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Tag: 2015

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what evidence the Government holds of involvement in the Lockerbie bombing of Moussa Koussa; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie remains the subject of an open investigation led by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (the Scottish Prosecution Service) and the Police Service of Scotland. The details of that investigation are a matter for those authorities.

    Helping the police take forward their investigation is a priority. We continue to provide them whatever support we can. However, the worsening of the security and political situation in Libya has practically stalled effective engagement. Scottish investigators will continue to develop the elements of their investigation that do not require them to travel to Libya. Once stability returns efforts will be made at the earliest and safe opportunity to re-commence the co-operation.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they use in auditing compliance with Tier 4 licences for non-EU students.

    Lord Bates

    All Tier 4 licensed sponsors are assessed against criteria set out in the published Tier 4 Guidance for Sponsors. This includes the following four documents:

    • Document one – Applying for a Tier 4 licence
    • Document two – Sponsorship Duties
    • Document three – Tier 4 Compliance
    • Appendix D – record keeping

    Some of the key criteria includes:

    • Ensuring that each sponsor has a genuine and lawful trading presence.
    • Ensuring that each sponsor holds the appropriate education oversight with the relevant external inspection body.
    • Compliance visits; where checks are undertaken to establish whether an institution’s HR functions are appropriate.
    • An annual basic compliance assessment (BCA); where the sponsor must meet demonstrate that their visa refusal, enrolment and course completion rates fall within the outlined requisites.
  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS charges claim forms include a box for universal credit.

    Alistair Burt

    Some NHS Help with Health Costs claim forms, for example HC5 refund claim forms, have been amended to include a specific tick box to enable Universal Credit recipients to claim entitlement.

    Form HC1 (NHS Low Income Scheme application form) has been amended to include a sentence about Universal Credit, to advise those applying that until 31 October 2015, anyone in receipt of Universal Credit does not need to complete the form, as they will already be entitled to Help with Health Costs.

    Other forms, including: NHS prescription forms (FP10); dental treatment claim forms (FP17) and claims for NHS funded sight tests (GOS 1) and for vouchers for glasses or contact lenses (GOS 3) will be amended to include a Universal Credit box in due course.

    A patient can make a claim for entitlement by ticking the “gets income based Jobseekers Allowance” on relevant forms. Guidance for both the public and healthcare practitioners (such as pharmacists, dentist and opticians) has been included on NHS Choices with links from the Universal Credit webpages on Gov.uk.

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the levels of bilateral and multilateral HIV donor funding from governments of EU member states, and what more they will do to ensure that EU member states increase their HIV donor funding.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK government supports UNAIDS’ call for shared responsibility and global solidarity in the fight against AIDS. We strongly believe donors should commit according to their ability to contribute. UNAIDS’ has published an assessment of donor contributions to the AIDS response compared with their share of the global economy (this is available, as part of their 2016-21 Strategy, on the UNAIDS website). We are proud to be the second largest international funder of HIV prevention, treatment and care. We encourage countries to contribute their share, including EU Member States. The UK uses fora such as the UNAIDS and Global Fund board meetings to urge them to step up and do their part for the HIV epidemic.

  • George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    George Kerevan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Kerevan on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to secure a fair contribution from offshore digital betting operators to the 55th levy scheme.

    Tracey Crouch

    The statutory Horserace BettingLevy Scheme does not cover offshore digital betting operators, although some operators supplement the statutory scheme with voluntarycontributions.

  • 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 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken, in conjunction with the government of France, (1) to enable refugees now in France to come to Britain, such as for family re-union, and how many have come since 2013; (2) to assist those in irregular camps to apply for asylum in France; and (3) to register unaccompanied refugee children, wherever they may be; and what plans they have for further action.

    Lord Bates

    All migrants, including families and children, in Calais who wish to seek asylum should do so in France. We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child. If not claiming asylum, individual migrants in France, as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate application. Statistics for transfers of asylum applicants from France to the UK on the basis of family ties since 2013 are not routinely recorded.

    The UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015 committed the UK to providing £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. This includes increasing the frequency of communications campaigns involving British officials speaking to migrants in Calais to inform migrants of the reality of life in the UK and of their rights to claim asylum in France.

    The French Government has opened up new places in its asylum system, away from Calais and migrants have started to voluntarily leave Calais to take up these places. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them briskly to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

    Unaccompanied migrant children who apply for asylum following arrival in the UK have their details recorded by the Home Office and are issued with an Application Registration Card. There are no plans for the UK to register the details of asylum seeking children in another country as this role will fall to the relevant authorities in that country.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of Government expenditure on the carer addition element of pension credit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency in the 2015-16 financial year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Forecasts of expenditure as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit for 2015/16 are not available. However, estimates of the outturn expenditure (as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit) in 2014/15 are shown in the table below.

    Tables show expenditure for Great Britain, not the UK, as expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive.

    Pension Credit expenditure as a result of the carer addition, 2014/15

    £, million

    …as a percentage of total pension credit expenditure in that area

    Great Britain

    £364.7

    5.5%

    Scotland

    £39.6

    6.7%

    Glasgow (City)

    £6.4

    5.9%

    Glasgow East (constituency)

    £1.8

    9.4%

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to spend the £5 million pledged for the development of the new Commonwealth counter-extremism unit.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced UK funding of £5million over 5 years to establish a Counter-Extremism and Counter Radicalisation Unit in the Commonwealth Secretariat. Setting up a new unit recognises that Commonwealth countries must work together to counter extremist ideologies and build their counter extremism capabilities. The unit will:

    •Provide technical assistance to governments developing counter-extremism strategies.

    •Mobilise Commonwealth civil society networks to counter radicalisation through targeted counter-narratives and strategic communication training.

    •Enable Commonwealth members to meet their international counter extremism obligations. There is a demand from Commonwealth countries for support in implementing international counter extremism obligations, for example in relation to UN Security Council Resolution 2178.

    Other Commonwealth partners have also pledged a contribution to this unit. We will work closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth members and key stakeholders to ensure that UK funding supports the work of countries across the Commonwealth to tackle the threat of extremism

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) discussions he has had and (b) consultations he has undertaken with sector stakeholders on potential changes to earning repayment thresholds for 24+ Advanced Learner Loans.

    Nick Boles

    The consultation Freezing the student loan repayment threshold covered both higher education student loans and 24+ Advanced Learning Loans. Stakeholders with an interest in 24+ Advanced Learning Loans were notified of the consultation when it was published.

    “

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of political progress in Myanmar.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Burma has made remarkable progress since beginning the reform process in 2011. The elections on 8 November were an important milestone in Burma’s transition to democracy, and we welcome the conduct of the process, which observers have characterised as well-managed, orderly and peaceful. However, the transition is not yet complete and the incoming administration will face many serious challenges. Of particular importance will be to build a sustainable and comprehensive peace with all groups in Burma and address human rights violations, most urgently those committed against the Muslim Rohingya community in Rakhine State.