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Tag: 2015

  • David Lammy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Lammy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the decision in R (Nicolson) v Tottenham Magistrates’ Court to declare the applicant’s liability order unlawful, what steps HM Courts and Tribunals Service has taken to ensure that magistrates satisfy themselves that the amount claimed by way of costs by local authorities in any individual case summonsed for late or non-payment of council tax is no more than that reasonably incurred by the authority.

    Mike Penning

    The decision as to whether to award costs in applications for liability orders and in what amount is a matter of judicial discretion in each individual case.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the BBC Trust on making BBC regional production requirements relate to the number of (a) residents and (b) licence payers in that region.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The question of the BBC’s role in the nations and regions is being considered through the BBC Charter Review consultation. We are currently analysing responses to the consultation.

  • 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 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department’s press release, Government to overhaul young driver rules in bid to improve safety and cut insurance costs, issued 25 March 2013, when heplans to publish the Green Paper on young drivers referred to in that press release.

    Andrew Jones

    Every death is a tragedy and is one too many. However, there is a difficult balance to strikebetween the safety and the freedom of our young drivers, and we are currentlyundertaking research into how to make our roads safer. We will explore optionsaround how to improve learning to drive and encouraging people to practice morebefore they take their test.

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to procure ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we plan to procure three Fleet Solid Support logistic ships, in addition to the four Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability Tide Class tankers currently under construction. The Tide Class will enter service from 2016, and it is planned that the logistic ships will enter service from the mid-2020s.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the benefits cap applies to Syrian migrants.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Syrians entering the UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme are able to work and have access to some benefits on arrival. Like other claimants they will be subject to the benefit cap.

  • Charles Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Charles Walker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of using the proposed High Speed 2 corridor as a route for transferring water from the north of England to London; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with water companies or made any specific assessment relating to water transfers along the High Speed 2 corridor. No such project was proposed during the last round of water company water resources management plans.

    Defra and the Environment Agency are now working with all water companies to ensure that they consider the range of options for balancing future supply and demand in their next update to their plans to be published in 2019. This includes looking at bulk transfers between companies.

  • Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average processing time taken for cases in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal from the time a complaint or claim was submitted to the announcement of a ruling in each year from 2010 to 2014 inclusive.

    Lord Bates

    The numbers of new cases received by the independent Investigatory Powers Tribunal each year are published on the Tribunal’s website at: http://www.ipt-uk.com/section.aspx?pageid=5 .

    The numbers of complaints and claims for the years 2010 to 2014 are as follows.

    Year

    Human Rights Claims

    Complaints

    Both

    Total

    2010

    49

    40

    75

    164

    2011

    46

    46

    88

    180

    2012

    37

    52

    79

    168

    2013

    58

    67

    80

    205

    2014

    58

    60

    97

    215

    The Investigatory Powers Tribunal does not collate the information about the average length of time from a complaint or claim being submitted to the announcement of a ruling. The cases received by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal vary in scope and complexity. Each case is considered on its own merits and receives appropriate legal scrutiny.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish a response to the Human Rights Watch report, The Blood of People Who Don’t Cooperate: Continuing Torture and Mistreatment of Detainees in Bahrain, published on 22 November 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are considering the report carefully. The UK Government consistently and unreservedly condemns torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and it is a priority for us to combat it wherever and whenever it occurs. We are aware of ongoing allegations against Ministry of Interior personnel and we have expressed our concerns to the authorities. The Government of Bahrain has previously committed to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol of the Convention Against Torture. The UK strongly supports this and we have been working with the authorities to share best practice on torture prevention measures. We also continue to ask the Government of Bahrain to allow a visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the discovery of an illness similar to Lyme Disease, caused by the tick-borne bacteria Borrelia miyamotoi, which is reported to be resistant to antibiotics.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) regularly reviews the scientific literature and in response to reports of B. miyamotoi being present in ticks in other countries, PHE has studied relevant ticks in England, finding that three out of 954 ticks studied contained B. miyamotoi, compared to 40 that were positive for the bacterium responsible for Lyme disease. The public health significance of B. miyamotoi has been unclear, but accumulating published evidence from around 50 human cases, suggests it can cause disease in man, most commonly a febrile illness.

    To date, no human infections with Borrelia miyamotoi have been reported in the United Kingdom. All cases of B. miyamotoi infection reported in the scientific literature to date made a full recovery following treatment with appropriate antibiotics.

  • William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    William Wragg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the level of provision of eye clinic liaison officers is in eye clinics and hospitals in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) Hazel Grove constituency.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not collected centrally.

    Eye clinics and their staffing, including eye clinic liaison officers, are commissioned and funded by individual clinical commissioning groups on the basis of local assessments of need.