The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions on climate change he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive.
Gregory Barker
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on climate change.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Leech on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed to work on cancer policy in his Department in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.
Jane Ellison
The number of full-time equivalent staff (FTE) in the Department working on cancer policy for each of the past three years has been presented in the following table:
|
Year |
FTE staff |
|
2010-11 |
18.3 |
|
2011-12 |
17.1 |
|
2012-13 |
16.7 |
|
2013-14 |
3.5 |
Other Departmental staff work on related issues, such as cancer prevention, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance and the Cancer Drugs Fund. From 1 April 2013, NHS England (rather than the Department) has been responsible for delivering improvements in all cancer services, with Public Health England (PHE) responsible for aspects of cancer screening, immunisation, prevention and symptom awareness.
To reflect new structures, a number of posts were created in NHS England and PHE, taking on some of the responsibilities of the previous Departmental Cancer Policy team.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Ministers for Women and Equalities, what steps he is taking to advance equal rights for LGBT citizens in the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Jenny Willott
The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) continue to recognise the UK as the highest ranking country for human rights protection of LGBT people in Europe.
The UK Government is a member of the European Network of Governmental LGBT Focal Points which enables us to disseminate good practice and insight from the UK. Other members include European Union member states.
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 will recognise legally valid marriages of same sex couples formed in other European countries as legal marriages in England and Wales. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, in liaison with the Government Equalities Office, is also carrying out an exercise to gain recognition of marriages of same sex couples formed in England and Wales overseas, including in other European Union member states.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Duddridge on 2014-05-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the arrest of Mario Masuku in Swaziland.
Mark Simmonds
We are concerned by the arrests of Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini at a Workers’ Event in Swaziland on 1 May. They have been charged under the Sedition and Subversive Activities and Suppression of Terrorism Acts and continue to be held in custody pending trial proceedings. We are also concerned by the situation of Thulani Maseko, a lawyer, and Bheki Makhubu, a journalist, who remain in custody in Swaziland following their re-arrest on 9 April 2014. We encourage the Swazi Government to respect the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly in Swaziland, as set out in the Swazi Constitution, and their international human rights obligations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2014-05-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Randerson on 26 March (WA 124) and 3 April (WA 226), and by Lord Bates on 6 May (WA 410–11), in the light of the scope of Lady Justice Hallett’s inquiry into on the runs, what role they envisage for the Northern Ireland Office, the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Police Service of Northern Ireland in that inquiry.
Baroness Randerson
As noted in earlier written answers, the inquiry will have full access to files held by the Government; government officials who are requested to appear will be expected to do so. The inquiry may also interview key individuals from the Northern Ireland Civil Service, the police and any others where those individuals are willing. The Northern Ireland Office is providing appropriate support to the inquiry team, as its’ sponsoring department.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much the UK plans to give to the Global Partnership for Education at its next funding round.
Lynne Featherstone
The UK is by far the largest donor to Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the largest bilateral donor to basic education. We are currently considering the level of future UK support to GPE based on their case for investment and the results to be delivered under their new funding model.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of air rifles in the UK.
Norman Baker
Only air rifles which have a discharge velocity of 12ft lbs are held on a
firearms certificate.
The police National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS) shows that as
of 12 May, 11,852 such air rifles were held on certificate in England and
Wales.
Low-powered air rifles (those below 12ft lbs discharge velocity) are not
licensed in England and Wales. It is therefore not possible to provide an
estimate of the number of air rifles which fall into this classification.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angie Bray on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 717W, on human trafficking: victim support schemes, how many of those referred were (a) men and (b) women; what steps are taken to ensure that after victims leave the shelter into which they have been placed by the Salvation Army they are not re-trafficked and do not contact their former traffickers; and if she will make a statement.
Karen Bradley
The requested information on the gender of potential victims and the regions in
which they were found (answer 30 April 2014 refers) was not withheld and is
provided in a table below.
The victim care contract does not require support providers to maintain any
form of formal contact with victims after the recovery and reflection period.
All support providers work with victims throughout their support period to help
them move on from the service. Through the National Referral Mechanism review
and the re-tender of the adult victims care contract, we are looking at what
more we can do to help victims recover and reintegrate effectively.
The table below contains the requested details of the 126 referrals in February
2014.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-05-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to tackle aggressive tax avoidance.
Mr David Gauke
Since 2010 the Government has introduced wide ranging reforms to tackle aggressive tax avoidance, including the General Anti-Abuse Rule in 2013 and numerous changes to tax law to close individual loopholes. Budget 2014 announced further measures to target the activities of high-risk promoters and to change the economics of avoidance through requiring taxpayers to pay disputed tax in advance up front.
The Government is also reinvesting over £1 billion in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) over this Parliament to increase the level of compliance activity, including tackling aggressive tax avoidance. HMRC brought in £700 million in 2012-13 alone through its work to tackle marketed avoidance schemes. HMRC also litigates cases where necessary and is very successful in doing so, winning around 80% of avoidance cases taxpayers choose to take to court. Many more taxpayers settle before reaching court.
The UK has also been taking a leading role in the work of the G20 and OECD to address base erosion and profit shifting by multinational companies. At the Budget we published a paper which sets out our priorities for the ongoing work with G20 and OECD partners, taking forward the 15 point Action Plan to counter Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). This includes proposals for new international rules to address cross-border business structures or finance transactions and enhanced disclosure rules to help tackle tax avoidance in an international context.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Hancock on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what comparative assessment he has made of superfast broadband coverage in (a) Hampshire and (b) other counties in the UK.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Ofcom monitors the availability of broadband in the UK, including superfast broadband availability, and publishes comparative data on its web site, which can be found at http://maps.ofcom.org.uk/broadband/ . Ofcom’s 2013 report provides the following comparative data on the availability of superfast broadband in Hampshire compared with the UK average.
|
Local Authority |
Superfast broadband availability |
|
City of Portsmouth |
96.4% |
|
City of Southampton |
91.7% |
|
Hampshire County |
78.3% |
|
United Kingdom |
73% |
The full Ofcom data table can be found at http://d2a9983j4okwzn.cloudfront.net/downloads/ofcom-uk-broadband-speed-data-2013.csv
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