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Tag: 2015

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey about the arrest and charging of Figen Yüksekdag, co-chair of the HDP Party; and whether they will press for her trial to be observed.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    A request has reportedly been filed to allow proceedings against Mrs Yüksekdag but we are not aware of her arrest. As a member of the Turkish Parliament she enjoys immunity from prosecution, which would need to be lifted or given up for her to face trial. Officials from our Embassy in Ankara regularly observe trials in Turkey.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in bringing to justice those responsible for the arson attack on the Dawabsheh family in Duma.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We understand that the Israeli authorities believe they know the group that was involved, but unfortunately, at the moment, they do not have the evidence needed to bring individual suspects to trial. On 3 November, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv met the Israeli Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and received assurances that the investigation into the arson attack on the Dawabsheh family is continuing. Our Embassy will continue to request updates from the Ministry of Justice on this case and other cases of settler violence.

  • Mark Spencer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mark Spencer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Spencer on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information he holds on the average time taken by each Government department to respond to a request by a current or former employee for a job reference.

    Matthew Hancock

    This information is not held centrally. The provision of employee references is the responsibility of each departmental employer.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The Countess of Mar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 16 September (HL2047) regarding the Committee on Toxicology’s advice about toxic chemicals in food and the environment, when they intend to write to the members of both Houses.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport’s officials are cooperating with the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment regarding the letter that clarifies the Committee’s position on cabin air. This is to ensure the Committee’s advice is represented in full and with clarity. The letters will be sent to the Members of both Houses imminently, certainly in November.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward plans to develop a formula to allocate the Homelessness Protection Grant according to the levels of homelessness and rough sleeping in local authorities.

    Greg Hands

    The allocation of Homeless Prevention Grant has developed over many years to take account of different kinds of pressures, including rough sleeping and statutory homelessness.

    Since 2013-14 support for preventing homelessness has been included in the annual Local Government Finance Settlement, split between Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates. Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates are not ring-fenced. It is up to individual authorities to decide how grant funding should be spent in order to deliver local services.

  • Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christian Matheson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he has had with (a) business and (b) trade union representatives on job losses in the (i) steel and (ii) energy efficiency, solar and low carbon heating industries since his appointment to his current position.

    Anna Soubry

    Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Ministers have held a number of discussions with UK steel companies, industry representatives and trade unions about the current challenges facing the sector.

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), her Ministers, and DECC officials have had a number of regular meetings and roundtables with external organisations within the energy sector, and will continue to do so, on a wide range of subjects including jobs and growth across different sectors.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    Both my Department and UK Anti-Doping engage regularly with international counterparts to discuss a range of sporting matters, including tackling doping in sport.

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to prevent British multinational companies avoiding tax in developing countries.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning extremely seriously, and has taken action both domestically and through working with other countries to prevent this.

    The UK has led global efforts to tackle aggressive tax planning by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The project represents an unprecedented international effort that involved over 60 countries, including developing countries, working together to better align the taxation of profits with economic activity and value creation.

    The Government is also committed to supporting developing countries to collect the tax they are due. Through the G20 Development Working Group, and with the supporting of international organisations, it is working to produce practical toolkits that will assist developing countries in implementing the BEPS recommendations.

    In addition, the UK contributes considerable human and financial resources to help developing countries build robust tax administrations. Earlier this year, the Government committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what modelling her Department has undertaken of the potential effect of freezing her Department’s budget in cash terms on (a) educational outcomes and (b) pupil wellbeing.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We are protecting the schools budget in real terms, as we pledged in our manifesto. Throughout this Parliament, the amount of money for our schools will increase as pupil numbers rise. In 2015-16 we increased funding for the 69 least well-funded local authorities by £390 million, and that increased level of funding will be included in the baseline for future years. We will go further to target funding effectively, and end historic unfairness in the system, by introducing a national funding formula. We will provide every school with a fair allocation matched to need, that allows them to continue driving up educational standards and support every child to achieve to the best of their potential, whatever their background and wherever they live.

  • Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much is planned to be spent by the (a) Government and (b) Bahraini government on the building of the new British naval base in Bahrain.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Currently the UK has a Maritime Component Command (MCC) HQ and collocated Fleet Support Unit (FSU), which is a warehouse,in Bahrain. These were constructed on our behalf by the United States, at a cost to the UK Government of $10million. The Government expects to pay the United States for the ongoing running costs of these facilities, the precise costs of which are yet to be determined. The Kingdom of Bahrain (KoB) has no involvement in these arrangements.

    The construction of the new UK Mina Salman Support Facility (MSSF) in Bahrain will consist of accommodation, life support facilities and further storage and will enhance the support to UK forces in the Gulf Region. Construction of the UK MSSF is being funded primarily by the KoB. To date in 2014 and 2015 the UK Government has expended £277,000 on engineering consultancy costs for the UK MSSF. We expect to contribute around £9 million towards the construction of the new UK MSSF. This will include costs of bespoke UK technical facilities and the additional cost of ensuring compliance with UK regulations.The balance of the costs, will fall to the KoB.

    There are no running costs forecast in the current year or 2016-17, from 2017-18 the running costs for the UK MSSF are forecast to be £12 million per annum.