Tag: 2015

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any work is underway to undermine Islamic State’s propaganda on social media, and how much money has been allocated to that work.

    Lord Bates

    Extremist and terrorist organisations such as Da’esh use social media and other internet tools to spread fear, disseminate propaganda and persuade individuals to join their groups and support their aims.

    The Government’s Prevent strategy is focused on preventing people from being drawn into terrorism by challenging the terrorists’ ideology and supporting those vulnerable to its appeal.

    As part of Prevent, our dedicated police unit supports industry to remove, on average, 1,000 pieces of terrorist-related internet content per week. The Research, Information and Communication Unit (RICU) also helps build the capacity of civil society groups to confront and challenge the ideology of terrorism and extremism. By bringing civil society groups together with communications professionals and industry experts, it has provided them with advice and support, production capabilities, public relations expertise and social media training.

    British Muslim communities are playing a leading role in the fight against Da’esh’s poisonous narrative. This work, which allows them to share their alternative message more widely, is specifically aimed at undermining Da’esh’s propaganda.

    The threat of Da’esh is global and RICU is working closely with international partners and others to develop similar approaches.

    The Prevent programme has been allocated £65 million for the 2015/2016 financial year.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles are held by firearm certificate holders in (a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland; and how many of those rifles are conditioned for the purpose of (i) shooting vermin and ground game and (ii) target shooting.

    Mike Penning

    I can confirm that the information requested on the number of .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles held by certificate holders in England and Wales is available. However, as it takes time to extract this information from our systems, I will write separately with our response and place a copy of the reply in the House Library.

    The licensing of firearms in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland and the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. Information in respect of firearms in those jurisdictions is not held centrally by the Home Office.

    I am unable to provide the information requested on the number of legally owned .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles used in criminal offences as it is not collected centrally.

  • Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school days have been lost to snow closures in each of the last three years.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department does not collect information on the number of school days lost due to snow closures.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has made to his American counterpart on Guantanamo Bay in the last five years.

    Dominic Raab

    It has been a long standing policy of successive British Governments to seek the release and return of those UK nationals and former legal residents who were held at Guantanamo Bay and, in doing so, assist the US administration in its efforts to close the detention facility.

    We remain committed to assisting the US in its aim to close Guantanamo Bay by facilitating engagement with countries that have agreed to accept former detainees, and by sharing experience and advice on managing the return process.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the implications for her policies on support for community-based renewable generation projects are of the proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme and HM Treasury’s decision to remove such projects from tax relief.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Part of the purpose of the feed-in tariff (FIT) review consultation was to gather views on the broader economic impact of the proposed changes. We also sought views on whether the scheme should be focussed towards specific groups or sectors which might, for example, include households or communities. We had a strong response from community energy groups via the consultation and workshops.

    The actual impact on the community sector will depend on the options taken forward after all responses to the consultation have been considered. We are currently analysing feedback submitted during the consultation and intend to publish a Government response as soon as possible.

    The purpose of the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes is to provide funding to smaller higher-risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access finance to develop and grow. To ensure that the schemes are well targeted and deliver value for money, the government announced at the Autumn Statement the exclusion of all remaining energy generation activities from the schemes. This follows the exclusion of certain types of energy generation in 2012, 2014 and 2015, including most recently the announcement that the provision of reserve energy generating capacity and the generation of renewable energy benefiting from other government support by community energy organisations would be excluded from the schemes with effect from 30th November 2015, as well as from Social Investment Tax Relief when that scheme is expanded. These changes help to ensure that higher risk investments are not crowded out by lower risk investments.

    We will continue to work with the community energy sector over the coming months to develop a joint approach that addresses the priorities of the sector and satisfies our overarching objective of cost-effective emissions reductions.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints his Department has received about the DVLA from people resident in Northern Ireland since 1 July 2014.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency received 327 complaints from customers with a Northern Ireland postal address between 1 July 2014 and 16 December 2015.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will provide financial support to village halls to ensure that they are able to continue to operate after the closure of the National Village Halls Forum.

    Rory Stewart

    Community and Village Halls play an important role in many communities. We continue to consider the best ways to help the people who run them have the skills and support they need. Defra provided ACRE with £2,312,000 for 2015-16 to distribute amongst Rural Community Councils, allowing them to continue their role in sustaining rural villages and communities, and in operating their network of village hall advisers.

  • 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 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Mandatory Work Activity scheme in each of the last four years.

    Priti Patel

    The Department’s expenditure in respect of Mandatory Work Activity in each of the last four financial years is as follows:

    2011-12 £9.2m

    2012-13 £13.7m

    2013-14 £15.0m

    2014-15 £12.8m

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 4 November the The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond) and I met President Khoja and other representatives of the Syrian National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (National Coalition) in London. We discussed the urgent need for political transition in Syria as the only way to solve the conflict and defeat ISIL. We were clear that Assad has no place in Syria’s future and that the new political process in Vienna offers the opportunity to make progress towards Syrian-led negotiations. The National Coalition expressed their readiness to reach out to other moderate political and armed groups in Syria and agreed that the opposition negotiating team must be able to speak for the Syrian people. The UK’s special representative for Syria maintains regular contact with the National Coalition. The UK will continue to work with the National Coalition and our international partners in pursuit of a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18747, if he will publish the eligibility criteria for advance universal credit payments.

    Priti Patel

    To be eligible for a Universal Credit (UC) Advance payment, the claimant has to have an underlying entitlement to UC, be in financial need, and be able to afford to repay the Advance. These criteria are contained within the Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013.

    If during the initial work search interview, a work coach identifies a claimant is in financial need, or cannot manage until they receive their first UC payment, they will advise them about advance payments.