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Tag: 2015

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of capacity building assistance in the area of strategic communications for (a) Georgia, (b) Moldova, (c) Ukraine and (d) other NATO partner countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    Her Majesty’s Government has provided expert strategic communications advice to the Governments of Georgia and Ukraine, and to NATO.

    The UK has worked with the Governments of Georgia and Ukraine to help them develop strategic communications strategies and plan campaigns focusing on their reform efforts.

    We have also provided strategic communications training and support to the NATO HQ Strategic Communications Team to improve NATO strategic communications.

    Assessment by recipients and partners of our support is very positive. I share this assessment.

  • Lord Robertson of Port Ellen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Robertson of Port Ellen – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the lifetime of the Vanguard-class submarines can be extended beyond the previous published date of 2018 to the 2030s referred to in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

    Earl Howe

    As set out in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we have assessed that we can safely manage and maintain the Vanguard boats until Successor submarines are introduced into service in the early 2030s.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prescriptions for anti-depressants were issued in each year since 2010 in (a) the UK, (b) London, (c) each London borough and (d) each health trust in London.

    Alistair Burt

    Information is not held centrally on the number of prescription items issued. The attached tables provide numbers of anti-depressant prescription items written in England and London, and dispensed in the United Kingdom, for the available financial years 2011/12 to 2014/15. Information relating to prescriptions written in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, are a matter for the Devolved Administrations.

  • Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord McColl of Dulwich – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McColl of Dulwich on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children who received a child trafficking advocate under the trials conducted in 2014–15 were (1) UK nationals, (2) nationals of the EU or EEA excluding UK nationals, and (3) nationals of countries not in the EU or EEA.

    Lord Bates

    Section 48(7) of the Modern Slavery Act requires the Government to lay before Parliament a report setting out the steps it proposes to take in relation to independent child trafficking advocates within nine months of Royal Assent of the Modern Slavery Act. The Government will publish this report by 16 December, whilst Parliament is sitting. The evaluation report will be published by 16 December and set out the number of children referred into the trial and their countries of origin.

  • Nigel Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nigel Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many students from India were granted a visa to study in Britain in 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    There were 11,699 entry clearance visas granted to Indian nationals for study in 2014. This figure relates to main applicants, and is available in the published entry clearance visa statistics (Immigration Statistics April-June 2015, Home Office, table vi_06_q_s, Tier 4 & pre-PBS equivalent).

    The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, April-June 2015’, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to promote to UK investors the publication by the European Commission of the Interpretative Notice on indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, on 11 November 2015.

    George Eustice

    The principal feature of the Interpretative Notice is a recommendation that goods imported into the EU which originate from Israeli settlements in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 should bear an indication which makes that provenance clear. That recommendation was included in technical advice to UK retailers and importers concerning labelling agricultural produce from the West Bank that was issued by Defra in 2009. We are currently in discussion with other Departments to consider whether revisions need to be made to the 2009 advice in the light of the Interpretative Notice.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Nusrat Ghani – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to promote the safety of students in Ethiopia who are campaigning for democracy and human rights.

    Grant Shapps

    We remain deeply concerned about the deaths that followed the student protests in early May 2014 in Oromiya State in Ethiopia, and have raised our concerns with the authorities at the highest levels. We sought assurances that any members of the security forces who are found to have used excessive force are held to account, and that measures will be put in place to avoid further such incidents.

    The UK Government takes allegations of human rights abuses very seriously. We regularly raise democracy and human rights concerns , including at the highest level of the Ethiopian Government.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to IR35 tax regulations on (a) self-employed people and (b) people who own small businesses.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is considering responses to the discussion document published in July on how to improve the effectiveness of the existing intermediaries legislation (IR35). As set out in the discussion document, the Government’s objective is to find a solution that protects the Exchequer and improves fairness in the system without creating disproportionate burdens on business.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what definition he uses of the term the most extreme circumstances of self-defence; if he will provide examples of situations which would meet that definition; and whether a (a) pre-emptive and (b) retaliatory nuclear attack on another state would be covered by that definition.

    Mr David Cameron

    I have nothing further to add.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to paragraph 4.79 of the National Security Strategy and the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, what steps the Government has taken since 2010 to achieve the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons; and what initiatives the Government has taken to date to work with the UK’s international partners to tackle proliferation and to make progress on multilateral nuclear disarmament.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK National Report submitted in February in advance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference set out steps we have taken to support the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. This includes support to the international monitoring system designed to detect nuclear tests, efforts to build trust and confidence with other Nuclear Weapon States through the P5 process, and initiatives with Norway and the US on how to verify disarmament of nuclear weapons. We have also met our commitment to reduce the number of operationally available warheads to no more than 120. We have worked to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime, most notably through our role in securing an agreement involving strict limits and inspections on Iran’s nuclear programme.