The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he had on human rights during his recent visit to China.
Michael Fallon
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills met civil society organisations during his visit and discussed a range of human rights issues, including the rule of law, labour and trade union rights.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Hunting Act 2004.
George Eustice
The Government has no legislative plans to make an amendment to the Hunting Act 2004. However, the Government’s position remains that we will bring forward a motion for a free vote on the repeal of the Hunting Act when Parliamentary time allows.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of prevalence of sexual violence in conflict in Sri Lanka.
Mr Hugo Swire
We remain concerned at reports of a culture of impunity for rape and sexual violence and a lack of support for victims in Sri Lanka, as well as reports of the use of sexual violence as a means of torture in custody. We are clear that rape and sexual violence whether during conflict or afterwards is unacceptable and must stop and we are committed to tackling sexual violence in conflict wherever it happens.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and I have urged Sri Lanka to sign up to the UN Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, and we are supporting projects to ensure a zero tolerance approach to rape and sexual violence in Sri Lanka. On 27 March, the UN Human Rights Council agreed a resolution on Sri Lanka that establishes an international investigation into allegations of violations of international law of both sides of the military conflict, and calls upon the Sri Lankan government to make progress on reconciliation and human rights. The resolution also expresses serious concern at continuing reports of sexual and gender based violence.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2013, Official Report, columns 652-3W, on special educational needs, whether his Department has any plans in future to commence publishing figures on the proportion of hearings where (a) local authorities and (b) parents were legally represented.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Ministry of Justice and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) publish data on the First-tier Tribunal Special Educational Needs & Disability (FtT SEND) regularly in a quarterly internet publication which includes data on a number of other Tribunals. Data for the academic year September 2012 to August 2013 were published in December 2013 and can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2013
The published data do not provide information on representation at hearings because. The current IT system does not have the facility to record details of legal representation at the actual hearing. To change this position would incur cost which could not be justified by any benefit to HMCTS. Therefore, there are no plans to collect this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of applicants who have upgraded to a premium service following contact with the Passport Office in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.
James Brokenshire
The table below shows the number of people who have upgraded from a standard to
a premium service.
|
Month |
Number of upgrades |
|
January 2014 |
6 |
|
February 2014 |
17 |
|
Mar 2014 |
117 |
|
Apr 2014 |
996 |
|
May 2014 |
1024 |
The specific information required is held in application ‘case notes’ on
Her Majesty’s Passport Office systems which cannot be mined through database
queries. Data presented here is an estimate for 2014.
Information on the number of upgrades prior to January 2014 has not been
collated centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department makes available to people who are unable to work whilst receiving treatment for cancer and what assets which cannot quickly be converted to enough money to cover consequential costs.
Esther McVey
People who are unable to work whilst receiving treatment for cancer may be entiltled to claim Employment and Support Allowance and, depending on the circumstances of them and their family, may be entilted to other benefits such as Personal Independence Payment, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-06-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many 16 year olds claimed jobseeker’s allowance in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.
Esther McVey
The information as requested is published and can be found at:
https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/Default.asp
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Alan Whitehead on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what modelling he has undertaken of the viability of the offtaker of last resort system for independent renewable energy generators under the revised arrangements for auctions for contracts for difference for established technologies.
Gregory Barker
We do not consider that the method of allocating Contracts for Difference (CfDs) has a direct impact on the viability of the offtaker of last resort (OLR).
We have recently consulted on the OLR and are currently considering responses. Based on those responses, we will consider whether further modelling is necessary to ensure/verify that the OLR is viable as proposed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 2014-06-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to recognise women who worked in munitions factories during the Second World War as part of the 70th anniversary commemorations marking the end of conflict.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The Government fully appreciates the efforts and the often very dangerous conditions experienced by those who worked in factories producing vital equipment for the armed forces that helped contribute to winning the Second World War. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has been working with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Recognition for Munitions Workers, which was set up in 2011 to explore ways to ensure that the valiant collective efforts of all those who worked in munitions factories are not forgotten.
Following the very successful commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day we will now be focussing in more detail across government on how the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 2015 might be marked in an appropriate manner. No decisions have yet been made on how the anniversary will be marked, but we expect an announcement on the commemorations to be made by the Government later in the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-03-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to announce which stations will receive (a) access for all funding and (b) national station improvement programme funding between 2014 and 2019.
Stephen Hammond
We plan to announce the stations that will receive Access for All funding in April.
The responsibility for deciding which stations will benefit from the next phase of the National Stations Improvement Programme rests with the industry Local Delivery Groups (LDGs) and not the Department.
The LDGs are in the process of developing their plans and will in due course be able to confirm which schemes they are progressing.