Blog

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the standard individual export licence granted in May 2011 to permit tear gas ammunition to be exported to Turkey expired.

    Michael Fallon

    The licence expired on 4th May 2012. Temporary export licences are issued for a period of 12 months, with a condition that the goods are returned to the UK within the validity of the licence. The goods were returned to the UK on 23 May 2011.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment he has made of the cyber security crime skills of staff of the Crown Prosecution Service.

    Mr Dominic Grieve

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has mandatory training for all prosecutors on cybercrime and specific training for prosecutors on offences under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. This supports guidance for prosecutors on the range of offences which can be committed through the use of cyber technology.

    In addition, the CPS will soon be introducing new consolidated guidance for prosecutors on cyber-offending and a new package of e-learning for prosecutors in relation to cybercrime which will cover: digital evidence gathering; online grooming; online fraud; and, social media.

  • Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Hilary Benn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Attorney General, when he expects to answer question No. 191801 tabled by the Rt hon. Member for Leeds Central on 12 March 2014.

    Mr Dominic Grieve

    I have done so today.

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of conclusions of the recent UN IPCC report on the effects of climate change on developing countries.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The Government welcomes the IPCC report. Climate change poses very serious consequences to human health, global food security, and can slow economic growth. Its impacts will be an extra burden for those living in poverty, and make it harder to reduce poverty in developing countries.

  • Glyn Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Glyn Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Syria.

    Justine Greening

    The UN estimates that 9.3 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid within Syria. At least 6.5 million people in Syria have been forced to flee their homes to other areas of the country and there are now over 2.6 million refugees in the region.

  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the levels of poverty among Tamils living in Sri Lanka.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    Sri Lanka has met Millennium Development Goal No 1 which calls for the halving of extreme poverty, and is on track to meet most other MDGs. Poverty remains in areas of northern and eastern Sri Lanka where large numbers of Tamils live. We do not have a breakdown by ethnic group.

  • David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Blunkett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Blunkett on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that all the education programmes it funds are inclusive of children with disabilities; and what monitoring her Department undertakes to ensure that all such programmes include accessible materials for use by children with disabilities.

    Lynne Featherstone

    The UK is committed to ensuring all children, with a focus on the most marginalised and those with disabilities have access to education institutions and complete a full cycle of quality education. We are working with partners, such as UNICEF and UNESCO Institute for Statistics, to improve data for monitoring purposes.

  • Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jason McCartney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to tackle female genital mutilation and early and forced marriage worldwide.

    Justine Greening

    FGM is violence against women and girls. The UK has made the largest donor commitment ever to help end FGM, with a flagship programme of £35 million in at least 17 countries.

    The Prime Minister will host a summit in July which will step up global efforts to end both FGM and child, early and forced marriage within a generation.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Paul Blomfield – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of international efforts to improve levels of safety and conditions of work in Bangladesh’s garment industry.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    I spent most of last week in Bangladesh, assessing the progress that has been made one year on from the tragedy of Rana Plaza. Steps have been taken to improve working conditions in the garment sector, including through factory inspections and strengthening the labour inspection regime. The UK’s support is focused on all areas where action is needed: improving building safety and working conditions, empowering workers and urging buyers to take responsibility for their supply chains.

  • Rob Wilson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rob Wilson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Wilson on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress her Department has made on its programmes in Palestine.

    Mr Alan Duncan

    The UK’s bilateral programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is helping to build Palestinian institutions, promote economic growth and support the most vulnerable Palestinians. Absent meaningful action from Israel to ease movement and access restrictions, however, our progress will always be limited.