The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Evans on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many infringements of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 were recorded in Wales in 2013; and how many such infringements led to a prosecution.
Norman Baker
There were no cases of non-compliance with the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 recorded in Wales in 2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was from a visa appeal being granted at tribunal to the post issuing the visa in (a) Mumbai and (b) Islamabad in the most recent period for which figures are available.
James Brokenshire
From 1st January to 31st March 2014, it took on average 34 days in Mumbai and 31 days in Islamabad to issue a visa after the tribunal decision was received in the respective post.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance judges will receive on settling inheritance disputes which were initially settled under the Sharia succession rules guidance issued by the Law Society.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales and the Government has no intention to change this position.
The legal profession is independent of Government and is regulated by approved regulators for which the Legal Services Board has oversight responsibility. The Law Society is the approved regulator for solicitors under the Legal Services Act 2007. On 13 March it published a practice note on Sharia succession rules to assist its members preparing wills for clients under the law of England and Wales. The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with The Law Society about its practice note. It is not for the Government to comment on the compatibility of the guidance with equalities legislation as the courts in England and Wales interpret and apply the law.
The guidance does not, and cannot, change the law of England and Wales. The courts will continue to apply the law of England and Wales relating to the making of wills in exactly the same way as they did before the practice note was issued.
The judiciary of England and Wales is independent of the Government and it would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Justice to issue guidance to the judiciary on how judges are to apply or interpret the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2014-07-15.
To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many employees of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, broken down by grade, have remained at the same grade since 2010 and in that period received pay rises.
Mr Charles Walker
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
Letter from Marcial Boo, July 2014:
As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about IPSA staffing.
29 of our current employees have worked for IPSA since 2010. Of those 29, 17 have remained at the same grade and received pay rises of 1% in 2012 and 2013.
|
Grade |
Number |
|
A |
1 |
|
B |
11 |
|
C |
3 |
|
D |
0 |
|
E |
2 |
|
F |
0 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the Law Society’s inclusion of Sharia succession rules in its guidance and its compatibility with existing equalities legislation.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales and the Government has no intention to change this position.
The legal profession is independent of Government and is regulated by approved regulators for which the Legal Services Board has oversight responsibility. The Law Society is the approved regulator for solicitors under the Legal Services Act 2007. On 13 March it published a practice note on Sharia succession rules to assist its members preparing wills for clients under the law of England and Wales. The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with The Law Society about its practice note. It is not for the Government to comment on the compatibility of the guidance with equalities legislation as the courts in England and Wales interpret and apply the law.
The guidance does not, and cannot, change the law of England and Wales. The courts will continue to apply the law of England and Wales relating to the making of wills in exactly the same way as they did before the practice note was issued.
The judiciary of England and Wales is independent of the Government and it would not be appropriate for the Ministry of Justice to issue guidance to the judiciary on how judges are to apply or interpret the law.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-07-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will introduce an embargo on the export of weapons to Israel.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We remain deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza. We call for an immediate de-escalation and restoration of the November 2012 ceasefire, to avoid further civilian injuries and the loss of innocent life.
The United Kingdom does not believe that imposing a blanket arms embargo on Israel would promote progress in the Middle East Peace Process. All countries, including Israel, have a legitimate right to self-defence, and the right to defend its citizens from attack. In doing so, it is vital that all actions are proportionate, in line with International Humanitarian Law, and are calibrated to avoid civilian casualties.
Export licence applications to all countries continue to be considered on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account the circumstances prevailing at the time of application. In view of the situation in Gaza, we are keeping all licence applications under review to ensure that all our decisions remain consistent with our human rights commitments and all applicable criteria. If a decision is taken to suspend or revoke licences we will announce this to Parliament, and where possible we will do this in concert with our EU partners.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of employees in No. 10 Downing Street of what (a) Civil Service pay grade and (b) gender work (i) reduced hours, (ii) flexi-time, (iii) from home, (iv) a compressed working week, (v) job share, (vi) term-time only and (vii) part-time.
