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Tag: 2015

  • Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of recent reports about VAT fraud by online traders operating from abroad, whether they plan to require HM Revenue and Customs to work closely with the Chartered Trading Standards Institute in tackling such tax evasion, in particular through Amazon’s and eBay’s online marketplaces.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs is actively targeting operational and intelligence activity to tackle this problem. This involves working closely with a number of external bodies, including Trading Standards.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which African countries or regions the BBC World Service has switched from short wave transmission of their radio programmes from London via intermediate transmitters to in-country onward transmission from local FM stations, in each year from 1999 to 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The BBC World Service has advised that they maintained short wave broadcasts to Africa in all languages broadcast since 1999 except: •2010 – Swahili in Kenya •2011 – Portuguese in Southern Africa, primarily Mozambique.

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people smugglers have been apprehended by United Kingdom or other European Union armed forces or law enforcement agencies operating in the Mediterranean area.

    Earl Howe

    As at 10 November 2015, the EU Naval Force Operation in the Mediterranean, Operation SOPHIA, has been involved in identifying 42 suspected migrant smugglers to the Italian authorities for further investigation. Outside of Operation SOPHIA, UK vessels involved in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean over the period from May to October 2015, have also identified a further 35 suspected smugglers to the Italian authorities.

    The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on the total number of suspected migrant smugglers apprehended by European law enforcement agencies in the Mediterranean this year.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government with which countries they have raised human rights since May.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government frequently raises issues with international partners. In addition to bilateral dialogues where we raise our concerns in person, we also set out our approach and priorities in the Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report. The next report, due to be published in April 2016, will describe our work to tackle human rights challenges in approximately 30 priority countries. These countries will provide a focus for our human rights and democracy project funding in the next financial year. We also regularly raise human rights issues in multilateral fora, for example the UN Human Rights Council and at the Council of Europe.

  • 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 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Turkey about the release of mayors, party officials, lawyers and journalists who have been arrested but not convicted; and what responses they have received.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK continues to raise human rights issues at the highest levels, including the detention of journalists in Turkey in recent months. We strongly encourage Turkey to continue to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, especially in the areas of minority rights and freedom of expression.

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tommy Sheppard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent progress has been made on the Big Society initiative.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The UK Government is committed to the Big Society and the increase of social action in communities. The Spending Review has seen this commitment reaffirmed byfunding 300,000 NCS places by 2020, ensuring that any young person who wants to participate is guaranteed a place, and an extra£80million to grow Social Investment. These initiatives are helping to empower people around the country to build more resilient communities and a stronger society for all.

    Civil Society and Communities policy are fully devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 September (HL2300), why empty dwellings in London are not being filled in order to tackle the housing shortage.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    My answer of 24 September showed a trend of decreasing empty dwellings in London; from 42,600 in 2004 to 20,795 in 2014. Local authorities across the country have powers and strong incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus they can earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as building a new one. Councils may also charge up to 150% council tax for homes empty for over two years.

    My Department will continue to encourage London councils to use these empty dwellings for housing.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities to help them reduce the levels of sickness absence among employees.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department does not issue guidance to local authorities on managing sickness absence levels. Local authorities are independent employers and free to manage their workforces. However, the Government has recently announced that it intends to review sickness absence in public sector workforces. The gap in sickness absence levels between the public and private sectors is reported to have narrowed over the past 20 years but levels still remain higher in the public sector. The Government intends to consult on possible reforms and will consider legislation where necessary to reduce the impact of sickness absence on public service delivery.

  • Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Pinnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Pinnock on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of the charges deferred to local authority budgets as a consequence of a school with a deficit joining an Academy Trust with an external sponsor, in each of the last five financial years.

    Lord Nash

    The Department does not hold this information on local authority budgets.

    It is right that the deficits of sponsored academies remain with their local authority when they convert. These schools were the responsibility of the authority when they were found to be failing or underperforming and it is the authority’s responsibility for ensuring the school managed its expenditure satisfactorily.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that marines who attended a demonstration at Downing Street in respect of Marine Blackman are not subject to disciplinary procedures.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Disciplinary procedures against any member of the Armed Forces are a matter for the relevant Service and it would be inappropriate for any Minister to interfere in such a process.