The Improved Access to Services Project Board agreed the high-level schedule for the migration of parliamentary emailboxes to Microsoft 365. The more detailed decision on which days to migrate the emailboxes of hon. Members and hon. Members’ staff was taken by the project team, overseen by the Director of Parliamentary ICT, taking into account factors such as: mailbox access rights (so that users accessing a particular mailbox are migrated at the same time); staff who work for more than one Member; and trying to balance the number of emailboxes accessed by BlackBerry devices across the migration days.

  • Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the names are of the candidates who have been short-listed for consideration for the position of Clerk of the House and Chief Executive; and what the country of residence of each such candidate is.

    John Thurso

    Three candidates are currently shortlisted. It is not the Commission’s practice to disclose confidential personal information, including names of applicants for positions.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-07-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from local authorities within Compass asylum contract areas on the (a) suitability of accommodation for asylum seekers provided by Compass, (b) overcrowding in that accommodation, (c) the need for local authorities to be notified when asylum seekers became resident there and (d) additional services required from local authorities when large numbers of asylum seekers move to an area.

    James Brokenshire

    COMPASS Accommodation providers must abide by specific standards, including rules on shared dwellings. The Home Office monitors the performance of the providers against quality and safety standards to ensure the suitability of accommodation provided for asylum seekers and works with providers to improve these where necessary. Poor performance by the providers can also have financial ramifications if they are found to be non-compliant.The Home Office has established working arrangements with all local authorities to consider the placement of asylum seekers in each area to ensure minimal impact on services and community cohesion. Local authorities are notified of all asylum seekers moving into their area, and they have an obligation to perform a duty of care for all their residents regarding health, social services and schooling for minors. In addition Home Office has appointed three Service Delivery Managers (SDM) to work in partnership with the COMPASS providers and external stakeholders, principally local authorities. The role of the SDM is to arbitrate in difficulties between providers and local authorities.