Tag: 2016

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2015 to Question 3343, if she will commission an independent review of the reasons for the refusal of visa applications by people from the Kurdistan region of Iraq over the last three years.

    James Brokenshire

    There are no plans to commission an independent review into visa refusals of applications made by people from the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

    UKVI places great importance of the quality of all entry clearance decisions. All applications are assessed against the Immigration Rules. Decision quality is assured both by local managers and as part of the overall Home Office audit and assurance framework to make sure that the correct decision is reached on all visa applications.

    Further assurance is provided by regular third party inspections and audits.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what average annual tuition fee is charged by further education colleges for higher education courses.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) publishes an annual statistical report summarising the access agreements with Higher Education providers. This report includes estimates of the average fees charged by provider type. The latest statistics refer to the 2015/16 academic year and show that the average fee for the 51 English Further Education Colleges (FECs) with Access Agreements in the 2015/16 academic year was £6,941. Their estimate of the average fee across all 209 FECs was £6,561. More information is available at the following link:

    https://www.offa.org.uk/publications/analysis-data-and-progress-reports/

    “

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 April 2016, HCWS701, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the proposed changes to eligibility to student support for people with long residency in the UK.

    Joseph Johnson

    From 2016/17, the average student loan outlay for each additional student eligible for student finance is estimated to be between £15,000 and £17,000 depending on the household income of the students. Students could also be eligible for an average of £300 of support for allowances such as the Disabled Students Allowance. An additional 2,400 students, as estimated, could lead to around £40m in loan outlay and £0.7m in allowances annually. In RAB terms, the annual costs for 2,400 students could be £10m.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the reasons are for the difference in the figures quoted as payments to HM Treasury in respect of its guarantee for the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in paragraph 1.21 of the National Audit Office report on Department of Trade and Industry: Sale of the mining operations of the British Coal Corporation, HC 360 1995-96, and the Answer of 8 March 2007 to Question 125573, HC Deb, Column 2124W.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Analysis by Binder Hamlyn in 2006 for the NAO had estimated the net present value of payments to the Government (net of any payments from the Government arising from its guarantee) at £2bn over 25 years. This reflects the value at the time of the expected future net payments.

    The parliamentary question 125573 answered on 8 March 2007 records that the Binder Hamlyn report found that the total gross payments to the Treasury would be £8bn. This would have been both gross of any payments from the Government and also in cash terms i.e. allowing for the returns achieved on the funds before payment.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK intends to maintain the EU ban on neonicotinoids (a) before and (b) after the UK leaves the EU; and whether the Government plans to conduct a review of the evidence of damage to bees caused by those pesticides.

    George Eustice

    While it remains within the EU, the UK will continue to meet its obligations under EU law. This includes restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids. As part of the preparation for EU exit, we are considering future arrangements for pesticides. Our highest priority will continue to be the protection of people and the environment.

    The Government remains of the view that decisions on the use of neonicotinoids and other pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks. Pesticides that carry unacceptable risks to pollinators should not be authorised. The Government keeps the developing evidence on neonicotinoids under active review, advised by the independent Expert Committee on Pesticides.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to safeguard children living in the Calais refugee camp.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    As the Home Secretary made clear to Parliament on 10 October, the Government’s priority is to work with the French Government to ensure the safety and security of all children in the camp in Calais. The UK is also committed to ensuring that unaccompanied children in Calais eligible to come to the UK are transferred as quickly as possible.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority on that body’s decision not to undertake its planned review of banking culture.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an independent regulator. Treasury Ministers had no discussions with the chairman before the FCA announced the decision to discontinue the review of banking culture included in the 2015-16 Business Plan. The FCA has set out in its published response to a Freedom of Information request, the dates when it communicated its decision to discontinue this review to other organisations. This response is available on the FCA website.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will issue a response to the Dying for Justice report published by the Institute of Race Relations in March 2015.

    Dominic Raab

    Every death in custody is a tragedy. Each one is investigated independently by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman or the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and is the subject of a coroner’s inquest. Every effort is made to learn lessons from these investigations, and the prevention of further deaths is a priority for police, prisons and immigration detention services. The very small number of cases in which criminal offences are believed to have been committed are referred for further investigation by the police and/or to the Crown Prosecution Service, and where appropriate charges are brought. The final outcome in such cases is a matter for the courts.

    The Dying for Justice report by the Institute of Race Relations, published in March 2015, highlighted the particular issue of deaths of Black and Minority Ethnic people in custody The Government is not intending to issue a response to the report though has considered its findings.

    The report acknowledges some of the improvements that have been made during that period. It also reminds us of the enduring nature of many of the issues related to deaths in custody, particularly that the families of the deceased and others in the Black and Minority Ethnic community continue to lack confidence that appropriate action is being taken in response to such deaths. The Government is working to address this, for example through more effective liaison with families, as well as improvements to restraint techniques and training.

    The Prime Minister has asked David Lammy MP to lead a review of the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales to investigate evidence of possible bias against black defendants and other ethnic minorities. With significant overrepresentation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) individuals in the criminal justice system, the review will consider their treatment and outcomes to identify and help tackle potential bias or prejudice.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many concerted indiscipline incidents of each type have occurred in each prison establishment in each month since May 2005.

    Andrew Selous

    Violence in prisons has increased in recent years. The nature of offenders currently in custody and the widespread availability of new psychoactive substances have both contributed to making prisons less safe. There is no single, simple solution to the problems we face but we are making progress.

    We have launched a two year Violence Reduction project to help us to gain a better understanding of the causes and characteristics of violence. We are also trialling the use of body worn cameras in prisons, training sniffer dogs to detect new psychoactive substances and have made it an offence to smuggle new psychoactive substances into prison. However, ultimately the only way to reduce violence in our prisons is to give governors and those who work in prisons the tools necessary to more effectively reform and rehabilitate offenders.

    Many Concerted indiscipline incidents vary widely in nature and duration and many of these incidents are relatively minor and of short duration and cause little disruption to the prison regime.

    Note: The figures included in the table attached, have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although the figures are shown to the last case the figures may not be accurate to that level.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients are waiting, and for how long, for appointments in hospital with ophthalmic specialists.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The information is not available in the format requested.

    The referral to treatment waiting times standard is that 92% of patients still waiting to start consultant-led treatment for non-urgent conditions at the end of each month should have been waiting within 18 weeks from referral. At the end of January 2016, there were 327,066 patients waiting to start ophthalmology treatment, 94% of whom had been waiting within 18 weeks, with an average median waiting time of 6.9 weeks. It is not known how many of these patients were waiting for a first outpatient appointment rather than to be admitted to hospital.

    Information on how many patients are waiting for follow-up appointments, and for how long, is not collected.