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Tag: 2016

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people to be resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation programme in each of the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

    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 continue to work closely with local authorities to manage the arrival of the Syrian refugees in to the resettlement places they have pledged. 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.

    The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Latest statistics published on 25 August confirmed that a total of a total of 2,898 Syrians have been resettled under the scheme since it began, 2,646 of these arriving since 1 October 2015.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulatory provision the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education makes to ensure that private higher education providers maintain minimum admission standards for undergraduate degrees and provide value for money.

    Viscount Younger of Leckie

    The UK Quality Code, which the Quality Assurance Agency’s Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers) uses to assess private providers, sets out the following expectations about recruitment, selection and admission to higher education:

    “Recruitment, selection, and admission policies and procedures adhere to the principles of fair admission. They are transparent, reliable, valid, inclusive and underpinned by appropriate organisational structures and processes. They support higher education providers in the selection of students who are able to complete their programme.”

    It is a condition of designation for student support that private providers maintain successful outcomes from these QAA reviews and annual monitoring. QAA’s Concerns Scheme investigates specific concerns about the management of academic quality and standards, including recruitment, selection and admissions.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much and what proportion the UK contributed to the EU humanitarian and development budget in each of the last two years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    UK contributions to EU Official Development Assistance (ODA), including development assistance and humanitarian aid, for the last two years was as follows:

    2013 £ million

    2014 £ million

    1,220

    1,144

    British share of overall EU spend is approximately 15%. The UK continues to work hard to ensure EU development aid focuses on the poorest and most fragile countries and that the EU becomes more open and transparent about the challenges it faces in implementing aid projects.

  • Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Parminter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether retailer records provided to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be made available on the department’s website, in the light of the guidance Carrier bag charges: retailers‘ responsibility that states such information will be made public.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Defra is required to publish every retailer record received on an annual basis. All records supplied by retailers will be published on the GOV.UK website by 31 July each year.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the role of international sales agents on diversity in film and television production.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Government is committed to diversity in our film and television industries and encourages broadcasters and production companies to continue to deepen their commitment to diversity. At the same time, the UK is a world leader in international sales of film and television programmes. Revenue from international sales of UK TV and Film was over £2bn in 2014.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many directors of companies were disqualified as a result of a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

    Jeremy Wright

    In 2014-15, seven individuals were disqualified from acting as company directors following investigations by the Serious Fraud Office; and one was disqualified in 2013-14.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce (a) microbeads entering and (b) rubbish in marine environments.

    George Eustice

    The UK Marine Strategy Part Three, published in December 2015, sets out the actions we are taking to improve the marine environment. It includes measures that contribute to reducing sources of marine litter, including plastics. Given the trans-boundary nature of marine litter, we are working with other countries in the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR) to address marine litter.

    On microbeads in particular, Defra is working with other OSPAR countries and industry to secure the voluntary phasing-out of microplastics in personal care products. Defra is also supporting other EU Member States in calling for the European Commission to come up with proposals to ban microbeads in cosmetics and detergents.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many winter fuel payments were delayed by administrative problems in the last year for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information is not available.

    Where a customer holds an active relationship with DWP either through claiming a Winter Fuel Payment previously or being in receipt of a benefit, such as a state pension, their Winter Fuel Payment is made automatically.

    Claims are required from those where DWP does not hold the data necessary to generate an automatic payment.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Police and Crime Commissioners to improve diversity in police forces.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is clear; 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 Government has reformed policing to ensure that there is a sector-led approach to making improvements, including in the area of recruitment and representation.

    The College of Policing as the professional body for policing is delivering a major piece of work -black, Asian and minority ethnic Progression 2018 – to address under-representation in policing. The Government looks forward to working with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and individual Police and Crime Commissioners as democratically elected local leaders of policing, to place a greater emphasis on this agenda and urges PCCs to consider the opportunities provided through the Police Transformation Fund.

    While the Government would expect senior commitment in all forces it is for local leaders to decide how they will deliver improvements.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 15 September (HL1462), what happens to letters that are returned undelivered when incorrect details are held.

    Lord Freud

    Letters are issued to the latest address held on our records. Whilst the onus is on our citizens to notify appropriate Departments of their current address, DWP takes all reasonable steps to determine the correct address when letters are returned. This includes scrutinising all available DWP systems to determine if a revised address is held. At the time of the age equalisation communications campaign the process for State Pension included contact through Local Authorities or a DWP Visiting Officer. Where an updated address is confirmed the customer account details are amended.