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  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the demolition on 2 and 3 April of EU-funded projects in Area C near the E1-settlement bloc; and whether he has demanded compensation following these actions.

    Hugh Robertson

    We have not made representations in response to the specific demolition cited, nor demanded compensation. However, Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised the issue of demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu on 1 May. We regularly make clear, publicly and privately, to Israel our serious concerns about the demolition of Palestinian homes and infrastructure and forced transfer of population in Area C and East Jerusalem.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take in response to the withdrawal of the Israeli government from US-sponsored peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.

    Hugh Robertson

    We remain fully committed to supporting efforts for peace and I will visit the region to that end in the near future. We urge the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to use the coming weeks to find the common ground and political strength needed to resume the peace negotiations and encourage other countries to maintain support for that objective.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full-time equivalent staff in her Department have responsibility for disability policy.

    Justine Greening

    DFID has a core team of disability experts who provide specific guidance on disability across different sectors. In addition, there are 80 social development advisors who have responsibility for considering social development – including disability – across all aspects of policy and programming in DFID’s devolved structure; and one full time equivalent staff working on central disability policy.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make accessibility and coverage of disability a core element of all her Department’s funded programmes and monitor this across all currently funded programmes.

    Justine Greening

    DFID carries out country-level poverty analysis and social impact appraisal of all UK supported development programmes to ensure the benefits of development and poverty reduction are inclusive.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department will take to engage with smaller (a) international non-government organisations and (b) non-governmental organisations in its future work on disability.

    Justine Greening

    DFID already works closely with many INGOs and NGOs working on disability. In the UK, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for International Development chairs regular civil society outreach meetings with UK based NGOs working on disability, and DFID officials work with BOND’s Disability and Development umbrella group for NGOs. Similarly, DFID country offices work closely with local civil society organisations including those working on disability.

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what powers the Child Maintenance Service has to address non-compliance by employers with a notice of deduction of earnings; and how many cases have there been of such non-compliance in each of the last three years.

    Steve Webb

    It is a criminal offence under section 32 (8) of the Child Support Act 1991 not to comply with a deduction from earnings order. Failure to comply may result in enforcement action being taken against the employer, which can include a fine of up to £500.

    The 2012 child maintenance scheme, administered by the Child Maintenance Service, was opened to all new applicants on 25 November 2013. We are not yet in a position to release full statistics for this scheme. When 2012 system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

    With regard to cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes operated by the Child Support Agency (CSA), it is not possible to specify the exact number of instances of non compliance with these orders. This is due to the fact that while data are collected on the numbers of deduction from earnings orders not receiving payment, this can be for reasons other than non-compliance, including time delays of the employer implementing the request and the time to action a change in employment circumstances.

    However, information on the number of prosecutions under section 32(8) of the Child Support Act 1991 in cases on the 1993 and 2003 schemes can be found on page 48 of the CSA Quarterly Summary of Statistics at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-support-agency-quarterly-summary-statistics-december-2013.

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  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many journeys in the UK using (a) domestic helicopter services and (b) military helicopters were made by (i) the Chief of Defence Materiel and (ii) Ministers in his Department in each of the last four years; and what the annual cost has been of such journeys.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The attached table reflects the number of journeys in the UK using (a) domestic helicopter services and (b) military helicopters which were made by (i) the Chief of Defence Materiel and (ii) Ministers in the Ministry of Defence in each of the last four years. No costs are included as there is no charge internally for the use of military helicopters and the domestic flights were provided at no charge.

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the current contract for the post of Chief of Defence Materiel ends; and if he will make it his policy that the post of Chief Executive of Defence Equipment and Support be no longer merged with this post at that time.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The post of Chief Defence Materiel has been merged with that of Chief Executive of Defence Equipment and Support and therefore no longer exists as a separate post. A competition will be held for the Chief Executive of Defence Equipment and Support in late 2014 in time for the current incumbent’s contract end date on 3 January 2015

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions probation staff have taken cases to employment tribunals on grounds of discrimination in each of the last three years.

    Jeremy Wright

    Data on the number of claims made by probation staff on the grounds of discrimination are not collated centrally either by National Offenders Management Service or HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). This information could only be provided at a disproportionate cost by manually checking hard copy files or judgments.

  • 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 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been removed from the UK under the Dublin Convention in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is shown in the following table:

    Year 2010 2011 2012 2013
    People Removed 1449 1308 970 1020

    Removals fell in 2011 and 2012 because we stopped transferring asylum
    applicants to Greece under the Dublin Regulation in 2010. This was because it
    was found conditions there amounted to a breach of Article 3 of ECHR. There
    then followed similar litigation around conditions in Italy, but we are still
    able to effect transfers there.

    NB: The figures quoted have been derived from management information and are
    therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been
    quality assured under National Statistics protocols.