Tag: 2015

  • Alasdair McDonnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alasdair McDonnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alasdair McDonnell on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what preparations her Department is making to support the agricultural economy in the Northern Ireland in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

    George Eustice

    The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation. We believe we can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that (a) lorry drivers from outside the UK have the appropriate licences and skills to drive on roads safely and (b) left-hand drive lorries have appropriate extra mirrors to improve visibility of cyclists and other road users to the lorry driver.

    Andrew Jones

    Road traffic legislation applies to everyone using British roads and this includes the obligation to provide documentation if required to do so by the police.

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has check sites in the Port of Dover and throughout the strategic road network of Great Britain. At these sites, all classes of Large Goods Vehicles are checked to ensure vehicle roadworthiness, the correct documentation and compliance with drivers’ hours regulations.

    The mirror requirements for heavy goods vehicles are the same throughout the EU.However, Department for Transport officials have currently negotiated improved requirements for mirrors on the passenger side of vehicles. The implementation process is now underway in the EU and means that drivers of newly registered HGVs from 1 July 2016 will have a better view of the area adjacent to the cab on the passenger side, which should improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians. Furtherchanges will also allow camera monitoring systems and enable the redesign of lorry cabs for better vision.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the bee population over the summer of 2015.

    George Eustice

    Records from volunteer societies provide a rich source of data and can be analysed to show how bee populations are changing. In 2014 Defra published a pilot indicator of changes in the wild bee population in the UK. This showed that between 1980 and 2010 some bee species had become more widespread, but that a greater number had become less so.

    Defra is working with the research community to improve and update this indicator on pollinators. However, there is currently insufficient data to provide an assessment of changes over the summer of 2015. We hope to update the indicator in future years.

    The Government continues to work to strengthen monitoring. In 2014 Defra commissioned a two-year project to develop a robust and affordable framework for monitoring pollinators, which can be applied by volunteers and professionals across the UK. This will report in early 2016.

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefits claimants in Dumfries and Galloway were sanctioned between the months of October and December for each year from 2010 until the most recent date for which figures are available.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested, up to 30 June 2015, is published and available at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:

    Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    “

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to raise the security, humanitarian access, freedom of movement and citizenship rights of ethnic groups with the Burmese government.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Government consistently raises concerns about the human rights situation in Burma, including for all ethnic groups, with the Burmese government. However, these are issues that particularly affect the Muslim Rohingya community in Rakhine State, who are subject to persecution and denied the most basic rights. I and other Ministers take every appropriate opportunity, both publicly and in private, to press the Burmese authorities to take urgent steps to address the desperate situation of the Rohingya. I did this with senior Burmese ministers during my visit to Burma in July, when I travelled to Rakhine State for the second time. Most recently, I raised the issue with the Burmese Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, in September in New York. We will continue our efforts to address the serious, ongoing human rights violations against the Rohingya community, including with whoever forms the next Government of Burma.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment has been undertaken to ensure that reductions in the public health budget do not negatively affect those who share protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government reached its decisions on implementing reductions in the 2015/16 local authority public health grant after giving full consideration to its duty under the Equality Act 2010 (the public sector equality duty, or PSED). The Government’s response to a public consultation exercise, published on 4 November 2015, contains an equality analysis of the options for making the saving. A copy is attached.

    Final decisions on the distribution of the grant in 2016/17 have not yet been taken, but again will be made in the light of the PSED. Government decisions on the quantum of the grant have taken account of the PSED. Local authorities are responsible for identifying local needs and priorities for public health interventions, and for making decisions on local spending. Local authorities are themselves subject to the PSED.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Russian airstrikes on (a) ISIL/Daesh targets on (b) non-ISIL/Daesh targets in Syria to date.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The vast majority of Russian air strikes have been against Syrian opposition forces, not the terrorist organisation ISIL. Despite Russian government claims to the contrary, only a small minority of strikes have targeted locations where ISIL forces are present. Overwhelmingly, Russian air strikes have targeted Homs, Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Aleppo – areas where moderate opposition are concentrated. A map of Russian strikes is available on Twitter – @UKAgainstISIL. This is on the basis of reporting from international NGOs and actors on the ground.

  • Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their strategy for the continued protection of Alawites, Christians and Druze in the areas of Syria now controlled by the government of President Assad.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The current state of the Syrian civil war makes it difficult to offer explicit protection to Syrian minorities. The Assad regime creates the conditions for extremism in Syria by prosecuting a war it cannot win, destroying communities and the social fabric of the country. The only way to secure the position of Syria’s minority communities is to find a political solution to the crisis.

    However, the International Syria Support Group has agreed that protecting the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious domination is fundamental. The UK will continue to work with this, as political discussions continue.

    The UK also supports non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups in Syria, as we seek further progress on a political settlement. Minorities including Alawites, Christians, Druze, Kurds and Turkmen have been represented in these projects.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the safe level of consumption of game killed with lead ammunition for (a) healthy adults, (b) pregnant women and (c) children.

    Jane Ellison

    Government set up the independent Lead Ammunition Group in 2010 to provide advice on risks to wildlife and human health from lead shot game. The Government is considering the independent Lead Ammunition Group’s report on the effect of lead shot on human and wildlife health and will respond as soon as possible The Food Standards Agency (FSA) accepts the expert advice of the UK Committee on Toxicity and the European Food Safety Authority that it is not possible to set a safe level for exposure to lead from food. However, to better understand the potential risk to UK consumers the FSA produced a risk assessment in 2012 based on its survey data from 2007 of game meat samples; Veterinary Medicines Directorate data from the national surveillance scheme was also considered. The FSA risk assessment considered the potential levels of exposure to lead from lead shot game for adults, children and toddlers based on different levels of game meat consumption.

    This risk assessment led to FSA issuing targeted advice to frequent consumers of lead shot game in 2012, warning of the potential risks. The advice was promoted as especially important for vulnerable groups such as toddlers and children, pregnant women and women trying for a baby, as exposure to lead can harm the developing brain and nervous system. The FSA risk assessment was published along with this advice. The Government has not estimated the number of people who regularly consume game meat shot with lead.

    More generally, the FSA, works on behalf of the UK within the European Union to agree harmonised controls to reduce public exposure to lead in the food chain. EU maximum limits apply for lead in a range of foods and these are regularly reviewed by the EU Commission and member states. These maximum limits apply to all food produced in the EU or imported to the EU.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that torture survivors who reach the UK, in particular those from Syria, have access to specialist rehabilitation; and whether they have plans to increase the number of places available via the Gateway Protection Programme for torture survivors from all states.

    Lord Bates

    Asylum seekers and refugees have access to health services and if they raise torture as part of their asylum claim, they are signposted to organisations that specialise in providing support for torture survivors.

    We have no current plans to increase the number of places available under the Gateway Protection programme. The responsibility for identifying and referring refugees to the UK rests with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We will continue to work closely with them to identify those in most need of protection.