Tag: 2015

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-10-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff are employed by her Department’s landlord helpline service.

    James Brokenshire

    This service is for general queries and is provided by a commercial partner. Re-sources are constantly reviewed and deployed according to demand. Currently 2 full time equivalent members of staff handle incoming calls with a further 20 members of the call handling team trained in this area if additional resource is required.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to monitor the use of weapons (a) manufactured in the UK or (b) sold by UK companies to the government of Saudi Arabia to ensure that such sales are compliant with international obligations.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government remains confident that the UK operates one of the most thorough and robust export control and licensing systems in the world. All applications for strategic export control licences for military and dual-use goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Government’s Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, in a manner consistent with the UK’s international obligations

    The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria. The Government of Saudi Arabia has provided repeated assurances to us that they are complying with international humanitarian law and we continue to engage with them on those assurances.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support he is giving to EU proposals to provide sea access to Gaza.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The EU, with UK encouragement, has examined a number of options to encourage an easing of movement and access into and out of Gaza. This includes the possibility of EU assistance in establishing a sea-link from Gaza to another international port, currently envisaged in Cyprus. The UK and EU have consistently called on the Government of Israel to ease movement, including at sea, and will continue to do so. We have also been pushing for an increase in the size of the fishing zone off the coast of Gaza, in line with the limit of twenty nautical miles stipulated in the Oslo accords. On 10 September, during Israeli Prime Minister Mr Netanyahu’s visit to the UK, the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr David Cameron), and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Runnymead and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), emphasised the importance of improving access to Gaza.

  • Dr Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dr Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Poulter on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what formal role Health Education England has played in his Department’s engagement and meetings with the BMA and other health care unions in developing the new proposed junior doctors and consultant contracts.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England (HEE) was not formally represented in negotiations: the two parties to the negotiations were employers (from each of the four United Kingdom countries) and the British Medical Association.

    A Director of Postgraduate Hospital Training and a Director of Postgraduate GP Education were involved in negotiations, and remain involved with the development of a new contract. Whilst they are employees of HEE, their role has been to provide educational advice to the management side (employers) as representatives of the Conference of Postgraduate Medical Deans (UK) and the Committee of General Practice Education Directors (UK). They have attended a range of meetings in that capacity, including the management side meetings and the negotiating meetings that took place roughly every fortnight from October 2013 to October 2014.

    Representatives from HEE also attended other meetings where there were updates on contract reform, including NHS Employers’ quarterly Medical Workforce Forum; and other less formal meetings at which contract reform was discussed, including regular update meetings with the hon. Member, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she expects the first Syrian refugees rescued from camps in the Middle East to arrive in the UK.

    Richard Harrington

    The Government will expand the existing Syrian Vulnerable Person Scheme and intends to resettle 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament.

    We can confirm that additional numbers of people have arrived as we expand the scheme following the Prime Minister’s announcement. However, we will not be giving a running commentary on numbers.

  • 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 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of Prevent strategy funding for each of the last five years has been allocated to tackling far right extremism.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Prevent Strategy addresses all forms of terrorism including extreme right wing terrorism. We do not provide a breakdown of Prevent project spending for reasons of national security.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to announce the outcome of the tendering process for the privatisation of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service fines collection service.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    As I set out in my Written Ministerial Statement of 15 October 2015, following re-consideration of the department’s requirements, we have decided that outsourcing these services to a single supplier is not the best option for HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Therefore the department has withdrawn the procurement for an external provider.

    Compliance and enforcement staff currently employed by HM Courts and Tribunals Service will not be transferred to an external provider.

  • Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the proposed Crossrail 2 project; and what assessment he has made of the relationship between that project and the successful completion of work on High Speed 2 at Euston Station.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A decision is yet to be taken on Government support for or investment in Crossrail 2.

    The current safeguarding direction represents the proposed route and includes an area north of the Euston Road, necessary if Crossrail 2 was to serve Euston Station.

    The completion of work on High Speed 2 at Euston Station is not dependent on the construction of Crossrail 2.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who have been affected by the benefit cap at any point since September 2013, and are no longer affected, started a claim for working tax credit after becoming self-employed.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Earl Attlee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Earl Attlee – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of the enhancements originally planned in order to accommodate heavy recovery vehicles for the Army Reserve Centre at Mitcham Road, Croydon, which have been implemented, and which have been deferred, cancelled, postponed, or otherwise not implemented.

    Earl Howe

    Infrastructure developments related to the relocation of 150 Recovery Company, part of 103 Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, to the Army Reserve Centre in Croydon have not progressed past the initial assessment phase. Therefore, no detailed plans have been developed nor funds allocated. The unit continues to deliver its required outputs including training with heavy recovery vehicles.