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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 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the use of white phosphorus weapons in civilian areas by Russian forces in Syria and of the level of harm done to persons and the environment; and what action they plan, if any, as a result of that assessment.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are concerned at reports that White Phosphorus was used in Idlib Province on 12th November. We have seen reports that this was Russian in origin but this has not been confirmed.

    Protection of civilians in Syria is a priority for the UK. Attacks on civilians are prohibited by International Humanitarian Law. The UK condemns the indiscriminate use of weapons in civilian areas and calls on all parties to respect International Humanitarian Law. The UK will continue to provide support to civil defence organisations in Syria to protect civilians and save lives.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Questions 19129, prisons: locks and keys, which prisons had to be relocked; and what the cost was of each such incident.

    Andrew Selous

    When a key/lock incident is reported an immediate investigation is undertaken to assess the risk and unless it is clear that security has not been compromised, locking mechanisms and keys will be replaced and/or other necessary remedial action will be taken.

    In the five years from May 2005 to May 2010 there were 16 relocks at a cost of £1,280,234 to the taxpayer. Since May 2010 this has fallen to 8 relocks at a total cost of £529,973 to the taxpayer. Further to my answer of 14 December, the table below shows the location of the 8 relocks since May 2010.

    The cost of a re-lock will depend the size of the prison establishment and on which keys have been lost or compromised. If a complete set of keys are lost, a full re-lock of the prison will be undertaken, whereas if a single key is lost only a partial re-lock will be needed, incurring a lower cost.

    Time Frame

    Location/Date

    Total Cost (excluding VAT)

    1 May 2010 – 1 May 2011

    HMP Swaleside; HMYOI Glen Parva; HMP Warren Hill

    £79,526; £173,608; £84,419

    2 May 2011 – 1 May 2012

    HMP Birmingham

    £415,277 1

    2 May 2012 – 1 May 2013

    None

    0

    2 May 2013 – 1 May 2014

    HMP Lindholme

    £28,812

    2 May 2014 – 1 May 2015

    HMP Haverigg; HMP Highpoint

    £30,540; £15,856

    2 May 2015 – 9 December

    HMYOI Portland

    £117,212

    Notes:

    1.The cost of the re-lock at HMP Birmingham was met by the private contractor operating the prison.

    2.Prisons are also responsible for re-locks of crown court cells. Figures exclude re-lock of cells in two crown courts during the period.

    3.The figures quoted have been drawn from live administrative databases and may subsequently be amended. Due care is taken during processing and analysis, but the detail is subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Pennycook – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the amount in the Levy Control Framework increased when the Carbon Price Floor was frozen in the 2014 Budget.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Levy Control Framework cap was not adjusted in response to the freezing the Carbon Price Floor in 2014 Budget. The Carbon Price Floor is a policy led by HM Treasury. In the 2014 Budget, the Carbon Price Support, the mechanism by which the carbon price floor is delivered, was capped at £18/tCO2 until 2019/20. DECC analysis on projected levy expenditure under the Levy Control Framework to 2020/21 reflects these rates.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans that smart ticketing will cover the entirety of the North or be separated between city regions.

    Andrew Jones

    We are working towards a world class transport network that is supported by a ticketing system that makes it simple and easy to travel across the North by bus, tram, metro and rail. In the recent spending review, the Government committed up to £150 million of new funding to help make this vision a reality. By Budget 2016, Transport for the North will set out an implementation plan for the delivery of smart and integrated ticketing across local transport and rail services in the North over this parliament and beyond.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for Rural Community Councils.

    Rory Stewart

    The Secretary of State discussed a range of issues with the Chancellor of the Exchequer as part of the Spending Review. The Chancellor announced the outcome of the Spending Review on 25 November.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government has ended the (a) Mandatory Work Activity scheme and (b) Community Work Placements element of the Help to Work scheme.

    Priti Patel

    The economy and labour market have improved since the introduction of our employment programmes. Long-term unemployment has fallen by 35% since 2010 to 509,000, the lowest level in six years. The support we provide to claimants needs to reflect recent labour market changes and the needs of claimants. That is why there will be an increase in funding and new contracted provision to help people with disability and health conditions and the very long-term unemployed return to and remain in work.

    The Mandatory Work Activity and Community Work Placement contracts come to an end in March 2016. We always intended to review the contracts at this time. We will provide support to the long-term unemployed through a strengthened JobCentre Plus offer for those out of work for 12-24 months, and for anyone still unemployed after 2 years we will refer them to contracted provision for further support.

    This approach builds on our best evidence of what works to support claimants back into work, and gets a good deal for the taxpayer.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the reported abduction of girls for arranged marriages in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are seriously concerned about reports of abduction of girls for forced marriage in Pakistan. It is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to ensure it guarantees the rights of all its citizens, regardless of their gender, faith or ethnicity. We raise the issues of women’s rights and religious freedom on a regular basis at a senior level with the authorities in Pakistan and press for greater protection of all citizens’ rights. The Girl Summit, hosted by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), in July 2014, included a commitment to end child, early and forced marriage.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what ways the proposed life chances measures in the amendments to the Child Poverty Act 2010 will measure child poverty in households with at least one employed adult.

    Priti Patel

    We are clear that the existing low-income measures do not drive the right action to tackle the root causes of child poverty.

    Our proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill introduce new statutory measures of worklessness and educational attainment which the evidence indicates are the biggest factors affecting child poverty now and in the future.

    The Department will also continue to publish low-income statistics as part of the ‘Households Below Average Income’ publication.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Carolyn Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken in the last 12 months to improve access to off-patent, repurposed drugs; and what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of those steps.

    George Freeman

    Our policy on generic prescribing has been in place for a number of years. The policy helps ensure that patients can access the medicine that best meets their needs and it has been a key driver in the National Health Service making maximum use of off-patent drugs which are also known as generics. We have the best prescribing rate for these drugs in Europe.

    To support clinicians who may want to prescribe a product off-label for a patient to and improve the flow of research evidence into clinical practice, the Department hosted a Roundtable Event in February 2015. Attendees included the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Breast Cancer Now and other charities and discussions helped determine those non-legislative measures that could be undertaken. The Government is committed to this work and is holding a further roundtable event with charities.

  • 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 2015-12-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the government of Turkey has placed a complete or partial embargo on supplies to, and exports from, the cantons of northern Syria; and whether they plan to make any representations to the government of Turkey based on that assessment.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Turkey recognises the role that Syrian Kurds have to play in the fight against Daesh, and accepts that Syrian Kurds receive support from the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh. We have a close dialogue with the Government of Turkey about ensuring humanitarian and other supplies reach the communities of northern Syria.