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Tag: 2015

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress on the (a) establishment of a national unity government in Libya and (b) ending of political instability in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 8 October the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Bernardino León, announced details of the proposed final political settlement in Libya. This included: names for the Prime Minister and five others members of the Presidential Council, the final text of the Political Agreements, and twelve other names proposed for ministerial positions.

    We are working closely with international partners to encourage the Libyan parties to endorse the proposal. UNSMIL hope to achieve formal signature before 20 October.

    We are working tirelessly in support of UN efforts to establish a Government of National Accord in Libya. Negotiations remain difficult. But only an inclusive government will deliver the peace and stability that the Libyan people desire and deny the space for ISIL and other extremist groups to operate.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the level of sexual violence (a) within Syria and (b) in camps for Syrian refugees.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are extremely concerned by the high levels of sexual violence in Syria and within Syrian refugee camps. The UN Commission of Inquiry report of September 2015 highlighted widespread sexual abuse carried out by the Syrian regime, ISIL and some armed opposition groups within Syria. Assad’s forces and militia are responsible for the vast majority of sexual violence, which include threats, rape, degrading body searches and sexual harassment in prisons and branches of the security agencies. ISIL propaganda condones the barbaric treatment of male and female captives, sexual relations with adolescent girls and sexual slavery. Unfortunately, many of those who flee the conflict remain extremely vulnerable to sexual violence. Exploitation of vulnerable individuals within refugee camps was highlighted by the UN Equity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women report “We keep Silent” issued in April 2014. The UK is providing £1 billion in humanitarian aid, which includes support to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to provide services for survivors of sexual violence and has so far reached over 27,000 women in Syria. We are also supporting case management in Jordan for over 800 survivors and cash assistance to vulnerable refugee women in Lebanon. The FCO has committed £5.2 million to projects preventing sexual violence in Syria. We are supporting projects to train health professionals and human rights defenders in collecting and preserving evidence of human rights abuses including sexual violence.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many hours of mental health training is required as part of the mandatory training course for (a) student doctors, (b) student nurses and (c) midwives.

    Ben Gummer

    As the professional regulators it is the responsibility of the General Medical Council (GMC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricular to ensure newly qualified doctors and nurses are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care.This includes Mental Health training as required.

    Health Education England will work with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for future levels of provision of NHS-funded hospice care.

    Ben Gummer

    Levels of provision of NHS funded hospice care are determined locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). CCGs are responsible for ensuring that the services they commission meet the needs of their local population.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities are receiving Prevent strategy funding; and if she will publish the formula used for allocating such funding.

    Mr John Hayes

    Prevent priority areas are identified through a process which assesses information from police and other partners. We do not provide a breakdown of specific Prevent priority areas for reasons of national security. Each priority area receives funding for a Prevent coordinator, and is supported by the Home Office to deliver projects which address specific local risks. Following commencement of the Prevent duty on 1 July 2015 we have allocated all non-priority local authorities in England and Wales £10,000 to support implementation of the duty.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have been (a) allowed to continue on full duties, (b) placed on restricted duties and (c) suspended with figures following a death in custody and during an investigation for gross misconduct in each year since 2010.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police officers allowed to continue on full duties, placed on restricted duties or suspended following a death in police custody or during an investigation for gross misconduct. The issue of deaths and serious incidents in police custody has long been a priority issue for the Home Office and on 23 July 2015, the Home Secretary announced the launch of an independent review of this issue.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to amend the US-UK extradition treaty to make the legal requirements for extradition the same for US and UK citizens.

    James Brokenshire

    Under the UK-US Treaty there is no practical difference in the treatment of UK and US nationals, or indeed the nationals of any other country. This was also the conclusion of the independent Review of the UK’s Extradition Arrangements which the Home Secretary asked Sir Scott Baker to conduct, which stated “We have concluded that the United States/United Kingdom Treaty does not operate in an unbalanced manner” and that “there is no practical difference between the information submitted to and from the United States”. Changes were made to the operation of the Treaty in the last Parliament, such as the introduction of the ‘forum bar’ under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The Government believes that the Treaty is operating fairly.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the International Transport Workers Federation’s Maritime Labour Convention compliance inspections on international shipping in 2014.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is not aware of the findings of the International Transport Workers Federation’s Maritime Labour Convention compliance inspections on international shipping in 2014. However, you may wish to note that the MCA works very closely with The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). When ITF inspectors have concerns on board, they notify the MCA who subsequently carry out a review of the issues and carry out a Port State Control inspection, if deemed necessary. This would either result in deficiencies being raised or the ship being detained until satisfactory corrective actions are initiated in response to the deficiencies raised.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultants have been used to advise the Government on the future structure of Network Rail; and what the cost to the public purse has been of engaging such consultants.

    Claire Perry

    Since Network Rail’s reclassification to the public sector in 2014, the Department has engaged EY (previously known as Ernst & Young) to support the development of policy on the future of rail infrastructure management. The final cost of this work was £750k.

  • Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the morale of his Department’s staff.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The morale of the Department’s staff is not measured although the related concept of Employee Engagement is measured regularly through the Department’s annual People Survey.

    The People Survey is conducted in the Autumn every year and we are currently in the middle of completing this year’s survey.

    Results will be available and made accessible to the public through the Gov.uk website in mid-November.

    Last year’s results can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/397958/dwp-people-survey-2014.pdf

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