Tag: 2015

  • Caroline Spelman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Caroline Spelman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last raised the detention in Indonesia of Rebecca Prosser; and with whom he raised that issue.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    In consultation with Ms Prosser’s legal team and advisors, the case has been raised at senior level on ten separate occasions. I personally raised it with the Indonesian Foreign Minister in September at the UN General Assembly and it was last raised on 9 October by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Director General Economic & Consular with the Indonesian Director General of Protocol and Consular Affairs. We plan to raise the case again on 29 October during a meeting in London with the representatives of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he (a) has made and (b) plans to make to the UN Security Council on steps to promote (i) constructive engagement in peace talks by parties involved in the conflict, (ii) improved humanitarian access and (iii) compliance with international humanitarian and human rights law in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolutions 2201 and 2216 which condemned Houthi actions, recognised President Hadi as the legitimate President of Yemen, and called on all parties to engage in good faith in UN-brokered negotiations. We remain fully supportive of the UN’s efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire and the resumption of an inclusive political process. We are urging all parties to engage in good faith with the UN process.

    Improving humanitarian access is a top priority and all parties to the conflict must take all reasonable steps to facilitate safe and sustained access for humanitarian aid. The UK has committed £75 million in humanitarian aid in response to the situation.

    We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We take such allegations very seriously and regularly raise the issue and seek assurance of IHL compliance with the Government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition. We have also been clear with the Houthis that actions taken must comply with IHL.

    The UK continues to play a leading role in trying to improve the situation in Yemen. I chaired a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last month to encourage all parties to get behind the UN political process to achieve lasting peace and to alleviate the dire humanitarian situation. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) also co-chaired a humanitarian side-event during the UN General Assembly to raise the profile of the humanitarian situation and encourage additional funding from donors.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the level of (a) NHS and (b) other expenditure for which his Department is responsible has been for the (i) treatment and (ii) prevention of obesity in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on National Health Service expenditure on the treatment and prevention of obesity is not collected centrally. Decisions on spending are a matter for local NHS organisations.

    It is not possible to provide comprehensive information about the Department’s expenditure on the treatment and prevention of obesity because a wide range of teams across the Department and other partners contribute to this policy. The Department has invested in a number of nationally-coordinated programmes which contribute to tackling obesity including the National Child Measurement Programme, NHS Health Checks, Change4Life, the School Games and Change4Life School Sports Clubs.

    Local authorities have been given ring-fenced funding of £8.49 billion over three years, 2013/14 to 2015/16, to help tackle public health issues including overweight and obesity.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training her Department provides to police officers and social workers for interviewing children and vulnerable adults who are possible victims of child abuse.

    Karen Bradley

    Tackling abuse is a priority for this Government. We will continue the work of overhauling how our police, social services and other agencies work together to protect vulnerable children. To this end, we have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat like serious and organised crime, which means police forces now have a duty to collaborate with each other across force boundaries to safeguard children.

    The provision of police training is an operational matter. The College of Policing and the National Policing Lead for child protection and abuse investigation have set the requirement for all forces to train all new and existing police staff to respond to child sexual exploitation and abuse, including call handlers, Police Community Support Officers, police officers, detectives and specialist investigators.

    The College of Policing has issued Achieving Best Evidence guidance and training for all officers engaged in interviewing children and vulnerable witnesses. This includes training on the sensitivity needed when dealing with victims and witnesses who may be vulnerable as well as working with partners – such as social workers – and their involvement in interviews.

    Specialist courses for child sexual abuse and rape specialist investigators also expand on these requirements in relation to interviewing children and vulnerable adults.

    The role of social workers in these investigations, including their training, is a matter for the Department for Education. The guidance issued by DfE in March 2015, “Working Together to Safeguard Children”, sets out how social workers and their managers, as well as other agencies including the police, should work together and follow the Achieving Best Evidence guidance.

    The Department of Health are responsible for the training of social workers working with vulnerable adults who may have been sexually abused as children or in adulthood.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of legislation to prevent stone theft.

    Mike Penning

    We have received no recent representations from local authorities in Yorkshire on this issue.

    Existing legislation provides the police and courts with sufficient powers to respond to stone theft.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government plans to take into account proposals put forward that will save money in ways other than proposals for closures, when analysing feedback on its recent consultation on the Provision of Court and Tribunal Estate.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    No decision has been taken to close any court. The consultation closed on 8 October and we will carefully consider all responses submitted.

  • Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will estimate the effect on (a) fuel consumption and (b) tax receipts of a 10 mph increase in the speed limit.

    Andrew Jones

    There are no plans to increase the motorway speed limit to 80 mph or to increase national speed limits by 10mph. There are no available estimates of the effect such increases would have on fuel consumption or tax receipts.

    The focus of government policy on our road network is the delivery of a step change in investment.

  • James Heappey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    James Heappey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Heappey on 2015-10-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to support businesses.

    Mr David Gauke

    The government is committed to supporting businesses.

    To support investment and drive productivity, the corporation tax rate will be reduced to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020. This will give the UK the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G20 and will save businesses a total of £6.6 billion by 2021.

    The permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance will be increased from £25,000 to £200,000, its highest-ever permanent level.

    In addition, over one million employers have benefitted from the Employment Allowance which was introduced in April 2014. It allows businesses and charities throughout the UK to deduct up to £2000 off their employer National Insurance contributions (NICs) bill each year, rising to £3000 from April next year.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they plan to make to the recent article published in the Journal of Public Health reporting on the costs and benefits of health checks for 40 to 74 year olds.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England (PHE) provided a response to Capewell et al’s article on NHS Health Check, which appeared in the same issue of the Journal of Public Health.PHE’s Chief Executive also responded in letters published in the Guardian and the British Medical Journal (BMJ), and through a special e-bulletin to NHS Health Check stakeholders. Copies of the article and responses have been placed in the Library.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2015-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they intend to make to evaluation metrics at both farm and regional and landscape levels to take account of natural capital in policy-making decisions.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government formally launched the development phase of its 25 year environment plan on 14 October 2015. This process will run through 2016 and capture all aspects of natural capital. We will draw on the Natural Capital Committee to help develop it. A key part of it will be to ensure we have the right tools to improve decision-making at all scales so that we can get the most from our resources in order to deliver on our goal of having the best environment possible.