UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 2 November (HL2849) on the review of retention of custody images by police forces, what are the specific operational and legal issues raised in the evidence-gathering stage, how they plan to address each issue, and what is the timescale for the completion of each of those actions.

    Lord Bates

    The review is ongoing, and is anticipated to report before the Christmas recess. Specific stakeholders consulted as part of the review include the Biometrics Commissioner, the Information Commissioner, the Surveillance Camera Commissioner, the National DNA Database Ethics Group, the National Police Chiefs Council , the College of Policing and local police forces. The report can be expected to address the operational and legal issues and risks, and set out plans for implementation.

  • Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much has been spent on the Mobile Infrastructure Project as of the end of November 2015; and what proportion of that figure was spent on (a) construction, (b) planning permission, (c) administration and (d) other costs.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As at the end of November 2015, spend on the Mobile Infrastructure Project is £9.1 Million. The breakdown of this spend is not in the format requested but the following information can be provided:

    • Site Builds – £0.9 Million.

    • Site Searches and acquisitions, which includes obtaining planning permission – £5.1 Million.

    • Supplier management and programme management costs and one-off supplier deliverables – £3 Million

    The above spend relates to concluded and ongoing activities to enable identification of suitable locations to build masts. The spend in respect of Site Builds includes payments for some of the masts that are already on air.

  • Wes Streeting – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Wes Streeting – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of home ownership since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    Annual home ownership statistics are published in the Department’s English Housing Survey. We are committed to one million more first time buyers over this Parliament, doubling the number achieved in the last Parliament. We are currently at a seven-year annual high with 264,500 first time buyers in England in 2014.

  • Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, published in November 2015, what steps his Department is taking to inform British industry of the opportunities available to participate in the maritime patrol aircraft programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 3 December 2015 to question 17838.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 2 November (HL2703), what duty they have, if any, to enable First Tier Tribunals to deal with asylum and immigration cases fairly and within a reasonable time.

    Lord Faulks

    The Lord Chancellor has responsibility for ensuring an effective and efficient system of tribunal administration. This duty encompasses the First-tier Tribunal. The Lord Chancellor must also uphold the continued independence of the judiciary and in doing so have regard to their need to have the support necessary to enable them to exercise their functions.

    HM Courts & Tribunals Service has allocated additional court time in place between December 2015 and June 2016 to ensure current waiting times do not increase for the tribunal user.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to paragraph 2.153 of Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what legal flexibilities the Government plans to give to National Parks.

    Rory Stewart

    Responding to requests from the national park authorities, on 30 November the Government tabled an amendment to the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill to give national park authorities a Function Specific General Power of Competence. The Government believe that this will further enable national park authorities to be a vital part of devolution deals and support growth across our rural economy. The government has committed in addition to protect the funding of the National Parks.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many of his Department’s policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps he has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments that have been carried out; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office promotes the UK’s interests overseas, supporting our citizens and businesses around the globe. As such, we do not have responsibility for creating domestic policy.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to local government funding on the delivery of the National Dementia Strategy.

    Jane Ellison

    On 21 February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his new Challenge on Dementia 2020, which builds on the achievements of the Prime Minister’s challenge on dementia 2012-2015. It sets out the vision for dementia care, support, awareness and research to be transformed by 2020.

    Local authorities as well as clinical commissioning groups are responsible for funding and commissioning services based on their local population’s needs and ensuring that the services they secure provide the best quality for local people.

    As part of the Spending Review, the Government announced that councils will be able to introduce a new social care precept. The social care precept gives local authorities that are facing significant pressures the freedom to raise council tax to help mitigate against these pressures. It puts money raising powers into the hands of local areas who best understand the need in their area and who are best placed to respond.

    Further, the Spending Review set out the Government’s commitment to fund a Dementia Research Institute.

  • Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to provide (a) humanitarian visas, (b) facilitated refugee family reunion and (c) other safe legal routes for migrants to enter the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    There is no provision in our Immigration Rules for someone to be given a visa to travel to the UK to seek asylum or humanitarian protection and we have no plans to change this.

    However, we recognise that families may become fragmented because of the nature of conflict and persecution and the speed and manner in which those seeking asylum often flee their country of origin. Those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK, are able to sponsor their pre-flight family members to join them under the family reunion policy.

    We also operate three discretionary resettlement schemes for recognised refugees for whom resettlement is the most appropriate answer. We operate these schemes in partnership with the UNHCR: Gateway; Mandate; and the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme.

    We are also making a significant contribution to support refugees and their families in other ways. The UK has contributed over £1 billion in humanitarian aid in response to the Syrian crisis and we intend to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees displaced to neighbouring countries over the lifetime of this Parliament under the VPR scheme.

    Migrants wishing to enter the UK for other reasons such as work or study can apply for a visa for that purpose. They will need to meet the requirements of the relevant Immigration Rule under which they apply in order to qualify for a visa. Details about the criteria and how to apply are available on gov.uk.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the reasons for removing treatment options for (a) multiple myeloma and (b) other rare cancers from the Cancer Drugs Fund.

    George Freeman

    No such assessment has been made. NHS England is responsible for the operational management of the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) and decisions on which treatments are included on the national CDF list are made by the CDF expert clinical panel, which includes expert oncologists, oncology pharmacists and patient representatives.