UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2014

  • Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bob Blackman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to minimise the extent and length of road works on the motorway network at times when work is not taking place.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England combine maintenance and improvement schemes to maximise activity within roadworks. However, lane closures are sometimes left in place through the day and then work undertaken overnight. Removing these completely each day would be time consuming and would delay projects and motorists for longer.

  • Baroness Suttie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Suttie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role in the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, as set out in the Immigration Bill, will play in setting the operational priorities of and in allocating resources to (1) the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, (2) the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, and (3) HM Revenue and Customs National Minimum Wage enforcement teams.

    Lord Bates

    The consultation we have recently published on tackling labour exploitation sets out the role envisaged for the Director of Labour Market Enforcement. The measures we have introduced in the Immigration Bill require the Director to set the priorities for the three enforcement bodies: the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate, National Minimum Wage enforcement function of HMRC and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. These will be set out in an annual strategic plan, subject to the approval of the Secretaries of State at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Home Office. This will set out the clear priorities for tackling serious exploitation and the role of the agencies in delivering them.

  • Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Bob Stewart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Stewart on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which psychiatric disorder had the highest mortality rate in each of the last five years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Embassy in Saudi Arabia provides support and protection to human rights activists in that country.

    Hugh Robertson

    Our policy on human rights defenders is guided by the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998) and the EU Guidelines. Embassy officials have regular contact with human rights defenders. It is, however, often the view of the defenders that involvement with foreign representatives and organisations can make their task of pressing for reform more difficult. Nevertheless, we work to align our priorities with theirs and continue to press for reform.

  • Ian Paisley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Paisley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what organisations or individuals Ministers or officials of his Department have met to discuss standardised packaging of tobacco in the last 12 months; which Ministers or officials were present at those meetings; and who represented each organisation present at those meetings.

    Jane Ellison

    Details of Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the Gov.UK website at:

    www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-2013#department-of-health-dh

    The Department does not keep a central diary of the engagements that every Departmental official has had. In discharging their official duties, Ministers, special advisors and Departmental officials meet with representatives from a range of organisations.

  • Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Sawford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times an escaped person has been categorised as a high harm person and the senior management team believe there is a high risk of reputational damage to the Home Office as set out in the Home Office Guidance on Escaped Detainees at immigration removal centres in the last four years.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office does not routinely categorise immigration detainees against a
    scale of harm. They are instead subject to individual risk assessment linked
    to their suitability for placement in an immigration removal centre (IRC) which is
    based on a number of different factors.

    Where an escape or attempted escape from an IRC takes place, Criminal and
    Financial Investigation (CFI) immigration specialist teams will assist in the
    investigation where the individual is assessed to be a ‘high harm’ person, or
    where the senior management team believe there is a high risk of reputational
    damage to the Home Office.

    In the last four years the CFI team has conducted two investigations relating
    to escapes of individuals from escort who were assessed to fit the
    investigation criteria. There have not been any cases of escapes from an IRC
    which have warranted the involvement of the CFI.

    This data is management information and does not form part of published
    statistics and is not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National
    Statistics publications. It is provisional and subject to change.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national prisoners were repatriated under foreign prisoner transfer agreements to their home countries to serve their custodial sentence in each year since 2010.

    Jeremy Wright

    The tables below sets out the number of prisoners who have transferred from a prison in England andWales to a prison in their state of nationality since 1 January 2009.

    Year

    Transfers

    2009

    40

    2010

    46

    2011

    33

    2012

    40

    2013

    43

    The list includes one foreign national prisoner who was returned to a British Overseas Territory in 2011 under the Colonial Prisoners Removal Act 1884.

    We remain determined to secure compulsory Prisoner Transfer Agreements wherever possible, in order to increase the number of foreign national prisoners who are able to transfer to prisons in their home countries. In January this year we signed a compulsory transfer agreement with Nigeria and last year we signed an agreement with Albania. We expect to see prisoner transfers to both these countries before the end of this year.

    We are also working hard to increase the number of foreign nationals who are removed from prison under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS). In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under TERS, which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 256 prisoners to date.

    The numbers reported here are drawn from a Prison Service Case Tracking System. Care is taken when processing these cases but the figures may be subject to inaccuracies associated with any recording system.

    Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.

  • Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Bryant on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of extending entitlement to NHS dentistry exemptions to all claimants of universal credit once universal credit has been fully rolled out in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    The Scottish Government is responsible for defining the entitlement criteria for these passported benefits. They will need to consider the current eligibility criteria and make arrangements to ensure that they can continue to deliver these benefits as Universal Credit is introduced.

    There is ongoing engagement between the Scottish Government and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that any solution is simple, fair, easy to understand and affordable.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will make it their policy to gather information on registration levels on an annual basis.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that they collect from every ERO, and publish, annual electoral registration statistics covering a range of topics including the number of electors on the registers, response rates to the annual canvass, numbers of additions and deletions on the registers and levels of carry forward.

    This data collection will be more frequent during the transition to individual electoral registration (IER).

    The Commission further informs me that they report periodically on the overall levels of accuracy and completeness of the electoral registers. Such studies are costly to conduct and it is not therefore feasible to conduct them annually. There are two such studies planned as part of the Commission’s approach to monitoring the implementation of IER.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Heidi Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-06-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to better identify those personal independence payment claimants who could be assessed solely on the basis of evidence without the need for face-to-face assessments.

    Mike Penning

    We are working with our providers to ensure that all PIP claims received are reviewed and where sufficient evidence is available at that initial review we may make a decision on the claim without the need for a face-to-face consultation. Where a face-to-face consultation is needed or further evidence must be gathered, the assessment provider will undertake that activity.