UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of freedom of religion and belief in Bangladesh; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Government is concerned by the violence directed towards those expressing secular or atheist views in Bangladesh. Ministers have been unequivocal in our condemnation of the murder of five secular bloggers and publishers in Bangladesh this year, and in calling for the Bangladesh government to protect those who face threats to their lives because of the views they have expressed. My noble Friend the right hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, our High Commissioner in Dhaka and myself, in my statement on 7 August, have all expressed shock at the appalling murders and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and free speech protected. In my 14 August blog I said that Bangladesh is a secular country, with a rich tradition of freedom and religious tolerance. That should be commended, protected and preserved.

    The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt, visited Bangladesh from 31 August to 9 September. We look forward to the release of his report at the UN Human Rights Council in March 2016 and will encourage the government to consider all its recommendations carefully.

  • Lord Mancroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mancroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to measure the effectiveness of the implementation of the new medicines for hepatitis C treatment, and when they will publish those results.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has advised that it is working with Public Health England and the clinical leads of the operational delivery networks to agree a common dataset which will enable the effectiveness of new medicines for hepatitis C to be measured.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the National Group on Sexual Violence Against Children and Vulnerable People has made on establishing a Child Sexual Exploitation Response Unit; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The actions which stemmed from the National Group’s work have been incorporated into a cross-Whitehall CSA Programme which includes the actions from the “Tackling CSE” report published in March 2015, and the WeProtect Summit in December 2014.

    Good progress is being made across the range of commitments in the CSA Programme, including that to establish a new national response unit to help local areas when child sexual exploitation is a particular concern. The Government will publish a progress report on all actions within the Programme one year on from the publication of “Tackling CSE”.

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from mental health organisations about the next NHS mandate.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    A public consultation on the Government’s Mandate to NHS England took place earlier this year, to which 139 organisations of various types responded. Those concerned specifically with mental health included the Mental Health Foundation, the Mental Health Policy Group and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition. Charities and patient groups that responded, especially those with an interest in long-term conditions, often made reference to the impact of such conditions on the mental health of those that they represent.

    The Government response to the consultation, published on 17 December 2015, summarises these concerns and sets out its response to them. A copy of the document is attached.

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many train services through Neston have been cancelled since August 2015; and what the reason was for the cancellation in each such case.

    Claire Perry

    This information is not held by the Department. Under the Welsh rail devolution arrangements, the Welsh Government is responsible for the day to day management of the Arriva Trains Wales franchise, including services to and from Neston.

  • Lord Evans of Weardale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Evans of Weardale – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Evans of Weardale on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what national co-ordinating arrangements are in place to provide reassurance or security assistance to MPs or members of the House of Lords who receive direct or implicit threats as a result of their parliamentary duties.

    Lord Bates

    As the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Leader of the House of Commons, stated during Business of the House of Commons on Thursday 17th December (Hansard Column No 1703), it has been agreed that a standardised approach to security packages will be made available to Members of Parliament and will address the personal security outside Westminster including at constituency offices and their homes and will include consideration of staff safety. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) will shortly be announcing details of how to access the security packages.

  • Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to protect the personal details of those registered with the Government Gateway service from hacking; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley on 2 November 2015 to UIN: 13799.

  • Lord Warner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Warner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the other sources of local government income cited in the first bullet point of paragraph 2.123 on page 100 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The other sources of local government income referred to in paragraph 2.123 includes business rates and council tax, both of which are forecast to increase over the course of the spending period. It is based on the English local authority current expenditure in supplementary fiscal table 2.31 to the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook publication (November 2015), excluding grants from central government.

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library a copy of the terms of reference of the Council Tax Partnership Forum.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    I have arranged for the Terms of Reference of the Council Tax Partnership Forum to be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings he has had on his Department’s proposed review of business rates.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has held a range meetings with stakeholders and received a large number of submissions in response to the business rates review. The review will be fiscally neutral and will report at Budget 2016.