Tag: 2016

Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government has requested be taken at EU level to respond to the effects of over-production of Chinese steel.

Anna Soubry

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues, EU Commissioners and EU counterparts about a range of issues, including Market Economy Status (MES) for China. He most recently discussed trade aspects of the steel industry with Trade Commissioner Malmstrom on 20 January.

We are awaiting a European Commission proposal on granting MES. We understand that the Commission will also be undertaking a detailed assessment of the economic impacts of granting MES as part of their consideration of this issue. We will examine any proposal and assessment carefully. The Prime Minister has previously stated that he will make the case for China to be granted MES but China will need to show that it is committed to becoming more open as it becomes more prosperous. In considering the Commission’s proposal it will be important to consider the wider trade and international political context including compliance with international commitments. If China is granted MES, the Commission will still be able to pursue anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and impose measures where evidence of dumping or subsidy is found.

The government is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices. The Government voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on steel products in July and November and lobbied successfully for an investigation into re-bar. The Government is also pushing for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel: this was one of the conclusions of the Extraordinary Competitiveness Council on Steel in November. The Secretary of State also raised the issue with the Trade Commissioner.

The Government is playing an active role in the European Commission’s steel stakeholder’s conference summit on 15 February and is supporting a robust discussion of the issue of overcapacity through the EU’s ongoing dialogue with the Chinese.

01/01/2023

John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what receipts were received by each police force from the proceeds of crime in 2015.

Mr John Hayes

More assets were taken off criminals in 2014/15 than ever before. £199 million was recovered, and hundreds of millions more was frozen and put beyond the reach of criminals. The table below shows the total receipts from cash forfeited by each police force, and receipts from confiscation orders in the financial year 1 April 2014-31 March 2015.

The table includes data for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the figures for the Police Service of Northern Ireland are for cash forfeitures only, as under the devolution settlement, all confiscation receipts are retained by Northern Ireland, and the Home Office holds no data.

Police Force	Total receipts from cash forfeiture orders and confiscation orders in the year 2014-15
Avon & Somerset Constabulary	£1,490,611.90
Bedfordshire Police	£1,094,410.68
British Transport Police	£556,348.90
Cambridgeshire Constabulary	£720,660.84
Cheshire Constabulary	£2,484,655.12
City of London Police	£2,555,229.61
Cleveland Police	£556,308.05
Cumbria Constabulary	£1,135,771.58
Derbyshire Constabulary	£676,892.51
Devon & Cornwall Constabulary	£1,398,001.79
Dorset Police	£275,603.19
Durham Constabulary	£739,926.17
Dyfed-Powys Police	£196,955.52
Essex Police	£1,636,232.98
Gloucestershire Constabulary	£1,321,446.18
Greater Manchester Police	£6,823,306.05
Gwent Police	£755,622.39
Hampshire Constabulary	£1,357,509.31
Hertfordshire Constabulary	£1,895,544.77
Humberside Police	£1,009,594.15
Kent Police	£1,710,364.42
Lancashire Constabulary	£2,125,492.14
Leicestershire Constabulary	£1,462,857.28
Lincolnshire Police	£440,109.19
Merseyside Police	£3,971,554.79
Metropolitan Police Service	£23,518,346.51
Norfolk Constabulary	£605,485.18
North Wales Police	£555,579.35
North Yorkshire Police	£395,279.48
Northamptonshire Police	£1,607,162.05
Northumbria Police	£827,194.86
Nottinghamshire Police	£924,929.87
Police Service of Northern Ireland	£521,050.22
South Wales Police	£1,313,813.78
South Yorkshire Police	£1,666,790.98
Staffordshire Police	£1,099,376.89
Suffolk Constabulary	£939,571.40
Surrey Police	£1,081,929.13
Sussex Police	£1,089,285.30
Thames Valley Police	£834,890.14
Warwickshire Police	£263,041.41
West Mercia Constabulary	£698,110.14
West Midlands Police	£4,689,385.89
West Yorkshire Police	£5,062,763.87
Wiltshire Constabulary	£430,894.47

01/01/2023

Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the value of UK-funded structures that were demolished or confiscated in Area C of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016.

Mr Desmond Swayne

No UK funded structures have been demolished or confiscated in Area C in 2015 or 2016. A number of EU ECHO-funded structures have been demolished in recent months. The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not individual instruments within it. The UK’s share on EU expenditure in EU instruments is approximately 15%.

01/01/2023
Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the Local Safeguarding Children Board review.

Edward Timpson

The independent review of the role and functions of Local Safeguarding Children Boards, undertaken by Alan Wood, has been submitted to the Secretary of State for Education, and will be published in due course.

01/01/2023
Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the UK’s naval contribution to EU anti-people trafficking operations in the Mediterranean.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK is contributing HMS ENTERPRISE to Operation SOPHIA and eight staff to the Operational Headquarters. HMS ENTERPRISE has been valuable in developing a picture of the maritime environment and smuggling routes. UK assets have destroyed 27 vessels to prevent re-use and identified nine smugglers to the Italian authorities. Furthermore, UK ships have rescued over a quarter of the total number of migrants saved by the entire operation – 3,700 out of 13,700. More broadly, we assess that Operation SOPHIA has left the smugglers unable to operate with impunity in international waters. This is progress on which we can build. We remain committed to working with the Libyan Government of National Accord to move to the later phases of the operation once the right conditions are in place and prevent the smugglers from putting people to sea.

01/01/2023
Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide support to employers to encourage people diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes to attend a diabetes education course soon after they are diagnosed.

Nicola Blackwood

Promoting the best possible care for all people with diabetes is a key priority for this Government.

Patient education will play a crucial part in empowering all people with diabetes to manage their condition more effectively and help avoid complications in the future. We know there is much further to go in the proportion of people with diabetes attending structured education programmes. The Department, NHS England and Diabetes UK are currently looking at a number of ways to improve take up.

01/01/2023
Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arms and security-related sales and services the UK is (a) contracted to provide and (b) planning to provide in (i) 2017, (ii) 2018 and (iii) 2019.

Harriett Baldwin

The UK does not have commercial contracts with other countries for arms and security related sales and services. Through bilateral government-to-government arrangements the UK works closely with its international partners and allies to support the development of their defence and security capabilities across a broad range of areas.

To produce the information would involve collecting data from all branches and services involved in international defence engagement activity which could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the Green Investment Bank has invested in fracking projects in the UK.

Anna Soubry

The Green Investment Bank has not invested in any fracking projects.

01/01/2023
Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government has taken to (a) alleviate the blockade of Yemen and (b) address the shortage of essential medicines in that country.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is the 4th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its humanitarian support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis with medical supplies, food, water, and emergency shelter. This includes support to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) to import essential medical supplies. From 27 April until 31 December 2015 UNHAS transported 9,547 kg of medical cargo on passenger flights. They also organised separate cargo flights to transport a total of 192 metric tons of medical and nutrition supplies. The UK also fund the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support critical relief projects, including the provision of emergency drugs and medical supplies.

There is no blockade, although some restrictions have been put in place to prevent the flow of arms to Yemen. One of our top priorities now is working to help commercial shipping return to pre-conflict levels. This is why the UK is providing £1.42m of support to the UN’s Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM). UNVIM will help speed up checks for commercial cargo, including food, fuel and medical supplies, entering Yemen and increase commercial confidence to get markets working again and lower very high commodity prices.

01/01/2023
Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on compliance with Privy Council rules.

Mr David Cameron

I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by the Lord President of the Council on 14 March 2016, Official Report, columns 653-654.

01/01/2023