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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 the effectiveness of recent UK efforts to prevent people smuggling in the Mediterranean.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are working with our EU partners in tackling those criminal elements who are involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking. The EU Naval Forces Operation in the Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR Med – shortly to be renamed Operation Sophia) was launched on 22 June and is now in its second phase which aims to locate, interdict and seize smuggling vessels, and detain suspected smugglers, on the high seas. The UK has been one of the largest EU contributors to this mission. HMS ENTERPRISE has been deployed since 4 July and she will shortly be joined by HMS RICHMOND with her organic Lynx helicopter, Royal Marines boarding party and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for enhanced surveillance.

    A recently passed United Nations Security resolution, (http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/2240(2015), endorses our actions on the high seas under the EUNAVFOR Med operation. The UK was at the forefront of securing this resolution.

    In addition, the UK’s multi-agency Organised Immigration Crime (OIC) Taskforce builds on existing extensive law enforcement capability in the UK and overseas focusing on the crime networks in source countries, transit points including the Mediterranean as well as at the UK border and France. The Taskforce is already working with international partners, actively sharing intelligence and progressing criminal investigations.

    The OIC Taskforce builds on the existing progress made by Immigration Enforcement and others to tackle the gangs that target the most vulnerable. Last year UK law enforcement disrupted more than 170 organised crime gangs involved in immigration crime while so far this year, Immigration Enforcement alone has seen 48 convictions and the disruption of 27 organised crime gangs.

  • 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 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s global asset management plan.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Global Asset Management Plan is a commercially sensitive document which, if publicly available, would put the FCO and the UK taxpayer at a severe disadvantage in negotiating sales, purchases and leases. For that reason I will not place a copy of the plan in the Library.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical students completed their studies in London medical schools in each year since 2010.

    Ben Gummer

    Data available from the Medical and Dental Students (MDS) Survey from 2009 to 2012 shows the output of those obtaining their first registrable medical qualification from London universities as:

    Year

    Output from London universities

    2009

    1,668

    2010

    1,650

    2011

    1,790

    2012

    1,713

    Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England MDS Survey

    From 2013, the MDS did not collect information on the output from medical schools.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Individual Funding Requests have been granted in each of the last 10 years.

    George Freeman

    Prior to 1 April 2013, individual funding requests (IFRs) were the responsibility of local primary care trusts and information was not collected centrally.

    NHS England holds information relating to IFRs made in relation to the prescribed services it has commissioning responsibility for. This data is available from April 2013 when the organisation was formally established. NHS England does not hold information relating to IFRs submitted to clinical commissioning groups.

    From April 2013 to September 2015, NHS England approved 978 IFRs. All IFR requests are considered in-line with NHS England associated policies which can be found on its website and accessed via the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/policies/gp/

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  • 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 her Department has to help Syrian refugees assimilate into British society.

    Richard Harrington

    The Home Office is working closely with colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government to plan for the integration of Syrian refugees.

    We are carefully considering issues such as access to English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), how access to employment can best be supported and how to draw on the support offered from the voluntary sector, including refugee and disapora organisations as well as faith organisations.

  • Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Cat Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on amending the immigration system to increase the supply of non-domiciled seafarers to the UK shipping industry.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government is committed to reducing net migration and employers’ dependence on overseas workers.

    We have no plans to amend the immigration system specifically to increase the supply of non-EEA seamen and shore-based workers to the maritime sector. The immigration system does not interfere with the ability of UK-owned shipping businesses to employ non-EEA crew where they are engaged on international journeys. Non-EEA seamen who arrive in UK waters on board a vessel and are engaged to depart on that vessel, or who seek entry to the UK to join a vessel that is due to leave UK waters, do not require a work permit.

    Shore-based employment in the sector is, however, subject to the same controls as employment in any other sector, and non-EEA workers will normally require authorisation under the Tier 2 (General) category of the Points Based System. The Government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to provide advice on restricting Tier 2 work visas to genuine skills shortages and highly specialist experts, with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Leader of the House, what discussions he has had with Ministers or officials of HM Treasury on the effect of Government proposals for English votes for English laws on the future of the block grant for Scotland.

    Chris Grayling

    On Thursday 15 October 2015 I published the Government’s updated proposals for English votes for English laws. I had many discussions before publishing these updated proposals, including with Ministerial Colleagues and officials, and I have also listened to the Procedure Committee. The House will have the opportunity to debate the issue on Thursday 22 October 2015.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department were acting on his authority when they instructed Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road on 26 March 2015 on how the further assessment of Control Period 5’s cost estimates was to be carried out.

    Claire Perry

    On 23 March 2015, a senior Department for Transport (DfT) committee commissioned Network Rail, the Office of Rail and Road, and DfT officials to jointly assess the whole enhancements portfolio and provide a more robust estimate of costs. Senior officials from all three organisations met on 26 March 2015 to discuss how we could work together to undertake this piece of work.

    The Secretary of State did not specifically instruct this work nor was he part of these two meetings.

  • 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, how much was spent on housing benefit between 2010 and 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Housing Benefit expenditure information is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

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  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the schedule of comparable programme objects in HM Treasury’s publication, Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy, published in October 2010, what the total expenditure was on how many claims relating to pneumoconiosis in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Kilmarnock and Loudon constituency between 2010 and 2015; and how many such claims were unsuccessful.

    Justin Tomlinson

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

    Benefit expenditure for Pneumoconiosis at a Great Britain level is available in our published expenditure tables which are available at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

    The number of monthly Pneumoconiosis claims and expenditure at a Great Britain level by type of claimant and payment is available from here:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/industrial-injuries-disablement-benefit-quarterly-statistics

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