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Tag: 2014

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent UK companies profiting from North Korean labour; and what steps he is taking to ensure that UK companies are compliant with international law on human trafficking, slavery and forced labour in their contracts in North Korea.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK is the first country to publish the Implementation Plan of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which states the Government’s expectation of business behaviour both in the UK and overseas. In October 2013, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills amended the Companies Act 2006 to introduce mandatory reporting requirements for all UK listed companies to publish information on human rights issues. At the EU level, the UK in April this year secured agreement to impose further reporting requirements on companies across Europe. In particular, all large listed and public interest undertakings will be required to disclose policies, outcomes and risks relating to areas such as respect for human rights and, if relevant, linked to their supply and subcontracting chain.

    Current trade between the UK and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is minimal and covered by an overarching provision that any activities should satisfy existing UN and EU sanctions. These refer to restriction in the export of goods and financial assistance, which may contribute to the development of the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. There are currently no plans to introduce a general restriction on trade, as such a broad measure could adversely affect ordinary North Koreans.

  • Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Keith Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Government contracts have been given to Airwave; and what the (a) value and (b) duration is of each such contract.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Since January 2011, as part of the Government’s transparency programme, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder at:

    https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

    “

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers of vehicles registered in another country that should have been but were not registered in the UK in each of the last five years.

    Stephen Hammond

    Failure to register a vehicle following the six-month exemption period is not an offence for which a fixed penalty notice can be issued. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency instead writes to keepers of these vehicles offering them an out of court settlement where it appears that an offence has been committed, so that the matter may be resolved without court proceedings. The table below shows the amount of these out of court settlement letters issued in the last five financial years.

    YEAR

    NUMBER OF OCS ISSUED

    09/10

    108

    10/11

    83

    11/12

    192

    12/13

    59

    13/14

    84

    Since April 2014, 237 out of court settlement letters have been issued.

  • Mr Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mr Laurence Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Laurence Robertson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2014, Official Report, column 558W, on land drainage, what funding will be made available to SuDS Approving Bodies to enable them to maintain balancing tanks and sustainable urban drainage systems; who will be responsible for providing that funding; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Department will be consulting shortly on funding arrangements for the maintenance of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) that will be subject to the provisions of Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Kevin Brennan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2014-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the (a) dates and times and (b) purpose of all visits to his Department by Dominic Cummings have been since Mr Cummings resigned his post as a special adviser.

    Elizabeth Truss

    This information is not held. Mr Cummings is no longer employed by the Department for Education.

  • Stella Creasy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stella Creasy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings officials in his Department have had with officials from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the implications of the Consumer Rights Bill for (a) childcare voucher users and (b) providers of childcare services; and what the Civil Service grades of officials present were.

    Elizabeth Truss

    We are not aware of any meetings between officials from the Department for Education and those from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) specifically on the implications of the Consumer Rights Bill for providers of childcare services.

    BIS consulted widely on consumer law reform in 2008 and 2012, and published a draft Bill for pre-legislative scrutiny in 2013. BIS has also completed full impact assessments for the provisions in the Bill.

  • Meg Munn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Meg Munn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Munn on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received in support of his proposals to allow further delegation of children’s social care functions in order to improve outcomes for children in receipt of child protection services.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Responses to the consultation on further delegation of children’s social care functions are currently being considered.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in African countries about numbers of (a) elephants, (b) rhinoceroses and (c) lions in those countries.

    George Eustice

    The London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which the Government hosted on 12-13 February, brought together 42 countries, including four Presidents of African states, to discuss the decline in numbers of elephants, rhino and other species affected by the scourge of the illegal trade in wildlife. Conference participants agreed an ambitious political declaration, containing 25 practical commitments to action that will help to eradicate the demand for wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement and support the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by wildlife crime.

    Prior to the Conference, my colleague Lord de Mauley represented the UK Government at the African Elephant Summit in Botswana on 2 to 4 December 2014. This was attended by numerous government ministers from across Africa and the status of the African elephant at a continental level was discussed. During the summit, Lord de Mauley held bilateral discussions on illegal wildlife trade issues with the President of Botswana. Separately, he met with the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, to discuss the crisis facing African wildlife affected by poaching and illegal trade. The Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, also had discussions about the effects of the illegal wildlife trade on numbers of key species with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, Professor Judy Wakhungu, during a visit to Kenya in November 2013.

  • Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Robert Syms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the radioactive forcing from the increase in carbon dioxide concentration will be over the lifetime of Navitus Bay (a) if the project goes ahead and (b) if the project does not go ahead.

    Gregory Barker

    The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence under section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the offence committed corresponds to an offence which would lead to automatic inclusion in the children’s barred list, with the right to make representations, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 in each of the last four years.

    Damian Green

    Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible to separately identify findings of guilt for sexual offences committed outside England and Wales from those committed within England and Wales. This information could only be obtained from the individual courts at disproportionate cost.