Tag: 2016

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the implications for border security arrangements of recent gangland-related murders in the Irish Republic.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    There are long-established and effective working relationships between the police and intelligence agencies of the UK and Ireland to mitigate threats in both countries. The UK Government takes protecting our border security very seriously and there is a high level of co-operation and on-going work with the Irish Government strengthening the external border of the Common Travel Area.

  • Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Dartford Crossing has closed in the last 12 months; and what the cause of each closure was.

    Andrew Jones

    The Dartford Crossing consists of two bored tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

    There has been only one planned closure in the last 12 months where the crossing has been fully closed i.e. both the bridge and the tunnels. This was for overnight works on 15 August 2015 for the removal and installation of new gantries for the Dartcharge project.

    There have also been 81 occasions when either the bridge or one of the tunnel bores have been closed for planned construction or maintenance works. These works were carried out overnight when traffic flows are such that they can be accommodated by the remaining open elements of the crossing. The 81 occasions comprise 4 bridge closures, 42 west bore closures and 35 east bore closures.

    There have been 9 unplanned bridge closures; twice for high wind and 7 for broken down vehicles, collisions and police-led incidents.

    There have been 5 unplanned closures of the west tunnel; 4 traffic incidents and once to repair a road defect.

    There have been 12 unplanned closures of the east tunnel; 10 times for traffic incidents (4 broken down vehicles, 5 collisions and one diesel spill) and twice for road repairs.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 34106, occupational health, if he will make it his policy to collect the information referred to.

    Alistair Burt

    We do not have any plans to collect this data.

    We do not collect data on the number of organisations that have mental wellbeing policies in place.

    Organisations may take a number of different approaches to ensuring the wellbeing of their workforces, which would make measurement very complex, with an absence of communications standards. However, the issue remains of importance to the Department.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) financial and (b) other support his Department provided for research into treating motor neurone disease in each of the last three years.

    George Freeman

    Spend by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in the Health Research Classification System (HRCS) health category ‘neurological’ has increased from £29.9 million in 2010/11 to £46.7 million in 2014/15 (the latest year for which data is available). There are no HRCS health sub-categories such as for motor neurone disease or other specific neurological conditions, and information on total annual NIHR spend on research into treating motor neurone disease is not held.

  • Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Steel of Aikwood on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in order to welcome tourists to Scotland and the North of England, they plan to instruct the Border Agency to reduce its processing time of vehicles at Newcastle arriving off the ferry from Amsterdam.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Border Force has carried out a significant transformation programme at Port of Tyne to improve border security and customer service. Joint investment with the port operator in new infrastructure has significantly reduced passenger processing times and the port operator has confirmed a noticeable improvement compared to previous years.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when his Department will implement the recommendations of the Deane Review into Self-Employment, published in February 2016.

    Margot James

    The Government is considering all the recommendations made in Julie Deane’s independent review of self-employment and will respond in due course.

  • Lord Rogan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Rogan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rogan on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 17 December (HL4320), whether the private arrangements” for residents of Northern Ireland to access an abortion in England include a requirement for individuals to pay for such services.”

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Yes, women travelling from Northern Ireland to England for an abortion generally pay for the procedure themselves.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what data they collect, and from whom, about the number of children trafficked, and attempted to be trafficked, on Eurostar services.

    Lord Bates

    The UK Government takes child trafficking extremely seriously. All Border Force officers at the Eurostar ports in the UK France and Belgium have received training in keeping children safe and all operational processes involving children comply with requirements as set out in the Children and Young Persons Act. Border Force and Eurostar have daily contact on operational matters. When passengers are identified by Border Force officers as potential victims of trafficking, immediate action is taken to safeguard the individual by following Home Office guidance on the treatment of the victims of trafficking. Border Force collects data on these cases in order to notify the Human Trafficking Centre. Contact is also made with Camden Social Services Safeguarding Team as soon as possible in order to establish safe care of the child. Eurostar has its own policy on unaccompanied children travelling on its services which can be found on the internet at: http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/accessibility#unaccompanied_children

    Border Force has not provided training to French border officials on UK child trafficking patterns. All cases of suspected trafficking detected by the French border officials at St Pancras are handed to the BTP to action. In France and Belgium any concerns Border Force officers have about vulnerable children attempting to travel to the UK would be referred to the French and Belgian frontier control authorities. The Home Office has not had any discussions with Patina Rail about a proposed new routing between St Pancras and Ashford.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will meet Girlguiding to discuss the findings of its 2015 Girls’ Attitudes survey.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Girlguiding’s Attitude Surveys provide an invaluable picture of the concerns and priorities of young women and the Government Equalities Office maintains an excellent relationship with the organisation. The 2015 survey demonstrates that many girls perceive barriers to reaching their full potential. The Government is encouraging girls to broaden their aspirations, educating young people about respectful relationships through the teen relationship abuse campaign, and equipping parents to talk confidently with their children about important issues through the Parentinfo website.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will ensure that his proposals to limit 18 to 21 year olds’ access to the housing element of universal credit take into account all the reasons young people may need support with their housing costs.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department has committed to supporting young people so those who need support with housing costs continue to receive it. The Department is currently consulting with stakeholders to identify these groups and allow us to develop suitable protections. Once this work is complete we will bring forward detailed proposals.