Tag: 2016

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, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the programme managed by Capita to identify and remove overstayers; when the contract with Capita for that programme is due for renewal; whether she plans to make any amendments to the terms of that contract; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Capita was appointed to progress cases in the Migration Refusal Pool (MRP), which consists of those people who have received a negative decision on their cases, but have not left the country. The purpose of these arrangements is to contact manage cases and encourage voluntary departure and compliance. Capita does not remove anyone from the UK.

Capita’s work on the Migration Refusal Pool has enabled a substantial reduction in the size of the MRP during the lifetime of the contract and has included the assessment of 659,400 cases and the identification of 143,400 departures. More statistics on the contract can be found in the Immigration Enforcement transparency data, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-enforcement-data-may-2016

The contract was signed in 2012 to run for four years and is due to expire this October.

01/01/2023
Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve ambulance response times.

Mr Philip Dunne

NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review is working to reform and improve the provision of urgent and emergency care in England. As part of the review, NHS England is considering how to improve responses to 999 calls and patient outcomes under the Ambulance Response Programme. We expect the programme will report its findings in autumn 2016.

01/01/2023
Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether funding currently received by mayoral combined authorities from EU structural funds will continue after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring regions and organisations have stability and certainty in the period leading up to our departure from the European Union. At the same time, we are keen to use the opportunities that departure presents to set our own priorities. The Chancellor has announced that the Treasury will guarantee structural fund bids which are signed before the UK leaves the EU. This includes funding for projects agreed after the Autumn Statement, if they represent good value for money, and if they are in line with the government’s strategic priorities, even if these projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

Leaving the EU means we will want to take our own decisions about how to deliver the policy objectives previously targeted by EU funding. Over the coming months, the government will consult closely with stakeholders to review all EU funding schemes in the round, to ensure that any ongoing funding commitments best serve the UK‘s national interest, while ensuring appropriate certainty.

01/01/2023
Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are consulting the governments of Iraq, the United States and Italy about the Mosul Dam on the Tigris River, and in particular about the case for downstream flood warnings and preparations, and repairs and maintenance work, to prevent collapse.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are in close touch with the Governments of Iraq, the US and our European partners, as well as the UN, about the Mosul Dam.

The Government of Iraq has begun to take measures to improve the structural integrity of the Mosul Dam as there is a risk the dam could fail. It is currently impossible to accurately predict if or when this might occur. A failure could lead to major flooding in the Tigris river valley, from Mosul to Baghdad.

Alongside the US, we are working with the Government of Iraq, the UN and other partners to ensure Iraq has effective contingency planning in place, including early warning and humanitarian planning, to enable ordinary Iraqis and the international community to respond in the event of failure. Our Embassy has plans to ensure staff are safe and we have updated our travel advice to highlight the risk to the general public.

01/01/2023
Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Zephyr 8 UAVs his Department plans to buy; what the estimated cost per unit is of that equipment; what the programme through life cost is of that equipment; and where he plans units of that equipment will be based.

Mr Philip Dunne

As part of our commitment to providing next-generation battlefield intelligence capabilities to the UK Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence is planning to contract for the demonstration of two Zephyr Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. This contract will allow the UK to understand whether Zephyr can fulfil the requirement for a high-altitude persistent surveillance capability, as announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The £10.6 million contract, due to be signed imminently with Airbus Defence and Space, is for an operational concept demonstration rather than individual platforms, so unit costs are not held. Furthermore, as the Zephyr demonstrators will not be in-service, they will not be based at a particular location and there will be no related support or through-life costs.

Tests are due to take place in 2017 to assess Zephyr’s capabilities and explore its potential.

01/01/2023
Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

Alun Cairns

Cleaning services within the Wales Office are undertaken by outsourced providers under Ministry of Justice contracts.

Rates of pay for cleaners are determined by their respective employers and not held by the Wales Office or Ministry of Justice.

All employers are obligated to pay at least the National Minimum Wage and the new National Living Wage from April 2016.

01/01/2023
Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the outcomes have been of her Department’s programme of post-conflict development in Northern Uganda.

Mr Nick Hurd

The Post-Conflict Development Programme for Northern Uganda aims to improve service delivery in health, support the most vulnerable and help young people find employment, amongst other activities. This is in line with the new UK Aid Strategy which includes tackling the root causes of instability and conflict. Some of the main achievements include:
- Training 15,000 youth in vocational skills.
- Training 14,000 youth in entrepreneurialism.
- Construction of 1,738 homes for health workers and teachers to allow them to provide vital services in an under-served region, and reduce drivers of instability.
- Testing 60,992 children under five with high fevers for Malaria and providing treatment for those who were shown to be infected.
- Providing 10,000 food transfers in return for work to families at risk of malnutrition and unable to access employment opportunities due to the post conflict environment.
01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of named day written parliamentary questions have been answered after the specified date by each Minister in her Department since May 2015.

Nick Gibb

The Department for Education received 787 named-day written parliamentary questions that were due for answer between 1 May 2015 and 28 April 2016. Of these, 675 (86%) received responses on the specified date, 107 (14%) received replies after their specified date and 5 (1%) had passed their specified date and were still awaiting a response when this data was compiled on 3 May 2016. [1]

The breakdown by answering minister for the above period was as follows:

Answering minister	Number of named-day PQs due for reply	Number and % answered after the named day
Edward Timpson	302	43 (14%)
Nick Boles	35	8 (23%)
Nick Gibb	284	41 (14%)
Nicky Morgan	1	0 (0%)
Sam Gyimah	165	15 (9%)
Total	787	107 (14%)

[1] These percentages do not add up to 100% due to rounding.

01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what humanitarian support and assistance her Department plans to provide to aid agencies in Yemen in each of the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

Sir Desmond Swayne

The UK more than doubled its humanitarian commitment to Yemen in 2015-16 to £85 million, making us the fourth largest donor last year. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict. Over the next twelve months, we will continue to work with a range of partners to address the widespread humanitarian needs across Yemen, as well as helping to de-escalate the conflict, improve commercial and humanitarian access, lay the groundwork for recovery and push for a sustainable political solution. Budgets for 2016/17 will be announced in due course.

01/01/2023
Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government plans to publish a comprehensive plan for resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK by 2020.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK. We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.

01/01/2023