The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Whately on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2015 to Question 8466, how many additional extended ministerial offices have since been established.
Matthew Hancock
An Extended Ministerial Office (EMO) is also being established in the Scotland Office.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the response time of the Quick Reaction Force to an emergency in Jordan.
Penny Mordaunt
We have not made a formal estimate of the Quick Reaction Force’s (QRF) response time as the capability remains in development. The response time would vary according to the nature of the emergency. However, in recent exercises the QRF has been able to deploy independently from its barracks in Jordan within 24 hours.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which instances embassies and high commissions in the UK have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity in each of the last five years.
James Duddridge
Under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction, except in limited circumstances specified in the Convention. Full statistics and details about instances when Embassies and High Commissions have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity for the period specified are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Such requests would cover instances where a member of the mission’s diplomatic or consular staff (or a member of their family forming part of their household) was the alleged offender, the alleged victim of a crime, or had witnessed a crime and police had sought a witness statement; or where police had sought witness statements from staff in relation to their official functions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-09.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation exemption for insolvency practitioners.
Lord O’Neill of Gatley
The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).
It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.
The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.
For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) ratify the Cape Town agreement and (b) otherwise tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the High Seas.
George Eustice
The UK supports ratification of the Cape Town agreement and will ratify when legal priorities allow, which is a matter for the Department of Transport. The UK already applies the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels through the Fishing Vessels (EC Directive on Harmonised Safety Regime) Regulations 1999.
The UK Government, through the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), has been at the forefront of international measures to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, which remains a major threat, not just to the world’s fish stocks, but to its marine biodiversity and the livelihoods and security of coastal communities. The UK acts, alongside other European Union nations, to deny market access to products from IUU fishing, and to support third countries in developing their capability to detect and deter IUU fishing. Ground breaking work has also recently taken place between the MMO and UK based insurance companies to promote and encourage compliance with IUU regulations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-09-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the (a) Prime Minister, (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (c) Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on potential additional funding for the NHS after the UK has left the EU.
David Mowat
The Secretary of State for Health has regular discussions with Ministerial and Cabinet colleagues to discuss National Health Service finances.
The Department and the Government as a whole are determined to make a success of leaving the European Union. And we are fully committed to the NHS, demonstrated by the Government commitment to increase funding for the NHS by an additional £10 billion a year in real terms by 2020-21, to ensure the NHS delivers world class care to all who need it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-01-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will provide additional resources to North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group to allow GP surgeries in that group’s area to take on new patients.
Alistair Burt
The Department is aware that three general practitioner practices in Clacton have temporarily closed their list to new patients. This is a matter for NHS England.
NHS England advises that it is working with these practices to agree actions needed to re-open their lists in the near future.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-02-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide support to local councils to ensure they protect deaf clubs for people seeking support and help in getting back to work.
Mr Marcus Jones
The Government recognises the important role that councils play in supporting those who need additional help when seeking to get back into the workplace. However, as democratically elected organisations, local authorities are independent from central Government and are responsible for managing their budgets in line with local priorities.
This year’s Local Government Financial Settlement does provide a reasonable offer to local government, with a settlement which is essentially flat in cash terms, moving from £44.5 billion in 2015-16 to £44.3 billion in 2019-20. By 2020, when councils will be 100% funded by council tax, business rates and other local revenues, they will finally be fully accountable to their electorate for their financing, decisions and actions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the number of people joining terrorist groups from the Palestinian camps in Lebanon in the last five years.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We are aware of extremist elements within the camps, and that there have been reported links between some individuals within the camps and terrorist groups. As with many aspects of Lebanese stability, we monitor this issue closely through project work and our engagement with the Lebanese Government seeks to ensure that security is maintained and the influence of extremist and terrorist groups is diminished.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31489, what the date was of the most recent meeting at which the use of cluster munitions was raised with the Saudi Arabian government since the Convention on Cluster Munitions came into force on 30 May 2008.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The issue of Cluster Munitions was raised with the Saudis by Sir Alan Duncan, the Government’s Envoy on Yemen during his visit to Riyadh on 6 April 2016. In line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, we continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.