Tag: 2016

  • Gerald Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gerald Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Howarth on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 113 of the Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, what definition her Department uses of extremism; and what steps she is taking to ensure that that definition does not close down debate or limit free speech.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government definition of extremism is ‘vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.’ We have been consistent on this since 2011 and have reaffirmed this definition in the Counter-Extremism Strategy.

    The overwhelming majority of people in this country support these values and condemn those who try to undermine them.

    The Government would not consider the ‘claim’ that an individual’s religion is ‘the only one true faith’ to be extremist.

    We are clear that Government should not restrict anyone’s freedom of speech or right to practise a faith. These are core values that help to make our country great. However we shouldn’t allow the extremist voice to go unchallenged, causing harm to our society and promoting hatred and division.

    The Government has engaged on the strategy, and will continue to engage with partners – including faith groups, communities and civic society groups on the new proposed powers to tackle the most dangerous extremists. This provides an opportunity to consult on the proposed powers further, and ensure that sufficient safeguards are in place to protect our rights to free speech and debate.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the revenue that will accrue to the Exchequer from the insurance premium tax on health cash plans; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Gauke

    In 2014-15, total Insurance Premium Tax receipts were approximately £3bn. HM Revenue and Customs estimates that £10.9 million in revenue was received from Insurance Premium Tax on health cash plans in 2014-15.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many organisations were affected by his Department’s pilot of anti-sock puppet rules; how many exemptions were made under that pilot scheme; and what estimate he has made of the savings to the public purse that arose from that pilot scheme.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The guidelines ensure that government grants are only spent on the good causes and programmes spelt out in the underlying grant agreement, and prevent taxpayers’ money being diverted to unproductive lobbying. The savings are thus delivered by ensuring all such public money is properly spent on the intended purposes, rather than seeking to reduce the absolute level of government grants as a consequence of stopping taxpayer-funded lobbying.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Mr Hugo Swire, on 25 February (HC27824), how many joint UK-China projects to counter the human trafficking of North Koreans have taken place in the past three years; what the objectives were of those projects; and what their outcomes were.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not supported any joint UK-China projects to counter the trafficking of North Koreans in the past three years. Our Embassy in China continues to fund projects to prevent trafficking in general, and we are currently funding a project involving an international non-governmental organisation to address the issue of child trafficking. We also continue to work with the Chinese authorities to prevent Chinese nationals being trafficked to the UK.

    As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), said in his reply of 25 February, we regularly discuss the range of issues on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with China, and we will seek to include this issue in the next round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning recent power cuts in Gaza, in particular the impact on waste water management and sewage disposal.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have concerns about Gaza’s chronic power shortages, which have caused problems with water supply and sewage treatment. While the British Government has not specifically raised the recent power cuts in Gaza with the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority, officials at our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on Gaza and to facilitate improvements in energy infrastructure.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the (a) use and (b) location of UK-manufactured cluster bombs that were produced before the UK signed the Convention of Cluster Munitions.

    Michael Fallon

    The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold records of the use by other nations or location of UK manufactured defence exports of any type.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria have been used to determine how many asylum seekers could be managed in Birmingham, Ladywood constituency without causing significant disruption to the local community.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The UK Government has been coordinating the dispersal of asylum seekers for many years. Existing policies are aimed at ensuring an equitable distribution of asylum seekers across the country so that no individual local authority bears a disproportionate share of the burden.

    We work closely with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships, who act as a focal point for the sharing of expertise and vital information between the Home Office, its asylum accommodation providers, local government, health, education and the police, to ensure consultation with local authorities is consistent and coordinated across all dispersal areas.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many legal cases have been brought against her Department by academy trusts in each year since 2010.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education does not keep a central record of legal cases by type.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the contribution of wider access to efficient refrigerated transport to reducing (a) food waste in developing countries and (b) carbon dioxide emissions.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID is working to support partner countries to tackle poverty and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by building sustainable infrastructure, increasing their access to clean energy and reducing deforestation. DFID recognises the importance of investment in trade and transport logistics to improve efficiency and reduce delays, which have major impacts on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. These improvements will have downstream impacts on many trade related issues including reducing the amount of spoilt goods from transit delays. We are engaged in this area in a number of ways. For example, Trade Mark East Africa is helping to improve the major trade corridors in East Africa to reduce the time and expense of transporting goods. Furthermore, the investment by CDC group into Grindrod, a South African logistics company, is enabling it to expand its transport logistics investments across sub-Saharan Africa. CDC is the UK’s development finance organisation with DFID as its only shareholder.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he expects part two of the Leveson Inquiry to take place; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has been clear that a decision on whether to undertake Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry will not take place until after all criminal investigations and trials related to Part 1 are concluded.