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Tag: 2015

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with Amnesty International and the Committee Against Torture on recent and proposed changes to the legislation on asylum seekers.

    James Brokenshire

    No legislation is planned in respect to asylum seekers.

    A number of changes to arrangements for supporting failed asylum seekers have been included in the Immigration Bill published on 17 September.

    Amnesty International sent a written response to the consultation on the proposals contained in the Immigration Bill and some of its representatives have met Home Office officials to discuss the proposals. The Committee Against Torture did not respond to the consultation and there have been no discussions on the proposals.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what evaluation his Department made of the number and location of civilian workers who work at the al-Omar oil field in Syria before ordering Royal Air Force planes to bomb that facility; and how many civilians have been killed as a result of UK military action on targets in Syria to date.

    Michael Fallon

    UK air strikes are conducted in accordance with Rules of Engagement and International Humanitarian Law.The risks of collateral damage or civilian casualties are assessed and mitigated based on intelligence and the use of precision guided weapons. There have been no reports so far of civilian casualties as a result of UK air strikes in Syria.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2015 to Question 14770, when she plans to publish the contribution the UK will make to the World Food Programme for 2016.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is currently the second largest donor to the WFP, after the United States. For 2015, the UK has so far provided a total of £270.6million in funding to WFP. UK contributions are made up of unearmarked core funding (£40m in total for the financial year 2015/16) and bilateral funding allocated by DFID country offices (which represents the biggest proportion of UK funding).

    DFID will be in a position to announce the UK core contribution to WFP for the financial year 2016 / 2017 once the Multilateral Aid Review 2015 (MAR 2015) is published in March 2016. UK core contribution will be informed by the results of the MAR assessment of WFP and the review of WFP performance and effectiveness in using the core funding provided by UK.

    Bilateral funding is decided by DFID at country level and is based on needs.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) stormshadow and (b) stingray will be utilised on the P8 MPA; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department intends to bring the P-8A into service without significant modification to ensure the delivery of operational capability as soon as is practicable. There are no current plans to integrate Stormshadow and Stingray onto the aircraft, though it is possible that future capability enhancements once the aircraft is in service with the RAF may include UK weapons.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of space in prisons is used for educational purposes.

    Andrew Selous

    Education is embedded in a wide range of regime activities which occur within a prison including classrooms, libraries and industries. No data is held centrally on the proportion of space at each prison (and this would incur disproportionate cost to calculate).

    The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 8th September a review of the quality of education in prisons, chaired by Dame Sally Coates. The review will examine the scope, quality and effectiveness of current provision. It will consider the scope and range of the current curricula and identify the most effective teaching and delivery models. Stakeholders are being consulted and a Call for Evidence has been issued. A copy of the terms of reference are lodged in the library of the House and at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-prison-education-terms-of-reference

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  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the announcement by the Prime Minister at the UN climate change conference in Paris on 30 November, how much from the public purse has been allocated to Mission Innovation to accelerate clean energy investment and innovation.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government set out plans in the Spending Review to invest more in clean energy research and development over the next five years as part of Mission Innovation. By 2020/21 we will be spending in excess of £400m under Mission Innovation.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much capital spending per head of population was spent on transport projects in (a) Warrington and (b) Cheshire in each of the past five years.

    Andrew Jones

    Data on spend per head of population on transport projects is not available at the level of either Warrington or Cheshire.

    However, the three local authorities in Cheshire have benefitted from significant transport investment over last five years (2010-11 to 2014-15), for example, £ 35.6 million of Integrated Transport Block funding (Warrington £8.6 million) and £91.1 million for Highways Maintenance (Warrington £17 million). In addition, £12.7 million from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund supported programmes in each local authority area (Warrington £4.6 million), with Warrington also part of the £3.2 million Mid Mersey LSTF project. £9.88 million has been provided from the Local Pinch Point Fund and Cheshire East has received £15.6 million for the Crewe Green Link Road, due for completion shortly.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of continuing violence by paramilitaries in Colombia on the progress of peace talks in that country.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The government of Colombia has made significant progress on peace process negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). I am pleased that an agreement has been reached this week between the parties on the long-standing issue of Transitional Justice and reparations for victims. Both sides have committed to sign a final agreement by the end of March 2016 and the UK remains committed to supporting this deadline.

    I am concerned about the continued negative influence of organised criminal gangs and resulting violence in Colombia. I am pleased to see that the Colombian Minister of Defence has announced that tackling organised crime is a top priority for 2016. The UK, through the work of the National Crime Agency and others, continues to support the government of Colombia on this issue.

    Much of the government of Colombia’s success on tackling organised crime and related violence will depend on the progress of peace negotiations in Havana, which provide an opportunity to bring about real change for all Colombians.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of people in receipt of the Carer’s Allowance and (b) the total cost of the Carer’s Allowance scheme in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Benefit expenditure and the number of people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance at a Great Britain level are available in our published expenditure tables which are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

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  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the NHS has to make use of (a) information technology and (b) informatics to improve the delivery of healthcare.

    George Freeman

    The Government’s policy for using information technology to improve the delivery of healthcare and transform outcomes for patients and citizens was set out in the National Information Board Framework for Action: Personalised Heath and Care 2020, published in November 2014. The document is available from:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personalised-health-and-care-2020