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  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what development impacts are expected from the use of United Kingdom official development assistanceto purchase part of the agribusiness company Feronia through CDC.

    Baroness Northover

    CDC is a public limited company with an independent Board and takes individual investment decisions independent of DFID. Information about the investment and its expected development impact is available on CDC’s website http://cdcgroup.com/Media/News/CDC-invests-US181m-in-agribusiness-in-the-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo/.

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  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the current legislation against female genital mutilation provides sufficient protection against the practice, whether carried out in the United Kingdom or abroad.

    Lord Faulks

    The Government is committed to tackling and preventing the harmful and unacceptable practice of female genital mutilation.

    The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 extended significantly the protection that the law affords to victims of this unacceptable practice. However, to deal with perpetrators of these offences, cases must be reported to the police and the evidential and public interest tests for prosecution must be met. At the time of mutilation, victims may be too young and vulnerable, or too afraid, to report offences. They may also be reluctant to implicate family members. These barriers to prosecution cannot easily be overcome. Therefore it is important to find ways of building a case that do not necessarily rely on the testimony of child victims.

    As part of cross-government work, the Ministry of Justice is already considering suggestions made by the Director of Public Prosecutions for strengthening the criminal law on female genital mutilation to make successful prosecutions more likely.

    We welcome the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into this area and will give careful consideration to any additional recommendations for legislative change that may be made by the Committee when it reports in due course.

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many former unaccompanied children who have exhausted their appeal rights have been served with removal directions in each of the last five years, and to date in 2014.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    For the purpose of answering this question, ‘unaccompanied children’ has been interpreted as unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

    The following table gives data on the number of removal directions (RD) set for formerunaccompanied asylum seeking children who have exhausted their appeal rights from 2009 to 2013.

    Year Removal Direction was set

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    Total

    Individuals with Removal Direction set

    29

    82

    188

    146

    158

    603

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many individuals who came to the United Kingdom as unaccompanied children between 2005 and 2010 (1) eventually settled in the United Kingdom, (2) left voluntarily, and (3) were removed.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) granted indefinite leave to remain between 1st October 2006 and 31st December 2010 is 661.

    Numbers of voluntary removals of UASC by year from 1st October 2006 to 31st December 2010:

    Year of application

    2006

    2007

    2008

    2009

    2010

    Total

    Total

    7

    28

    23

    14

    14

    86

    Numbers of enforced removals of UASC by year from 1st October 2006 to 31st December 2010:

    Year of application

    2006

    2007

    2008

    2009

    2010

    Total

    Total

    9

    29

    28

    21

    9

    96

    Please note:
    • ‘Unaccompanied children’ have been interpreted as unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) in answering this question.
    • All figures quoted above are management information which has been subject to internal quality checks.
    • Data on UASC was not formally recorded on the Home Office’s Case Information Database until 1st Oct 2006.
    • The above data does not necessarily relate to individuals who arrived in the UK in the period specified. The action referred to in the response may relate to a person who arrived in the UK in a previous year.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Mike Penning

    DWP is undertaking a review of check-off, along with other Departments. We have not reached a conclusion on this matter, but it is under active consideration.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Stephen Crabb

    The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. As the Ministry of Justice is the main employer of staff at the Wales Office, we would follow any changes implemented by the MoJ.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department for Transport is undertaking a review.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly, all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies who remain responsible for all employment matters including payroll deductions for union subscriptions.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether her Department is (a) undertaking or (b) plans to undertake a review of the check-off union subscription provision.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department’s payroll services are provided by the Ministry of Justice. We would therefore inherit any changes to the contract with the payroll provider made by the MoJ in relation to this issue. My understanding is that currently the MoJ has no plans to amend provisions relating to the check-off union subscription although options for change are being kept under review.

  • Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for what reasons the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy granted in respect of members of the IRA was not announced in the London Gazette or the Belfast Gazette.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    There have been no instances in which the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) has been issued in respect of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland since the current Government came to power in May 2010.

    I am not aware of any legal requirement to publish in the media information relating to the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). In England and Wales, RPMs signed by HM the Queen, on the advice of the Secretary of State, are then passed to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery for sealing, who by convention subsequently places the notice in the London Gazette. By convention in Northern Ireland, RPMs signed by HM the Queen are not subsequently placed in the Belfast Gazette.