The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, when the Commission plans to reopen the main doors at St Stephen’s Entrance; and if he will make a statement.
Tom Brake
There are no plans to reopen the main doors at St Stephen’s Entrance. Police and security staff are available to facilitate access by Members and other passholders, particularly during divisions.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to replace any reductions in private investment and access to EU research grants occurring as a result of the vote to leave the EU by increasing the science budget.
Greg Hands
Horizon 2020 is the main EU Research and Innovation programme. The European Commission made the following statement on 4 July 2016:
“The Statement of 29 June of the Heads of State or Government of 27 Member States, as well as the Presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, confirms that until the UK leaves the EU, EU law continues to apply to and within the UK, both when it comes to rights and obligations. This includes the eligibility of UK legal entities to participate and receive funding in Horizon 2020 actions.”
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, when considering trade, diplomatic, political and other bilateral links with the Republic of Sudan, what weight they attach to (1) the Amnesty International report on the use of chemical weapons in Darfur; (2) the Médecins Sans Frontières 2000 report Living Under Aerial Bombardment; (3) the Human Rights Watch 2015 report concerning the use of cluster bombs; (4) reports in 2016 of aerial bombardment in Blue Nile and South Kordofan; and (5) the outstanding warrants for the arrest of Sudanese leaders on genocide charges.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Our primary focus, in both our political engagement and the work of the Department for International Development, is to support the peaceful development of the country allowing ordinary Sudanese people to have a voice in their future. The first step in this process would be a cessation of hostilities and unrestricted humanitarian access to all areas of the country, including Darfur and the Two Areas of Blue Nile and South Kordofan. We consider all the information at our disposal, including the reports referred to, when assessing the situation on the ground and regularly raise our concerns about violations of human rights and international humanitarian law directly with the government of Sudan, and in international fora where appropriate. We remain a firm supporter of the International Criminal Court and encourage all States to act on its indictments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the implications for her policies are of the decision by other countries to confiscate the belongings of Syrian refugees over a certain value to meet the costs of their stay.
James Brokenshire
Any decision by other countries to confiscate the belongings of Syrian refugees over a certain value to meet the cost of their stay in those countries will not impact the way the UK deals with Syrian refugees. The Government will continue to target the most vulnerable Syrians, who cannot be supported effectively in the region, for resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. The first 12 month’s resettlement costs are funded through Official Development Assistance and at the Spending Review the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with people who run airports on excessive VAT charging in retail outlets based in airports.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Department for Transport meets regularly with airport operators and the issue of the treatment of VAT in airside retail shops has been reviewed. The Chancellor announced on the 31 December 2015 a review into airport sales to make sure VAT savings are being passed on to shoppers. It would therefore not be appropriate for me to comment at this stage whilst HM Treasury is undertaking this review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-03-08.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Save the Children about identifying whether any of the unaccompanied children found at the Jungle” camp in Calais were potential child victims of trafficking.”
Lord Bates
The Home Secretary and French Interior Minister agreed in the UK-France Joint Declaration in August 2015 to set up a project to identify potential victims of trafficking (including children) in the Calais migrant camp and directs them to existing protection, support and advice within France. The project is being delivered by the French non-governmental organisation, France Terre D’Asile.
The UK has contributed €750,000 (£530,000) to fund the project which formally launched in December 2015.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure car manufacturers incorporate waste bins in the design of their cars.
Andrew Jones
There are no plans to legislate for car manufacturers to incorporate waste bins in the design of their cars. Most cars already have a variety of suitable storage facilities for drivers and passengers to store waste items.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase employment opportunities for people (a) on community sentences and (b) released from prison.
Andrew Selous
Prisons should be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and work. Dame Sally Coates’ review of education in prisons published on 18 May sets out a clear blueprint for reform of education, with Governors given the tools to ensure education provision meets the needs of their prisoners
Supporting offenders into meaningful employment is a vital aspect of the Government’s approach to rehabilitation. We already work with a wide range of employers in prison through One3One Solutions and engagement by prison Governors. We want Governors to do more and so we are putting the tools to drive this change in the hands of those at the frontline who best know what works. We are keen to increase the number of employers who can provide valuable vocational work for offenders while in prison and who are able to offer them support in preparation for release and employment opportunities following their release. I regularly meet businesses across the country including at a number of successful roadshows across the estate. New businesses are now coming on board as a consequence. The Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending brings together employers willing to employ offenders and we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the involvement of more businesses. The Prime Minister has announced changes to recruitment practises across the civil service to ensure that people are considered on their merits and not on their criminal conviction and we want to encourage more employers to do the same.
Our reforms to probation services mean that virtually all those sentenced to less than 12 months now receive support both in custody and on release. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were created as part of these reforms and manage low to medium risk offenders, including those serving community sentences. CRCs have been given the flexibility to do what they think works to reduce reoffending, which should increase opportunities for offenders to turn their lives around.
Offenders serving community sentences can access services available in the community such as education and training courses; mental health provision and support to obtain employment and accommodation. Where an offender is subject to an unpaid work requirement, they have the opportunity to give back to their local community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) the changing of babies in her Department.
Andrea Leadsom
The Department’s main office at 3 Whitehall Place, London has a private room available for nursing mothers. It has a baby changing table, a specified refrigerator for storing expressed milk, a chair which has been specially designed to provide support when breastfeeding or expressing milk, as well as first aid couches for resting and privacy screens. Our office in Aberdeen also has a private room available for nursing mothers which has a chair and a specified refrigerator for storing expressed milk.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-10-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the capacity of the bus industry to meet the challenges arising from the need to deal with levels of air pollution in cities.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government has introduced several measures to encourage the uptake of environmentally friendly buses.
The Low Emission Bus Scheme (LEBS), announced last year, will provide over £30m to help buy several hundred low emission buses. The winners of LEBS was announced on 25 July, building on the success of the Green Bus Fund, which ran to 2014. Under the Green Bus Fund, £89million of Government funding helped to purchase over 1,200 green buses.
The Government is also encouraging the uptake of greener vehicles through the Bus Service Operators Grant low carbon emission bus incentive.
The Bus Services Bill, which was introduced into the House of Lords on 19th May, will provide local transport authorities with new powers to specify the emission standards to be met by local bus services – including through franchising and, with sufficient support from bus operators, under enhanced partnership arrangements.
The Government has also invested over £26million since 2011 under the Clean Bus and Clean Vehicle Technology Funds for local authorities in pollution hotspots across England to retrofit 1000’s of buses, and other vehicles, with pollution reducing technology. This includes converting some buses to either natural gas or to electric propulsion.