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  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages of replacing civilian Ministry of Defence police by soldiers.

    Michael Fallon

    Our security policy is to focus Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) resources on those areas of Defence business where civil policing powers can best mitigate the crime and security risks faced by the MOD. MDP officers have full constabulary powers (when operating within their permitted jurisdiction and in certain specified situations) and can therefore operate, armed, inside and outside the wire. However, the MOD has several security providers and can deploy Service personnel, with the flexibility to perform both armed and unarmed guarding, and the unarmed MOD Guard Service in roles where constabulary powers are not deemed essential.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the four desks allocated in his Department’s main building to the Defence Police Federation are being withdrawn; whether those allocated to Defence trades union representatives are also being withdrawn; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    The decision to ask the Defence Police Federation to relocate their Head Office function was made as part of our plans to make more efficient use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) Main Building and will generate substantial savings. An offer of alternative office accommodation at the MOD Police Headquarters has been made to the Defence Police Federation. This follows the standard approach taken by Home Office police forces where local Police Federation officials are collocated at the Force Headquarters for business reasons.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the advantages of (a) expertise, (b) experience and (c) continuity in the use of specialist MOD civilian police in guarding sensitive military establishments.

    Michael Fallon

    In 2013 the Ministry of Defence (MOD) completed a review of its civil policing and guarding policy and requirements to ensure that these reflect the main security and crime risks faced by the Department, and were being met as cost effectively as possible by the MOD Police, the Military Provost Guard Service and the MOD Guard Service.

    The review recognised the very important role that the MOD Police played in support of security of the defence estate, but concluded that there was scope to make reductions to the number of guarding and civil policing posts at some sites, whilst maintaining effective and proportionate security at all of our sites. Overall the changes represented an improvement in security risk management; however, the safety of our personnel, assets and information continues to be our priority and our security arrangements are kept under review to meet these requirements.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to ensure that (a) the armed policing of civilian-staffed MOD establishments will continue to be undertaken by units which are subject to civil police regulations, accountability and obligations and (b) such units will continue to be responsible for dealing with demonstrators at nuclear establishments.

    Michael Fallon

    It is Defence policy to use the MOD Police (MDP) as part of security arrangements at establishments where there is an essential requirement for constabulary powers. An ability to deploy appropriate trained and equipped public order capability in response to spontaneous or pre-planned incidents or events remains a core task of the MDP.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he expects (a) the public responses and (b) the Government’s response to the Government consultation on the BBC Charter Review to be published.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government’s BBC Charter Review Consultation closed in October having received over 190,000 responses – the second largest response to any Government consultation.

    These responses are currently being read and analysed and, once this process is completed, findings from the consultation will be published. The Government response to the consultation will be set out in a White Paper in the Spring.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department or Ofcom has made an assessment of the cost drivers behind BT’s recent 50 per cent increase in charges for non-payment by direct debit.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    BT’s charges to business customers for payments made other than by direct debit increased on 1 October 2015. It a commercial decision for providers such as BT to determine these charges, however, telecoms providers are regulated and monitored by Ofcom, who review customer satification on a rolling basis. Since January 2014, small business customers (with ten employees or fewer) affected by a mid-contract price increase may be able to leave their contract without penalty under Ofcom rules. Further information about this is on Ofcom’s website (http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/ofcom-for-business-consumers/business-contracts).

    “

  • Anne McLaughlin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Anne McLaughlin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McLaughlin on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the UK’s ratification of the European Charter for Minority or Regional Languages, what steps the Government is taking to facilitate and promote use of the Gaelic language in reserved agencies and policy areas.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Whilst there is currently no UK legislative requirement for Gaelic language broadcasting to be funded by the Exchequer, some of the UK Government’s commitments under Article 11 of the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages are fulfilled by BBC Alba’s content, in tandem with the Gaelic radio service provided by the BBC, Radio nan Gaidheal. MG ALBA is a public body, set up by UK legislation and funded predominantly by the Scottish Government. In addition, two one-off funding allocations of £1 million were provided for MG ABLA for the period 2014-16.

    MG ALBA’s principal functions relate to the provision of Gaelic programmes. It works in partnership with the BBC to operate the channel, BBC ALBA. Scotland continues to enjoy the live stream from BBC ALBA and programmes are available on the BBC website via iPlayer for the rest of the UK.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many defibrillators are provided in each building his Department manages.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    There is one defibrillator at the Government Art Collection, Queen’s Yard, 179a Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7PA.

    In addition, The Department has offices at 100 Parliament Street,a building shared between several Government departments, and there are 10defibrillators on site.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many defibrillators are provided in each building his Department manages.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department for Communities and Local Government provides the following number of defibrillators in each of its buildings:

    Building

    No. of defibrillators

    5 St. Philips Place, Birmingham,

    1

    2 Rivergate, Bristol,

    1

    Temple Quay House, Bristol,

    1

    Citygate, Newcastle upon Tyne,

    0

    High Trees, Hemel Hempstead,

    1

    Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre , London,

    1

    The building that houses the Department’s headquarters is not managed by DCLG but, we are aware that there are no defibrillators on site.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of levels of rough sleeping in town centres on the use of town centres by the general public.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government remains committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we are maintaining homelessness funding over this Spending Review period, building on our significant investment since 2010. We will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20.

    It is for local authorities to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area, including provision of suitable accommodation. More rough sleepers are being found and helped quicker thanks to our investment in StreetLink, which gives the public a means to act when they see someone sleeping rough. Since the launch of StreetLink in December 2012, over 16,000 rough sleepers have been found and connected with local services so that they can get the help that they need to get them off the streets. We are committed to do more to improve services for homeless people with complex needs. Building on London’s approach of using social investment to improve outcomes for rough sleepers, we will be setting up a new Social Impact BondFund to help the most complex and entrenched rough sleepers.