Tag: 2016

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what further steps the Government plans to take to reduce the incidence of drownings of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government’s focus is on addressing the root causes of irregular migration so as to reduce the need for people to make perilous journeys to Europe. We have taken action to tackle smugglers and save lives at sea: HMS Enterprise is deployed as part of the EU’s counter migration operation, Operation Sophia. The UK has rescued almost 18,000 people, and disrupted suspected people smugglers, in the Mediterranean since 2015. At the G7 Summit in Japan on 27 May, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will work on a plan to boost the capability of the Libyan coastguard to stem the flow of illegal migration across the Mediterranean into Europe. Once a detailed plan has been agreed with the Libyan authorities, the UK will send a training team to assist in its implementation, and as soon as the relevant permissions and UN Security Council Resolution are in place, we will deploy a naval vessel to the South Central Mediterranean.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will meet with the hon. Member for Copeland and representatives of the Civil Nuclear Police Federation to discuss the Civil Nuclear Constabulary Police Officers’ retirement age.

    Jesse Norman

    The Minister responsible for matters relating to the Civil Nuclear Constabulary has agreed to meet with all parties to discuss the pension age of Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to ensure that (a) the Maximum Sustainable Yield and (b) other objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy are incorporated into UK legislation by 2020.

    George Eustice

    No decisions have yet been taken, although the Government remains committed to sustainable fisheries and the ending of discards, as set out in its manifesto commitments.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the use of longer-length or mega lorries in (a) the UK and (b) urban areas.

    Andrew Jones

    The longest length of lorry allowed on UK roads, including urban areas, is the road train at 18.75m. This is the maximum authorised length of lorry that the General Circulation Directive permits for national and international traffic. The Department is currently trialing longer semi-trailers (which are up to 2m longer than standard sized articulated lorries) although these are shorter than the road trains that are already in circulation across EU roads.

    Local authorities have powers under Sections 1 & 2 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to exclude heavy goods vehicles either generally or at specified times from roads for which they are considered to be unsuitable.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with ministers of the Scottish Government and women’s organisations on devolving competence for abortion legislation to Scotland.

    David Mundell

    I have discussed the issue of devolution of competence for abortion law in Scotland with representatives of several women’s organisations and I have a regular dialogue with the Scottish Government’s Deputy First Minister on all aspects of implementation of the Smith Agreement.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their objectives for the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in March.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government will use the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment remain at the top of the global political agenda. We will negotiate with other UN Member States to agree a set of ambitious, action-oriented and forward-looking recommendations for governments around the world to accelerate progress on gender equality and ensure accountability.

    At the first session after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, we will press for a meaningful follow-up process that places gender equality at the heart of the new agenda while ensuring that the CSW remains the prime global forum on gender equality and the laboratory of ideas that it is today.

    Furthermore, we will enhance the UK’s reputation as a world leader in this area by promoting relevant national policies but also by exchanging ideas with other UN Member States. In line with the session’s themes this year, we will be focusing on women’s empowerment and on violence against women and girls in high level discussions, events and bilateral meetings.

    In addition, the Government will host and support a number of events to raise the profile of certain issues which still prevent us from achieving equality, such as inequality in the workplace, discrimination in all its forms and violence against women and girls.

    Lastly, but very importantly, we are working with civil society to ensure their participation remains an integral part of the CSW programme and their concerns are heard at the national and global levels.

    Sixty years after the first session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the UK Government will send a strong signal that gender equality must be at the heart of economic and social development of all countries. We will have a ministerial team of four, led by the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, and including the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development. Parliamentary Under Secretary for Women, Equalities and Family Justice Caroline Dinenage MP and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Baroness Verma, in her capacity as Ministerial Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Overseas, will also attend.

    The UK Government currently has two confirmed side events at this year’s Commission on the Status of Women. The first one will focus on getting more women and girls into science and technology and the second one will be on the gender pay gap.

    We will also be taking part in other events where major issues such as women’s economic empowerment and violence against women are discussed.

  • John Stevenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    John Stevenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stevenson on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Attorney General, whether his Department plans to move any government legal services to the north of England.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Government Legal Department (GLD) provides legal services to Ministry of Justice, as well as to the majority of other government departments. GLD provides these services to Government principally from London, but also from a number of other locations including Manchester, Leeds, Warrington and Bristol. GLD is currently reviewing its location strategy, including whether it should provide further legal services from locations outside London, but has made no decision to that effect.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to promote Bristol as a location for small businesses with an eco-agenda.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Supporting our cities to grow is a key part of the Government’s long-term economic plan. As such Government departments are working together to support UK businesses by creating an effective business environment that allows them to flourish.

    An example of this work can be seen in the Bristol City Deal. As part of this deal the Government agreed to provide over £2m towards creating Invest in Bristol and Bath, a dedicated service established to attract investment to the region. In its first year of operation, Invest in Bristol and Bath helped 30 new companies locate or expand in the West of England area. This has the potential to deliver more than 530 new jobs by 2017.

    Building on the Bristol City Deal, the recently announced West of England Devolution Agreement sets out further ways in which Government will work with the planned West of England Combined Authority to support business growth across the city-region.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coastguard rescue (a) employees and (b) volunteers cover Scotland.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The number of Coastguard rescue (a) employees and (b) volunteers that cover Scotland are as follows:

    (A) Employees

    HM Coastguards National Network enables the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) and 9 Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident anywhere around the UK coast. Workload is therefore managed on a national basis enabling national capability and resource to be available to any incident. There are 314 full time equivalent Coastguard posts within the national network of which 69 are based at CGOCs located in Scotland (Aberdeen, Shetland and Stornoway).

    There are 37 full time equivalent Coastguard posts that are responsible for the management, training and oversight of the volunteer Coastguard Rescue Teams that cover Scotland.

    (B) Volunteers

    There is an establishment of 1,226 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers that cover Scotland.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much his Department has spent to date on legal advice from (a) the Government Legal Department and (b) external legal firms; and how much he plans to spend on such advice in the next 12 months.

    Mr David Jones

    The department is currently assessing the overall requirement for legal advice and the associated funding requirement over the next 12 months . To date the department has incurred an estimated total of £256,000 in fixed fee legal advice with the Government Legal Department and a further £12,711 in relation to additional billed fees and disbursements. No spend has been incurred in relation to external legal firms.