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Tag: 2015

  • 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 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Burmese government on the persecution of Myanmar civilians.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Ministers regularly raise a broad range of human rights concerns with our Burmese counterparts. Most recently I did so during my visit to Burma in July, and again when I met the Burmese Foreign Minister at the UN General Assembly on 29 September, and at the UN Secretary General’s Burma Partnership Group meeting the same day.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to work with his Iranian government counterpart to share best practice in drug rehabilitation programmes.

    Jane Ellison

    The late Hamid Ghodse, Professor of Psychiatry and Addictive Behaviour at St George’s University of London, was an Iranian citizen, and helped promote links between British addiction experts and their counterparts in the Islamic Republic of Iran for the sharing of clinical expertise in the treatment of drug dependence. Such links between United Kingdom and Iranian experts continue and best practice is also shared in meetings organised by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are applied for the use of intraoperative radiotherapy for treating cancer by the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England does not currently commission intraoperative radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer. To date it has been undertaken in a small number of centres in England as part of a clinical trial.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of German policy on working with the Turkish government to tackle migration on her Department’s objective to reduce net migration to the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government supports Turkey’s efforts to manage the flow of illegal migration, and maintain an effective border between Turkey and the EU. Any progress made on these areas, with the support of individual Member States or the EU as a whole, is welcomed.

    In line with the Government’s commitment, any nations who aspire to accede to the EU in future, including Turkey, should not gain free movement rights until that accession state’s economy has converged more closely with existing Member States.

  • Roger Mullin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Mullin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to ensure that assessments of applications for leave to remain in the UK provide sufficient personal consideration to meet the individual needs of applicants.

    James Brokenshire

    The Immigration Rules provide designated routes through which individuals can choose to apply for leave to remain in the UK depending on their circumstances. The requirements of each route are set out in published guidance. It is for individuals to raise any grounds that they wish to be considered and provide any supporting evidence regarding their personal circumstances.

    Applications for leave to remain in the UK are considered on a case-by-case basis, including any claims about personal issues, in accordance with the relevant Immigration Rules and the Secretary of State’s published guidance on the application of these.

  • Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Stephen Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, further to the Answer of 9 October 2015 to Question 11183, if he will estimate the market value of the freehold buildings used by Grantham Magistrates’ Court.

    Caroline Dinenage

    There is no estimate of the market value of Grantham Magistrates’ Court. No decision has been taken to close the court.

    Disposal strategies will be developed once a decision is made on individual courts following the outcome of consultation.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

    As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

    The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

    It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to make an assessment of the case for an Eastern Branch of Crossrail 2 serving Hackney Central, Hackney Wick, Stratford, East Ham and Barking.

    Claire Perry

    No Government decision has yet been taken on Crossrail 2 and the alignment is principally a matter for the Mayor of London.

    The recently established National Infrastructure Commission have been tasked with work to establish the best approach to large-scale investment in London’s transport infrastructure which may have implications for Crossrail 2 going forward. They will provide advice to Government by Budget 2016.

  • Nick Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nick Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2015-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to ensure that fans buying tickets for sporting and cultural events are not disadvantaged by organised gangs of online touts in the secondary ticket market.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government announced last week that Professor Michael Waterson has been appointed to chair the independent review of consumer protection measures in the secondary ticket market. The review will look into existing protections for consumers and how tickets come to be available on the secondary market.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the economic benefit of investment in the arts over the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government recognises the important contribution the arts makes to the economy, For every £1 of gross value added generated by the arts and culture industry, an additional £1.43 of gross added value is generated in the wider UK economy (The Contribution of the Arts and Culture to the National Economy,Centre for Economics and Business Research). Activities within arts and culture can provide direct employment to commercial creative industries organisations – the number of jobs in the creative industries sector is now 1.8 million.

    It is important to note that the contribution of arts is not just about the economic benefits, and there is also considerable evidence that culture has the capacity to improve health and wellbeing, educational attainment, and community cohesion.