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Tag: 2015

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what cross-departmental initiatives there are to tackle cyberbullying and protect young people from abuse online.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) is a multi-stakeholder forum that brings together three government departments, alongside industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups to work in partnership to help to keep children and young people safe online. It develops and promotes effective tools and information for children and parents.

    The board is co-chaired by Ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department for Education, and the Home Office. Officials from the Department of Health are also standing observers to Board meetings.

    The risks UKCCIS is seeking to protect children from are typically understood under four broad categories: content (such as violent or offensive content), contact (such as by online groomers), conduct (such as cyber bullying) and commerce (such as fraud)

    As part of this work, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, is leading a working group to develop best practice guidance for emerging social media platforms to encourage responsible practice from industry, and ensure children using their services are able to do so in a safe and protected way. This guidance has just been published. All the key players are round the table in this important collaborative project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.

    The Government Equalities Office has also recently provided £500,000 to the Safer Internet Centre to deliver updated cyberbullying guidance for schools, and a PSHE toolkit to help schools deliver sessions about cyberbullying, peer pressure and sexting; and support to professionals through a hotline and online safety briefings. They have engaged with DCMS and DfE in the development of this guidance.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on utilising the skills of animal welfare charities and voluntary organisations to monitor CCTV in slaughterhouses.

    George Eustice

    The Government welcomed the recent Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) Opinion on CCTV in slaughterhouses. FAWC did not recommend using animal welfare charities or voluntary organisations to monitor CCTV in slaughterhouses.

    However, the report highlighted that CCTV was a useful management tool for food business operators and the Government is keen to see the minority of abattoirs still without any form of CCTV move quickly to voluntarily adopt its use. We welcome the recent industry statement which addresses one of the FAWC recommendations that the slaughter industry should produce a common set of good practice protocols for the review, evaluation and use of CCTV footage.

    .

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria the Government is using to determine which people and residents of which areas will be eligible for discounts on tolls for the Mersey Gateway bridge.

    Andrew Jones

    The original toll discount scheme covering residents of Halton was developed by the scheme’s promoters, Halton Borough Council. Following the Chancellor’s statement in 2014 this is to be extended to cover all residents. Further details can be found at:

    Home

    Following the Chancellor’s further statement in July 2015 that the Government is looking at extending Mersey Gateway bridge toll discounts to residents of Chester West & Chester and Warrington, officials are currently working through what the proposed further extension means for the scheme.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to develop a strategy for rural healthcare.

    Jane Ellison

    The Five Year Forward View published by NHS England sets out the healthcare strategy for the whole of England, including rural areas. Rural areas have their own health needs, which should be taken into account in planning and developing healthcare services.All healthcare services will benefit from the Government’s commitment of an additional £10 billion for the National Health Service by 2020, to back the NHS’s own plan for the future Five Year Forward View.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 12142, if his Department will publish any expert advice it has received to inform its policy on the safety of safe-standing facilities at higher tier sports stadia.

    Tracey Crouch

    Government is not, at present, persuaded by the case put forward to re-introduce standing accommodation in grounds covered by the all-seater requirement. We will, however, monitor its introduction in Scotland closely and reassess this position once evidence from the Scottish experience is available and the Hillsborough Inquests have concluded, taking into account any recommendations made by the coroner on stadium safety.

  • Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Elliott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her Irish counterpart on steps to counter terrorist threats.

    Mr John Hayes

    Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are published on the Cabinet Office website on a quarterly basis.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have received young carer assessments under the Children and Families Act 2014 since its implementation; and what proportion of young carers received services from the local authority to meet their needs following such an assessment.

    Edward Timpson

    This information is not available to the Department.

    From April 2015, all young carers are entitled to an assessment of their needs for support by the local authority. These new provisions work alongside those in the Care Act 2014 for assessing adults to enable ‘whole family approaches’ to assessment and support. This means that when a child is identified as a young carer, the needs of everyone in the family will be considered. This will cause both children’s and adults’ support services to assess why a child has a caring responsibility, what needs to change, and what would help the family to prevent children from taking on this responsibility in the first place.

    This reform is intended to ensure effective, joined-up support with the potential to offer a single point of professional contact for young carers and their families.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he intends to publish the Office for Road and Rail’s first Highways England Monitor.

    Andrew Jones

    The Office for Rail and Road’s (ORR’s) six month update on Highways England’s performance will be laid in the House at the end of November and then published by ORR. The first annual report will be due in summer 2016, after a full year of monitoring Highways England has been completed.

  • 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 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many greyhounds were euthanised at the end of their racing career in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 17 December 2015, PQ UIN 20014. The public consultation on the initial findings of the review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 has now closed and Defra are currently considering the responses.

  • 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 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with EU member states and other European countries about the implementation of targeted human rights sanctions against named North Korean officials who are suspected of committing crimes against humanity.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We remain in close contact with other EU member states regarding our concerns over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). These include discussion on how we can address concerns over the DPRK’s nuclear programme and how we can improve the DPRK’s appalling human rights record. During our meetings we have discussed the full range of measures at our disposal including the option of targeted human rights sanctions against DPRK officials. We will always carefully consider the impact and benefits of sanctions measures before they are imposed. These considerations include our ability to defend the legality of the sanctions should they be challenged under EU law and the likelihood of achieving our objective of improved human rights for North Koreans.