Tag: 2015

Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many appeals were heard in the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) relating to immigration decisions made by her Department in each of the last five years; for how many of those cases her Department did not appoint a legal representative; and in how many of those cases where no legal representative was appointed the appeal was upheld.

James Brokenshire

The Ministry of Justice publishes data at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics on the total number of appeals disposed at the First-Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) which includes all types of immigration appeal. Due to the way that data is recorded on Home Office systems, overseas appeals have been excluded from the data set included in the table attachment. The data also excludes paper cases at which a Home Office representative is not required.

The Home Office is usually represented at appeal hearings by a Home Office Presenting Officer acting as a Crown representative on behalf of the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) in immigration appeals pursuant to s84 (6) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Section 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 covers who can act as legal representatives in immigration appeals. Subsection 6 specifies that persons acting on behalf of the Crown or relevant Government Department can represent the SSHD at immigration appeals and do not need to be a legally qualified person. However in some cases barristers have also been used.

The proportion of oral appeals not represented increased between January – September 2015 in comparison to the previous 2 years. This was the result of the availability of Presenting resource in the Home Office to match court listing schedules which varied from forecasts used for planning purposes to a significant extent. Resources were put in place to ensure that representation rates increased in the final three months of the calendar year.

January 1, 2023
Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of businesses in Newton Abbot constituency which have superfast broadband of 24Mb/s.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government has committed to achieving availability of superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK by the end of 2017. 88 per cent of homes and businesses in Newton Abbott are estimated to have coverage by the end of 2016, and additional funding sources, including the clawback funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up, will allow coverage to be extended further in Newton Abbott and the rest of the area covered by the Devon and Somerset broadband project. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020, with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

January 1, 2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the reasons for regional variation in the condition of local authority A roads that merit the indicator which states that they are roads where maintenance should be considered.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport regularly publishes Official Statistics on the proportion of roads where maintenance should be considered by region in England. The latest available published data are for the financial year 2013/14.

Road maintenance is a matter for individual local highway authorities, and it is for them to prioritise work according to local need. However, we are providing local highway authorities with record funding of £6 billion for local highways maintenance plus a £250 million pothole action fund as recently announced by the Chancellor on top of this.

January 1, 2023
Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress her Department has made towards its renewable energy target for 2020; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on 6 July 2015 to Question 4832:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-30/4832/

“

January 1, 2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any disciplinary action is being taken against the doctors at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate who listed Down’s syndrome and learning difficulties among the reasons for issuing a Do Not Resuscitate order.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department expects National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts to have in place local policies on resuscitation that are based on expert professional guidance. We have commended, as a basis for local policies, professional guidance, Decisions Relating to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (2014), published jointly by the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the Royal College of Nursing. The guidance is clear that any resuscitation decision must be tailored to the individual circumstances of the patient and must not be made on the basis of blanket assumptions. A copy of the guidance is attached.

Where a person lacks capacity to make decisions about their care or treatment, the Mental Capacity Act makes clear that doctors must act in the best interests of patients. Doctors must take account as far as possible of the known wishes of the person and consult with relatives and colleagues as appropriate to help inform their decision.

Departmental officials have recently contacted the Trust about recent media coverage concerning an incident when Down’s syndrome was listed as a reason to issue a Do Not Resuscitate order. The Trust confirms it accepts that it failed to consult with the family and has apologised unreservedly for this isolated incident by a junior doctor.

In regards to any disciplinary action taken against the doctor this would be an operational issue for the Foundation Trust. We have written to Ms Nikki Cole, Chair of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust informing her of the Noble Lord’s enquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

January 1, 2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to improve diplomatic and economic ties with the new government in Burma.

Mr Hugo Swire

Burma’s constitution establishes a long delay between the election and the formation of a new government, which is due to take place in March 2016. The Prime Minister, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on 10 November to offer continued political and economic support for the people of Burma. We will of course keep in close contact on a range of topics and look forward to working with whatever new administration emerges in March.

January 1, 2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the performance of sponsored academies compares to that of maintained schools when grouped by prior results at achieving five A*-C grade GCSEs, including English and Maths, broken down per decile, over (1) the last year, (2) the last two years, and (3) the last three years.

Lord Nash

The figures for overall achievement of 5 A*-C Grade GCSEs including English and maths are provided by school type from 2011 to 2015 (provisional results) in Table 24 in the main text of the department’s publication, “Provisional GCSE and equivalent results in England, 2014 to 2015”, as attached to this answer. We do not hold the information grouped by prior results and broken down into deciles.

Interpreting trends in achievement in schools over time is complex with changes being driven by a wide range of influences and different circumstances that may exist between schools.

January 1, 2023
Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the incidence of his Department giving grants to organisations which subsequently use the money to try to influence (a) his and (b) other Government departments.

Alistair Burt

Funding applications from voluntary sector organisations are assessed against a number of criteria, but Departmental policy clearly states that grants will not be awarded if there is any indication within the application that some or all of any funding awarded will be used to support political activities, including political lobbying activity.

It remains an important objective of the Department’s partnership with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector that they contribute their voice and expertise to national policy making and implementation, and grant awards can support this objective.

However, analysis of each individual grant awarded by the Department to ascertain the impact of this objective would be at disproportionate cost.

January 1, 2023
Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-12-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland within the framework of the Belfast Agreement of 1998 about the provisions in that Agreement concerning the right of residence.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The UK and Irish Governments meet regularly both at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. These include rights issues in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as contained in the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

January 1, 2023
Sarah Champion – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) child and (b) adult EU nationals were (i) identified as potential victims of trafficking and (ii) returned to their country of origin in each of the last 5 years; and how many of those returned to their country of origin were so identified as potential victims of trafficking.

Karen Bradley

The total number of EU nationals identified as potential victims of trafficking through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in the last five years is 2,776. The figures for adult and children are shown in the table attached.

Given the freedom of movement for EU nationals the Home Office would have no way of knowing how many had returned to their home country as this would not be on the Home Office immigration database.

January 1, 2023