UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2015

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what progress the Government is making on meeting the UK’s international obligations to refugees fleeing Syria.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis. To date, we have committed over £1.1 billion. This makes us the second largest bilateral after the US and means we have done more than any other European country.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the action plan sent to the National Asylum Stakeholder Forum following the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report in 2014 on asylum on grounds of sexual orientation has now been agreed and implemented in full.

    Lord Bates

    Following publication of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report last year and in consultation with key partners, UKVI produced and agreed an LGBTI ‘Action Plan’ to facilitate further improvements in the handling and management of asylum claims brought on the basis of sexual identity issues and to improve the training and guidance given to staff.

    The key inspection recommendations have been reflected in this plan, specifically improving training and guidance to decision makers, improving claim recording mechanisms, ensuring policy compliance, and ensuring a consistent approach to explicit material and dealing with sexually explicit questioning. We continue to work with our partners in developing these strategies to ensure full implementation of the Chief Inspector’s recommendations.

  • Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Allen of Kensington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Allen of Kensington on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the European Commission’s recommendation that spectrum should be harmonised and allocated across all 28 member states as part of the Digital Single Market.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government is currently assessing the risks and benefits of such harmonisation to inform its response to the public consultation and subsequent proposals.

  • Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Flint – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of whether insurers are increasing their premiums year on year due to the automatic renewal of policies without customers’ explicit consent.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government.

    The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate a proportion of fuel duty receipts to the repair of roads.

    Damian Hinds

    At the Summer Budget the government announced the creation of a Roads Fund so that from 2020 all money raised from VED in England will be invested in the Roads Fund and used to improve the English strategic road network. The latest figures for VED revenue can be found in Table C.3 of Summer Budget 2015, which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-budget-2015. Revenue raised for previous years can be found in the relevant Budget document.

    “

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what budget reductions he plans to the fire and rescue service.

    Greg Hands

    Funding for fire and rescue authorities, national resilience and other central programmes will be determined as part of the Spending Review.

  • Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Justin Madders – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the homelessness prevention grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 15 October 2015, to the rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake), PQ 11365.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much UK-produced steel has been used in the manufacturing of the MARS tankers being procured by his Department.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Under European and UK procurement regulations, the Ministry of Defence could not contractually mandate the use of particular suppliers.

    Decisions on the source of steel are a matter for the contractors who take into account the cost, timeliness of availability and the quality of the steel used in defence contracts . These considerations allow defence contractors to deliver value for money for the taxpayer.

    I will write with more details and place a copy in the Library of the House.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effect of the criminal courts charge on the reduction in costs awarded to the Crown Prosecution Service under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 as a result of (a) magistrates and (b) judges using their discretion to lower the level of costs awarded.

    Robert Buckland

    The criminal court charge imposed a non-discretionary charge on all adult offenders convicted for offences committed on or after 13 April 2015 and is imposed separately from other financial considerations and orders the court may make. It is premature to fully appreciate the implications of the charge on the criminal justice system.

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain data on the value of costs awarded to the CPS but does have data on the value of costs recovered following the award of costs. The value of costs recovered and paid to CPS, following the award of costs under the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, in quarter 1 2015-16 was about £10.7m, in line with expectations.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if his Department will take steps to ensure that graduates from a working class background are recruited onto the Civil Service Fast Stream.

    Matthew Hancock

    To govern modern Britain, the Civil Service needs to look and sound likemodern Britain. We need access to the broadest possible pool of talent, drawing on peoplefrom all backgrounds and all parts of the country.

    The Civil Service is implementing a number of initiatives to recruit individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds onto the Fast Stream and Fast Track Apprenticeship schemes, including internship programmes, schools and colleges mentoring and discovery days, work experience programmes and engagement with universities with a high representation of lower socio-economic students.

    Information on the socio-economic status of recent appointees to the SCS was published in 2014,and the socio-economic status of Fast-Stream applicants has been published since 2011.

    In 2015 16.8% of new joiners to the Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme were from lower socio-economic backgrounds, up from 8.5% in 2013/14. From 2015 this data will be published as part of the Fast Stream applicants publication.