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Tag: 2016

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s five-year strategy and vision statement objectives are for (a) South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and (b) Ascension Island.

    James Duddridge

    A new five year Strategy for South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, Strategy 2016 – 2020, was published in November 2015. The Strategy brings together HMG and the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands’ objectives. The Strategy aspires to world-class environmental management underpinned by the highest standards of governance, and sets out five strategic objectives. A copy of the Strategy can be found at:

    http://tinyurl.com/zfjbpn4

    The FCO is currently working with the Ascension Island Government to identify the island’s infrastructure needs. This is the first step in identifying long-term requirements for Ascension.

    “

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with (a) Germany, (b) Sweden and (c) other European countries on best practice for the management of the system for relocating refugees.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The UK has not opted in to any of the EU relocation proposals. The Government remains of the view that relocation of asylum seekers between Member States risks creating unintended consequences or perverse incentives for people to put their lives into the hands of traffickers in order to get to an EU Member State.

    However, we continue to work closely with EU partners on addressing all aspects of the migration crisis. We are supporting the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement and border hotspots, including through the deployment of UK officials to support Frontex and European Asylum Support Office missions in Greece and Italy. We also continue to work with other EU Member States to improve the operation of the Dublin Regulation, in particular the provisions on family reunification.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police constables there were in North Wales in each year since 2010.

    Mike Penning

    The table provided contains statistics on the total number of full-time equivalent police officers and the number of these who hold the rank of constable in North Wales, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2015.

    As HM Inspectorate of Constabulary has made clear, there is no simple link between police numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police in the community, or between numbers and the quality of service provided.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal College for Nursing on the connection between cancer drugs and dementia.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no such discussions.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make the shingles vaccination available for people over 70 years old on the NHS.

    Jane Ellison

    A shingles vaccination programme was introduced in September 2013 for 70 year olds; with a progressive catch-up to ensure all those aged 71 – 79 years old could also benefit from the vaccine. A schedule indicating which age groups will be eligible for the shingles vaccine in 2015/16 and beyond is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/who-is-eligible-for-the-shingles-vaccine-beyond-2016

    “

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the legality of the death sentence handed down to Andrew Tsege in Ethiopia.

    James Duddridge

    The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle. We have serious concerns about the process by which Mr Andargachew Tsege was transferred from Yemen and his ongoing lack of access to a lawyer. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has raised Mr Tsege’s case 21 times with his Ethiopian counterpart. I have also raised this case, most recently on 8 January. We continue to lobby for Mr Tsege to be granted access to a lawyer.

  • Lord Stevens of Ludgate – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Stevens of Ludgate – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevens of Ludgate on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Prime Minister’s comments regarding the stability of peace in Europe if the UK leaves the EU, what steps they have taken to strengthen the armed forces.

    Earl Howe

    The Government believes that the UK should remain in a reformed EU. As the Prime Minister has said, our EU membership helps keep the UK safer and stronger. We have the largest defence budget in the EU and the second largest in NATO. In addition, we have committed to spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence over the course of this Parliament, and the Ministry of Defence’s budget will rise by 0.5 per cent above inflation every year to 2020-21. We are maintaining the size of the Army, and we are increasing the size of the Royal Navy, the RAF and the reserves.

  • Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Oliver Dowden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Dowden on 2016-06-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discretion his Department has to waive rules on non-payment of housing benefit to people with savings over a prescribed amount for (a) looked after adults, (b) vulnerable adults and (c) adults with disabilities.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The capital limit of £16,000 applies to all Housing Benefit claimants, other than those on the guarantee element of Pension Credit.

    While it is important to encourage saving, it has been the consistent policy of successive governments that substantial amounts of capital should not be ignored altogether when deciding entitlement to benefits which are based on need.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff his Department plans to employ by the end of the current financial year; and in which regions those staff will be employed.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with the task at hand.

    As a new department we do not yet hold diversity data for all of our staff but we will be collecting this in line with standard Civil Service practice.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2016 to Question 20908, on prisons: discipline, for what reasons the listed additional days were added.

    Andrew Selous

    The table attached shows the numbers of awards of additional days in each prison establishment as a result of adjudications in each year since 2010, setting out the numbers in the main categories of breach of prison discipline.

    Violence in prison has increased in recent years. The nature of offenders currently in custody and the widespread availability of new psychoactive substances have both contributed to making prisons less safe. There is no single, simple solution to improving safety in prisons but we are making progress.

    We are trialling the use of body worn cameras and training sniffer dogs to detect New Psychoactive Substances. We have made it an offence to smuggle New Psychoactive Substance into prison, but ultimately the only way to reduce violence in prisons is to give governors and those who work in prisons the tools necessary to more effectively reform and rehabilitate offenders.