Tag: 2016

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many overstayers have (a) been removed and (b) voluntarily deported as a result of action taken by Capita in each month since October 2012; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    Capita do not remove individuals from the UK. The scope of the contract is one of contact management, where Capita encourage individuals to depart voluntarily and in compliance with the immigration rules.

    Since the beginning of the contract in 2012 to Quarter 1 2016, Capita has recorded 143,400 departures.

  • Graham Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Graham Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what account his Department plans to take of alleged human rights abuses in Bangladesh in advising on any future trade deal with that country; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of imposing sanctions on Bangladesh in order to improve that country’s respect for political and other rights.

    Alok Sharma

    The Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) has established the Department for International Trade to promote British trade across the world and ensure the United Kingdom takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. The Government is currently reviewing its trade policy. We will engage fully with a broad range of stakeholders, including both governments and business over the coming weeks and months, taking a large number of political and economic factors into consideration.

    We are concerned about protection of human rights in Bangladesh, but believe that engagement, not sanctions, is the correct course of action. Sanctions would isolate Bangladesh at a time when it is, like so many, facing the global threat of terrorism. Trade sanctions would have a damaging effect on Bangladesh’s development and on efforts to bring people out of poverty.

  • Alasdair McDonnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alasdair McDonnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alasdair McDonnell on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which chronic illnesses and severe conditions exempt employment and support allowance claimants from regular medical reassessments.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2016 to Question UIN 48978.

    “

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people of each gender work in his Department.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The table below provides headcount figures for permanent staff in the Department for Transport including its Executive Agencies at 31 December 2015:

    DfT Organisation

    Men

    Women

    Total

    DfT Centre

    1,248

    774

    2,022

    DVLA

    2,416

    3,722

    6,138

    DVSA

    3,172

    1,300

    4,472

    MCA

    681

    347

    1,028

    VCA

    112

    43

    155

    TOTAL

    7,629

    6,186

    13,815

    Note that in 2009/10 58.7% of the total DfT staff were male compared to 55.2% as at 31 December 2015.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the oral contribution by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, of 26 January 2016, Official Report, column 231, what steps he has taken to contact the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the reform of charities legislation to include social investment; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Charity law is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. Officials in the Office for Civil Society kept their counterparts in the Department for Social Development, Northern Ireland, informed of progress as the measures which are now contained in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill were consulted on and developed.

    I have written to Lord Morrow MLA, Minister for Social Development, following the Third Reading of the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill, to draw his attention to the debate and the provisions of the Bill.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

    Dominic Raab

    It is not possible to provide the information requested. Litigants in civil cases can rely on arguments based wholly or partly on the Human Rights Act 1998. In some cases, the Act is relied on in addition to other claims. When the Human Rights Act came into force, no specific arrangements were put in place by the then government to record cases in the way requested. As a result, there are not currently data published which distinguish between cases where the Human Rights Act was or was not invoked.

  • Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will issue guidance to NHS trusts on ensuring future reductions in frontline staff numbers are not made for the purpose of reducing trusts’ deficits.

    Ben Gummer

    The National Health Service has taken a number of steps to reduce trusts’ deficits. We have introduced tough new financial controls to cut down on waste in the NHS – including clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies and expensive management consultants, and introducing central procurement rules.

    We are also introducing a £2.1 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund in 2016/17 to support providers to move to a financially sustainable footing. This will give the NHS the space to transform services so they are world class for decades to come.

    The purpose of these actions is to put NHS finances on a sustainable footing to ensure high quality care, now and in the future.

    Trusts should focus on the numbers and skillmix needed to deliver quality care, patient safety and efficiency, taking into account local factors such as acuity and casemix.

    Two communications to NHS trusts (a letter on safe staffing and efficiency dated 13 October 2015 from NHS Improvement, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), NHS England, Jane Cummings, Chief Nursing Officer and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; and a letter dated 15 January 2016 from Chief Executive-designate of NHS Improvement, Jim Mackey, and the CQC’s Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Sir Mike Richards) asked trusts to consider quality and finances on an equal footing in their planning decisions; stated that it is not the case that NHS trusts could only achieve their financial targets at the expense of quality, or that improving quality is more important than staying in financial surplus; and emphasised that responsibility for staffing rests (as it has always done) with trust boards.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how her Department’s 25-year food and farming plan will contribute to delivering the Government’s emissions reduction plan.

    George Eustice

    The Food and Farming Plan will explore the role of technology in reducing emissions through improved feed efficiency, among other issues. It will also set out how we will work with industry to deliver emissions reductions across the rest of the food chain, including supporting the Courtauld 2025 objective of reducing food and drink emissions by 20% between 2015 and 2025.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many prosecutions there have been of applicants for asylum who have arrived without documents and concealed their identity to frustrate removal in each of the last 10 years.

    James Brokenshire

    The number of individuals prosecuted for arriving without documents and concealing their identity is 50. The figures are illustrated below.

    1st April 2014 – 31 March 2015 26

    1st April 2015 – 31 March 2016 22

    This information was not held centrally prior to 2014.

    The Home Office works closely with the NCA and other law enforcement agencies, and prosecuting authorities in the UK and abroad, to ensure criminal investigations are robustly progressed in accordance with Criminal Justice standards.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen McPartland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions officials of his Department have had with their counterparts in (a) Wales on the Welsh Liver Disease Delivery Plan and (b) Scotland on the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

    David Mowat

    There have been no discussions with counterparts in Wales on the Welsh Liver Disease Delivery Plan or Scotland on the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework.

    Public Health England contributes to the Lancet Commission on Liver Disease and the Lancet Commission have also reviewed the Welsh Liver Disease Delivery Plan.