Mr Francis Maude
The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
Some of the information requested is not held centrally. However, all of these options are available to employees subject to business needs.
Fewer than five employees are currently recorded as working (iii) from home in a formal arrangement.
The proportion of employees by Pay Grade who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:
|
CO Payband (CS Equivalent) |
% Part Time |
|
PERM SEC |
0% |
|
SCS3 |
14% |
|
SCS2 |
5% |
|
SCS1 |
8% |
|
A/BAND A (Grade 6/7) |
5% |
|
B2/BAND B2 (HEO/SEO) |
6% |
|
B/Faststream |
0% |
|
B1/BAND B1 (EO) |
9% |
|
C/BAND C (AA/AO) |
10% |
The proportion of employees by gender who work part-time hours as at 28 February 2014 is shown in the table below:
|
Gender |
% Part Time |
|
Female |
12% |
|
Male |
1% |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the issue of rape and sexual violence by the Burmese Army was raised with the Burmese colonel who received training in the UK from 10 March to April 2014; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context course, delivered in the UK by the Defence Academy, was attended by participants from over 20 countries; one of these was a colonel from the Burmese military. The course is designed for countries making the difficult transition to democracy in a variety of contexts. Specific issues of concern relating to individual countries are therefore not raised during the course.
I, however, raised the issue of rape and sexual violence with the Burmese Army’s Commander-in-Chief and northern Commander during my visit to Burma in January.
I welcome Burma’s endorsement of the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict on 5 June; we stand ready to provide any support necessary to assist implementation of the declaration.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr William McCrea on 2014-03-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department and the Highways Agency are taking to reduce the risk of death or serious injury to road workers on the motorway network.
Mr Robert Goodwill
As part of its Aiming for Zero safety programme, the Highways Agency established a Road Worker Safety programme designed to reduce risk exposure to road workers, a particular focus of which is to reduce the incidences of carriageway crossing by road workers. Within this programme, a number of projects have been commissioned to test simplifications and other changes to temporary traffic management arrangements to reduce road worker exposure to live traffic whilst maintaining standards of safety for road users. Some of these projects have been completed already; for example Signs Simplification, implemented December 2011, and Offside Signs Removal techniques, implemented November 2012.
The introduction of these innovative changes has already enabled a very substantial reduction in the number of carriageway crossings, leading to a proportionate reduction in road worker risk exposure. In March 2014 the Highways Agency published further guidance on the Offside Signs Removal technique, allowing it to be used to close a four lane carriageway. The Highways Agency is continuing to work with its supply chain to take forward further projects within this programme with the aim of further reducing road worker risk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of using mobile telephone apps to use GPS to locate trained resuscitators and atrial fibrilation equipment to bring a rapid response to those who have suffered a heart attack.
Jane Ellison
The development of mobile device based Apps are being considered by NHS England across health and care settings and are still in development and launched the Health Apps Library in March 2013.
NHS England is taking a leading role on apps in a number of areas:
– Health Apps Library: In recognition of needing to support patients and the public in knowing which apps they can trust and that are safe. Only apps that have successfully completed a clinical safety review process are listed.
– Overall United Kingdom Apps Review Framework: In recognising the need to help apps developers understand what review and regulation they need to go through, NHS England, the Health and Social Care Information Centre and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are jointly working together to create an overall review framework for health apps.
– Integrated apps: The future direction of apps is to move from lots of individual apps for specific purposes that are not linked to “integrated apps” that brings different pieces of information together.
Sudden and unexpected cardiac arrest remains a major public health concern in all countries and can affect all ages.
Defibrillators that can save many lives within minutes of the event are widely available, but rapid location of these and also trained community responders is an urgent and unmet need. Apps have been developed and several are in use but they will not achieve their full potential until integrated into a national scheme which NHS England is considering.