Tag: 2015

Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the government of Bahrain to hold talks with the opposition in Bahrain on human rights in that country; and what representations he has received on the arrest and trials of Ali Salman and Ebrahim Sharif.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to make progrerss with an open and inclusive national dialogue. We continue to monitor the cases of Ali Salman and Ebrahim Sharif as well as actions taken against other opposition activists. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my righthon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) raised human rights with his Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad al Khalifa at their last meeting on 13 October. We also continue to raise these cases with the Government of Bahrain, at all levels, and call for them to ensure due process is followed.

November 3, 2022
Dr Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Poulter on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria the Government and NHS employers will use to distinguish between residential and non-residential on call duties in the proposed new contract for junior doctors.

Ben Gummer

The concepts of “residential” and “non-residential” on-call do not exist in the current contract for doctors and dentists in training, nor will they exist in the new contract arrangements being proposed. These are colloquial terms used to refer to some of the current working arrangements, which include on-call rotas, partial shifts, full shifts and some hybrid arrangements.

Currently there are pay banding supplements, on top of basic salary, the levels of which are determined by working hours and patterns.

Under the proposals for a new contract, banding supplements will end. In their place will be increased basic pay, plus proportionate pay for additional hours, with a premium rate of pay for hours worked in the unsocial hours period. There will also be on-call availability supplements for being on an on-call rota, i.e. being available to return to work but not expected to be on-site for the whole period. These supplements will be a percentage of pay, of different values depending on the frequency of the on-call commitment.

These proposals are – as in other respects – substantially the same as those agreed when the hon. Member was a Minister.

November 3, 2022
Chuka Umunna – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons information held by her Department regarding the ethnicity, age and gender of people involved in police Taser incidents has not been included in annually published statistics; and if she will ensure such information is included in future publications of annual police Taser incident statistics.

Mike Penning

The Government supports the need for transparent and accurate data on how the police are using force. That is why the Home Secretary asked Chief Constable David Shaw to carry out an in depth review of Taser data and other use of force. The review will present options for collecting, collating and publishing data on how force including Taser is being used by the police, who it is being used on, and what the outcomes are. Chief Constable David Shaw’s Use of Force Data Review is expected to report to the Home Secretary later this year. As with sensitive powers like stop and search, the police use of force warrants proper accountability and transparency.

November 3, 2022
Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to withdraw the courses and services provided by the College of Policing to the government of Saudi Arabia.

Mike Penning

This is an agreement between the College of Policing and Saudi Arabia, and therefore any decision about the contract would be a matter for the College which is an independent organisation. The College currently has no plans to withdraw from the contract.

November 3, 2022
Ian Austin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make representations to Staffordshire and West Midlands Rehabilitation Company on ensuring jobs are not lost by the planned transfer of responsibilities for probation service administration staff to Derby.

Andrew Selous

Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), including Staffordshire and West Midlands CRC, set out an agreed operating model within their bids during the Transforming Rehabilitation competition. These bids were rigorously scrutinised before contracts were awarded. A thorough evaluation process was undertaken to assess the operational viability of the bids in the wider context of public protection and reducing reoffending.

All CRCs are contractually required to maintain a professional and appropriately skilled workforce to deliver the services set out in their contracts. The MoJ closely monitors the performance of CRCs, in line with government standards, to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending and deliver value for money to the taxpayer.

November 3, 2022
Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what criteria he judged the success of London International Shipping Week (LISW) 2013; and what criteria he used to judge the success of LISW 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The success criteria used to judge the success of London International Shipping Week, both in 2013 and 2015, were:
1. To establish LISW as a major global shipping event through which to showcase the UK’s maritime and marine sectors;
2. To attract the attendance of senior international maritime leaders and influential stakeholders to enable the UK maritime sector and HMG to engage effectively and promote the UK’s maritime offering;
3. To deliver a series of high quality events focussing on promoting London’s maritime offering in 2013 and “maritime thought leadership” in 2015;
4. To enable high level interaction between senior HMG and UK industry with international maritime stakeholders reinforcing the fact that the UK remains a major maritime nation; and
5. To raise the profile of the UK maritime sector both internationally and domestically.
November 3, 2022
Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support is available for people spending up to 20 hours per week in education who are the principal carers for elderly relatives with a disability.

Justin Tomlinson

People in full-time education, including those with caring responsibilities, are not normally entitled to benefits. Rather they are supported through the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants. Support may also be available through local councils and health services.

Students undertaking a part-time course have access to carer related benefits in the usual way.

People with a disability can claim benefits in their own right in order to meet their needs. Depending on individual circumstances, such financial support can be through universal, extra costs benefits and/or means-tested benefits. Means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit, include an additional amount for people with a severe disability (currently £61.85 a week for a single person) which can be paid to a disabled person to help meet the costs of caring if their carer is not receiving Carer’s Allowance.

November 3, 2022
Alex Chalk – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2015-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking with foreign governments to counter ISIL propaganda online.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK is leading efforts to counter ISIL propaganda online. We co-chair the Global Coalition’s work to counter ISIL’s narrative, and I am hosting the Coalition’s Strategic Communications Working Group later this month. This aims to strengthen the Coalition’s understanding of the challenge posed by ISIL online. It will look at how we can use social media and the internet to counter ISIL’s propaganda.

November 3, 2022
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 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what basis officials in the Department of Health have said that the claims made by Dr Dan Poulter, formerly the minister in charge of negotiations, that they had set aside an agreement in principle with the British Medical Association on junior doctor working and instead acted to impose a new contract, were incorrect.

Lord Prior of Brampton

No agreement ever existed – in principle or otherwise – beyond the Heads of Terms that were the basis for negotiations. No agreement has been set aside by the Government or the Department.

NHS Employers and the British Medical Association (BMA) agreed Heads of Terms for negotiations in July 2013 and commenced negotiations in October 2013, the intention being to conclude negotiations by the end of October 2014. The BMA walked away from those negotiations on 16 October 2014.

As part of negotiations, proposals for a new contract had been made by the management side (employers from each of the four United Kingdom countries). The BMA said it could not agree to these. The Government therefore asked the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) to make recommendations.

The DDRB took evidence from the BMA, NHS Employers, the Department of Health and other parties. NHS Employers’ evidence, on behalf of the four UK countries, set out the proposals made by employers in negotiations, illustrating how these related to the jointly agreed Heads of Terms. The BMA’s evidence set out alternative proposals, which had not been made during negotiations.

The DDRB’s report broadly endorsed the proposals made by NHS Employers and made recommendations, identifying some areas where further discussion was needed. The Government invited both parties to return to the table with the DDRB recommendations forming the basis for further negotiations.

The Government, in England, has made clear its desire for the BMA to be involved in work to introduce a new contract. The Government has asked NHS Employers to work on the detailed design of a new contract for introduction in August 2016 and has continued to encourage the BMA to return to negotiations and take part in that work.

November 3, 2022
Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) Forth, Medway and Trent, will operate in addition to the current four OPVs.

Earl Howe

The operation of the three new Offshore Patrol Vessels will be subject to the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review.

November 3, 2022