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Tag: 2015

  • Ian Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ian Murray – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the devolution of abortion legislation to the Scottish Parliament.

    Jane Ellison

    I have had discussions with Ministers on the Smith Commission Agreement and the Scotland Bill. The Secretary of State for Scotland has spoken to women’s groups in Scotland about devolution of abortion legislation, and Department of Health officials have had informal discussions and communication with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on this matter.

  • 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 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what additional funding allocations have been provided to each local authority as a result of declared claw back from BT under the National Broadband Scheme.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Thanks to the way we have constructed the contracts, BT has announced £129 million of clawback funding. This is available to the local authorities to support further broadband deployment without any additional funding being added to it by either the government or by the local authorities.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-EU workers hold visas to work on IT projects in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    Acquiring this information would involve examining each individual case record held by UKVI for the category. To do so would incur a disproportionate cost.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 19 June 2013, Official Report, column 718W, on AWE Aldermaston, what the final write-off costs were of the cancellation of Project Hydrus at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

    Michael Fallon

    The final write off costs for the termination of Project Hydrus were £117.7 million. The hydrodynamics testing capability will now be delivered through the joint UK and France programme, Project Teutates. Components valued at £71 million which were constructed under Project Hydrus have subsequently been incorporated into Project Teutates.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to implement the family test.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The Family Test policy does not apply to DFID’s work as foreign policy is outside of the scope of the Test.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to ensure equitable application of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 across all UK exam boards.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government currently has no plans to alter the scope of the Freedom of Information Act in relation to exam boards. However the scope of the Act is kept under review.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether he raised the issue of persecution and human rights abuse of Christians living in China during the recent state visit by President Xi Jinping.

    Mr David Cameron

    I was clear during my wide-ranging discussions with President Xi Jinping of the importance that the UK attaches to human rights as part of our wider relationship with China. The joint statement reconfirmed our commitment to the Human Rights Dialogue, an important part of our engagement.

    We raise the range of our human rights concerns directly with China, including during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, most recently in April 2015. We also highlight them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights. We will continue to pursue our concerns both privately and in public fora.

    We believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. I remain concerned by the restrictions placed on Christianity in China. We are aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to require enforcers of the Pet Travel Scheme to carry out visual checks on dogs entering the UK.

    George Eustice

    The UK carries out more checks on pets at the border than most other EU Member States. It is a condition of their approval that the transport companies check 100% of pets declared by their owners for compliance with the EU Pet Travel Scheme. The only way that we are practically able to have a system of checking every declared pet dog entering Great Britain, on an approved route, is by working in partnership with the transport companies.

  • Johnny Mercer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Johnny Mercer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Johnny Mercer on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he holds on whether Sir Peter Hendy’s review of Network Rail’s programme plans will consider extending electrification to Plymouth and the South West Peninsula.

    Claire Perry

    The Secretary of State for Transport asked the new Chair of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy Review to review the enhancements programme as detailed in the Network Rail’s Control Period 5 (2014-2019) Rail Enhancement’s Delivery Plan. This did not include the electrification to Plymouth and the South West Peninsula. Electrification of this route is expected to be considered as part of the future strategy for the railway.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote international support for and defence of religious minority communities in the Middle East.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We remain deeply concerned about the plight of Christians and other religious minorities across the Middle East and North Africa. In March this year at a United Nations Security Council debate on the persecution of minorities in the Middle East, I called for bold leadership in the region to continue working for tolerance and reconciliation.

    In September the UK participated in an international conference in Paris on the subject, and called on the international community to do more to assist vulnerable populations. On 19 November Baroness Anelay and I convened a workshop with non governmental organisations and experts in the field to examine what more Her Majesty’s Government might do to practically support Christians and other minorities in the Middle East and protect Freedom of Religion or Belief. Officials are now examining how to put these ideas into practice.

    On a practical level, we assisted Kurdish and Yezidi fighters to liberate vulnerable minority groups in Sinjar in Iraq in November. The Royal Air Force provide vital air support for local, legitimate ground forces, focused on defeating ISIL and minimising civilian casualties.

    We raise violations with individual countries, and work with them to ensure that discriminatory legislation and practices are tackled. We also ensure that the international consensus in the UN on tackling religious intolerance is maintained.