Tag: 2016

  • Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the number of children waiting to join the Scout movement, what plans they have, if any, to review the procedures for repeat Disclosure and Barring Service checks of volunteers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has introduced an Update Service to enable existing criminal record certificates to be kept up to date whilst reducing the need for repeat checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The DBS is driving greater uptake of the Update Service which will continue to reduce the need for repeat checks, whilst continuing to safeguard children. The Update Service and criminal records certificates are provided free of charge to volunteers. It is for the Scout Association to determine when criminal records checks should be undertaken and whether to enable volunteers to make use of the Update Service.

  • Meg Hillier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Meg Hillier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how often the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme has been applied in each police authority area in England.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office published an evaluation report on the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme on 8 March 2016 which showed that there had been over 1,900 disclosures under the scheme since national roll out. A full breakdown by police force area can be found in the report which is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-violence-disclosure-scheme-assessment-of-national-roll-out

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to support projects that encourage co-operation and co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK is supportive of coexistence (people-to-people) programmes which bring together Palestinians and Israelis and foster inter-community understanding. The Secretary of State is currently assessing options for providing further support to coexistence programmes.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart to ensure that the Mothers of Soacha are able to keep their relatives’ graves in their current cemetery without incurring financial costs.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Any claim in negotiating compensation for the preservation of the graves must be requested directly via the government of Colombia, through the local compensation courts. Her Majesty’s Government is unable to interfere directly in this process.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what statutory arrangements are in place to penalise rail franchises which consistently perform poorly; and how often such arrangements have been called on since 2010.

    Claire Perry

    Section 55 of the Railways Act 1993 (as amended) gives the Secretary of State power to make an Enforcement Order where a train operator contravenes a term of the franchise agreement. Such an Order may require the train operator to take specified steps to address the contravention and can include a requirement to pay a penalty if the Train Operator contravenes the Order.

    Section 57A of the Railways Act 1993 (as amended) gives the Secretary of State a separate power to impose a penalty for contravention of a term of the franchise agreement as an alternative to making an Enforcement Order or in addition to such an Order (provided that the Order does not include a penalty provision).

    Since 2010 no train operator has been required to make a payment for breach of an Enforcement Order under section 55. Some 13 Enforcement Orders under Section 55 have been issued, and one train operator has been required to make a penalty payment imposed under section 57A.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department is committed to the health and wellbeing of its staff and has developed a wellbeing strategy with a ‘5 steps to improve wellbeing’ approach.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to work with local authorities to ensure that the education provided to home educated children is effectively regulated and safeguarded.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education has frequent contact with local authority officers and elected members on the subject of elective home education. Published guidance for local authorities is available on the GOV.UK website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/elective-home-education

    “

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the New Enterprise Allowance in achieving its aims.

    Priti Patel

    Latest statistics show that 80,830 new businesses have been set up with the support of the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA).

    A survey of NEA recipients was published in January 2016 and found that of businesses that had started trading following receipt of NEA support, four in five were still trading giving a sustainability rate of 80%. Of these, over nine in ten had been trading for over 12 months.

    This report was published on 28 January and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-enterprise-allowance-survey.

    “

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a timetable has been established for bringing unaccompanied minors to the UK from refugee camps in Europe; and if so, how many children are anticipated to arrive during each stage.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 May and now reflected in the Immigration Act 2016, we will work to admit unaccompanied refugee children to the UK from elsewhere in the EU, where this is considered to be in the child’s best interests.

    The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. We are working closely with local authorities and consulting NGOs, the UNHCR, UNICEF and relevant Member States to establish suitable processes to im-plement this initiative.

    We are committed to act as quickly as we can but we must take the necessary time to ensure we have the capacity to resettle and support those who are resettled.

    We must also ensure that we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK. We will be working closely with local authorities to find suitable placements within the UK. Statutory agencies at a local level are best placed to understand and meet the needs of all children and will continue to make decisions about the right accommodation and support services for those who are looked after. Unaccompanied children will be eligible for foster care if it is considered that that this placement type will provide appropriate support and best meet their individual needs.

    The UK has well-established and effective safeguarding procedures to ensure the safety of children who come to the UK. All children brought to the UK will be given the care, support and education they require.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the Oral Answer by the Prime Minister of 6 July 2016, Official Report, Column 881, what assessment she has made of the level of military action or the deployment of military equipment that would fall within the parameters referred to in that statement.

    Mrs Theresa May

    I have nothing further to add.