UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-10-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 17 December 2014 (HL3284), what measures have now been put in place, in partnership with police forces, to enable the collection of consistent and comparable data on domestic abuse from April.

    Lord Bates

    All forces through the Annual Data Return must record and provide data on domestic abuse related crimes and incidents. The requirement is part of the Home Secretary’s commitment to take forward recommendations made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in its report on the police response to domestic abuse published in March 2014. It came into force in April 2015 and the first findings from this collection will be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October as part of the quarterly Crime in England and Wales statistics publication. The Home Office is working with the ONS on the publication of more detailed data in future crime publications.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 15 September (HL Deb, col 1741), what assistance they have given to the Karen and other ethnic minorities in Burma in overcoming obstacles to a comprehensive national ceasefire, particularly in regard to (1) the placing of weapons beyond use, (2) the restitution of land, and (3) the extension of the franchise to Burmese refugees living in refugee camps on the border between Burma and Thailand.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We welcome the continuing talks between the Burmese government and ethnic armed groups to agree a National Ceasefire Agreement. Throughout the negotiations the UK has funded specialists to provide expert advice in support of the peacemaking dialogue in Burma to both sides of the conflict. This includes support to the National Ceasefire Coordination Team, the ethnic groups’ negotiation team of which Karen groups are a part. We are also a member of the Peace Donor Support Group which is directly supporting work to move from ceasefire agreements to political dialogue with all of Burma’s ethnic groups.

    The signing of a ceasefire would only be the start of a wider peace process. The next stage, as envisaged by the draft National Ceasefire Agreement, is a National Political Dialogue. It is at this stage that issues such as decommissioning of weapons, land restitution and resettlement of internally displaced people will be discussed. To date we have not been asked to assist with any of these issues, and we would only do so with the consent of both sides. However, as I highlighted in the debate to which the noble Lord refers, the UK has earmarked £3million in flexible funding to support such activities in support of the continuing peace process through the multi-donor Peace Support Fund, with the potential to increase this to £5million.

    We have raised with the Burmese authorities the issue of extending voting to internally displaced people. Most recently our Ambassador lobbied the head of the Union Election Commission on the inclusion of internally displaced people in Burma on the voter lists.

  • Lord German – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord German – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord German on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the last major maintenance work was undertaken on the first and second Severn crossings, and what was the cost of that work.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In September 2013 Severn River Crossing Plc (SRC) carried out major refurbishment of the movement joint and structural connection between the Wye Bridge and the Beachley Viaduct on the M48 Crossing. The estimated cost to SRC of this work is £0.75m.

    Since 2006, SRC has been repainting the steel truss of the cable stayed bridge on the M4 Second Severn Crossing. This work is programmed to be completed before the end of the concession and to date the estimated cost to SRC is £5.1m

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why people who have reached the age of 75 are not automatically invited for a bowel screening to identify symptoms of bowel cancer.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation based on the best available evidence.

    Bowel cancer screening by Faecal Occult Blood testing for men and women aged 50-74 was recommended by the UK NSC in July 2003. Following this recommendation, the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England initially invited men and women aged 60-69 years old as the programme was rolled out across the country. This has now been extended to men and women aged up to 74, as recommended in the Cancer Reform Strategy (2007). The programme offers screening up to the age of 74 based on the original English1 and Danish2 trials along with evidence published in 2010 (Cairns et al, 2010) which recommended that surveillance seizes at the age of 75.

    No assessment has been made regarding automatically inviting those over 75 years for bowel screening. Men and women aged above the eligible age limit have been able to self-refer for screening every two years since the programme began, and so far over 150,000 have done so.

    1Hardcastle JD, Chamberlain JO, Robinson MH, Moss SM, Amar SS, Balfour TW, James PD, Mangham CM. Randomised controlled trial of faecal-occult-blood screening for colorectal cancer.

    Lancet. 1996:348(9040);1472-7

    2 Kronborg O, Fenger C, Olsen J, Jorgensen OD, Sondergaard O. Randomised study of screening for colorectal cancer with faecal-occult-blood test.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to offer to those waiting in the immigration and asylum appeal process (1) the right to work after six months, and (2) an automatic right to engage in voluntary work at the beginning of the process.

    Lord Bates

    We have no plans to reduce the time asylum seekers have to wait to take up employment or voluntary work. Volunteering can be undertaken at any stage of the asylum process and we support asylum seekers who engage in this positive contribution to the community, providing such activities do not amount to voluntary work or employment.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to implement a tunnel for the A303 in order to avoid the entire surface area of the Stonehenge part of the World Heritage Site.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Road Investment Strategy is clear that the A303 Amesbury to Berwick Down scheme involves a tunnel of at least 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometres). Highways England is in the early stage of scheme development, looking at options, including the length of tunnel. Consultation on options will take place in 2017 and will involve stakeholders, local residents, businesses, road users and interested parties.

    Highways England does not yet have reliable cost estimates for a 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometres), or 4.3 miles (7 kilometres) tunnel. This information would become available during the consideration of options. The A303/A30/A358 Corridor Feasibility Study indicated that the cost estimate for a 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometres) tunnel is in the range of £864m to £1321m.

    To date, Highways England has not sought funding outside of their own resources to fund a solution for the A303 past Stonehenge although this does not preclude them from considering other funding sources in the future.

  • James Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    James Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Davies on 2015-09-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual VAT take is from tourism businesses in Wales.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT receipts from particular goods and services, and has not estimated the VAT take from tourism businesses in Wales.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government will take to provide support to small organisations which are not able to pay their staff the national living wage.

    Nick Boles

    The National Living Wage is part of this Government’s aim to move from a low-wage, high-tax and high-benefits economy to a high-wage, low-tax and low-benefits economy; it ensures that work pays, and reduces reliance on the State topping up wages through the benefits system. As part of this, the Government is cutting taxes and employer NICs in total by over £3bn a year through the Employment Allowance and Corporation Tax.

    The Government believes that the new National Living Wage is affordable given the strength of the UK economy and labour market.

  • George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many requests from local or coalition forces for RAF strike missions against targets in Iraq he has rejected because they were deemed to have been in breach of British rules of engagement or posed an unacceptable risk of civilian casualties.

    Michael Fallon

    None because all targets which are put to me for approval are rigorously assessed in advance for compliance with UK rules of engagement, UK law and international law.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-09-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what (a) representations and (b) advice she has received on health and safety at unrestored open-cast coal mines in the UK.

    Andrea Leadsom

    With regard to the general issue of the restoration of former opencast coal mining sites in Wales and Scotland in addition to meeting the Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Natural Resources on 16 July 2015 and a meeting with the hon. Members for Bridgend; Ogmore; Aberavon; and Kilmarnock and Loudoun on 9 September 2015 I have received written communications from other hon. Members and representations of the Welsh Assembly Government and Scottish Government. Officials from the Department’s Coal Liabilities Unit will be travelling to Wales next month to meet with Welsh Government and Local Authority officials, along with those directly affected, to discuss the matter. In the meantime my Department’s Non-Departmental Public Body, the Coal Authority, has provided expert advice to Local Authorities on calculating the level of security required for future surface mine operations to ensure the restoration costs are covered should the mining company no longer be in a position to carry out the work.

    In relation to the health and safety of these sites, this is a matter for the individual Local Authorities.