Tag: 2016

  • Baroness Uddin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Uddin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who are their advisers on matters related to Muslim women.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Government Ministers and officials regularly speak with a range of British Muslim women to seek their views on key issues. The Prime Minister hosted a Community Engagement Forum on 14 January with sixteen influential Muslim women, to discuss their role in Britain today and the importance of tackling issues of forced gender segregation, discrimination and isolation. In addition, four of the cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group’s ten independent members are themselves Muslim women. The Group discusses a range of issues, for example, hate incidents on public transport which disproportionately affect visibly Muslim women.

    My Department funds a number of projects that work with Muslim women including community based English language courses, women’s empowerment initiatives and the development of leadership and networking skills. As part of this, my officials regularly engage with the project leads, associated charities and participants on relevant issues affecting Muslim women.

    My rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has commissioned Louise Casey to carry out a review on how to boost opportunity and integration in our most isolated and deprived communities. She will report on her findings in due course.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in Wealden constituency are registered as (a) blind and (b) partially sighted.

    Alistair Burt

    Information on the numbers of people with sight impairment is collected by the Health and Social Care Information Centre every three years. Data is not collected at constituency level as part of the Registered Blind and Partially Sighted collection and so a response has been provided covering East Sussex, the council with adult social services responsibility which includes the Wealden constituency. According to the Registered Blind and Partially Sighted People report for England for the year ending 31 March 2014, there were 1,915 people registered as blind and 1,990 people registered as partially sighted within the East Sussex local authority area.

  • Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Chief Constables, or equivalent, in England and Wales have a university degree, and how that figure compares to those on 1 March 2011.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is clear that increasing diversity in our police forces is not an optional extra. It goes right to the heart of this country’s historic principle of policing by consent. We must ensure that the public have trust and confidence in the police, and that the police reflect the communities they serve.

    The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of chief officers by gender and ethnicity on the Gov.uk website, using self declared diversity data. As well as chief constables, the chief officer group also includes assistant chief constables and deputy chief constables, and their equivalents in the Metropolitan police and City of London police. The data is provided in the attached tables (The Association of Chief Police Officers referred to in the data has been replaced by the National Police Chiefs’ Council).

    The statistics do not separate chief constables from the chief officer cohort, therefore we are unable to provide a breakdown relating to chief constables specifically.

    The Home Office does not collect information about how many chief constables, or equivalent, in England and Wales have a university degree.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities applied for monies from the Planning Enforcement Fund; and how many such applications were successful.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department received six applications for enforcement grants before the deadline for submitting applications and all were successful.

    Two grants were made in the financial year 2014-15 to Staffordshire County Council (£8,010) and Stratford-on-Avon District Council (£3,200).

    Four grants were made in the financial year 2015-16 to Bath and North East Somerset Council (£7,993.75), London Borough of Camden (£8,184.50), Chelmsford City Council (£2,755) and South Gloucestershire Council (£3,291.66).

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of Tier 2 skilled workers leaving the UK (a) voluntarily or (b) otherwise involuntarily as a result of the new £35,000 income requirement for settlement.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. The impact assessment is available on the gov.uk website at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

    Alternative routes available for Tier 2 workers unable to meet the minimum earnings threshold would depend on their individual circumstances. For the most part, economic migrants who wish to change their basis of stay in the UK are expected to leave and re-apply for an alternative visa from their home country. However, in-country switching is permitted in some categories, for example into Tier 1 routes aimed at high value migrants.

    Tier 2 migrants who apply for settlement and do not meet the requirements will be refused. Those who do not qualify for an alternative route and have reached the maximum period of limited leave allowed under Tier 2 should make plans to leave the United Kingdom. Any migrant who has over stayed the validity of their visa or otherwise failed to regularise their stay in the UK may be removed if they refuse or fail to leave of their own volition. They may also be liable to prosecution under the Immigration Act 1971.

  • Maria Miller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Miller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Miller on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to respond to the findings of the report published by the Children’s Commissioner and the NSPCC in June 2016, on a quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people, to ensure that children are not able to view pornographic material on (a) social media and (b) any other platform.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has noted with interest the findings of this report, and particularly that children were as likely to see pornographic content online inadvertently as they were to seek it out deliberately. This further strengthens the case for the action the Government is taking on the manifesto commitment to require age verification controls for access to online pornography, which will make it harder for children to access this content online. Our preferred approach was set out in our consultation published in February this year. Government is currently finalising our response to this consultation

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department last made a formal assessment of the Palestinian National Authority’s adherence to its commitment to ensure that the human rights of all citizens are respected without exception as set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and that authority; and if she will make a statement.

    James Wharton

    The last formal assessment of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) commitment to the Partnership Principles, including the PA’s commitment to respecting human rights, was carried out in May 2016. Our assessment is that the PA continues to deliver on the Partnership Principles, even under increasingly fragile and volatile conditions.

  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the legal opinion issued by Philippe Sands QC concerning alleged violation of national, European and international arms transfer control law by their continued authorisation of arms exports to Saudi Arabia, especially in the context of their alleged use in Yemen; and what action they are taking in this regard.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is aware of this legal opinion provided on instructions from certain non-governmental organisations. In accordance with long standing Government policy we do not disclose legal advice given or received, and it would not be appropriate to discuss any potential or ongoing litigation matters. The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All arms export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case by case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account all relevant information, to ensure compliance with our legal obligations, including under international law. A licence will not be issued for any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria. This includes the export of arms to Saudi Arabia.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support the Government (a) has provided and (b) plans to provide to governments in Africa for eradicating the killing of animals for the ivory trade.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK Government works closely with African and other countries to promote the conservation of the world’s wildlife, including through galvanising action to end the illegal trade in ivory.

    We hosted the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014, and supported the Government of Botswana in its hosting of a follow-up Conference in March 2015.

    The UK actively supports the African-led Elephant Protection Initiative, launched in the margins of the London Conference, which now has eleven African countries as members. We have committed over £1 million to this initiative over the last two years.

    Defra’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund has made grants to 19 projects in its first round, including eight projects in Africa, worth £2.1 million, tackling the ivory trade. Projects to be funded under a second round will be announced shortly.

    The UK is also providing training in counter-poaching activity in Gabon, through the Ministry of Defence, and has provided support for judicial capacity building in skills related to tackling the illegal trade in wildlife products in Kenya and Tanzania.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 15 of the interim report of the Accelerated Access Review, published October 2014, what recent discussions he has had on the implementation of new models of pricing and reimbursing drugs; when he anticipates implementing such new models; what discussions he has had with (a) his Department’s officials and (b) external organisations on the applicability of such models to drugs targeting the genetically validated target PCSK9; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The Accelerated Access Review, chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, will make recommendations to government on reforms to accelerate access for National Health Service patients to innovative medicines and medical technologies making our country the best place in the world to design, develop and deploy these products. The terms of the reference for the review focus on faster access to innovations, which may include drugs that target genetically validated targets such as PCSK9 and BCL2.