Tag: 2016

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32149, on what page in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts the specific costs incurred by the Government’s Anti-Corruption Champion are set out.

    Matthew Hancock

    Overseas travel costs for the Anti-Corruption Champion will be included in the next Cabinet Office annual report and accounts, which will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

    There were no costs incurred by the Cabinet Office for the Anti-Corruption Champion in the latest annual report and accounts published. Any costs covered by the Cabinet Office for the Anti-Corruption Champion will be included in the next report which will be published on GOV.UK in due course.

    “

  • Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the UK is still bound by the provisions of Directive 2005/85/EC on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status despite having not opted in to the recast Directive 2013/32/EU on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The UK remains bound by the provisions of the Procedures Directive 2005/85/EC and the Qualification Directive 2004/83/EC and not the recast Directives.

  • 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 2016-07-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation took place (1) before the introduction of the English Baccalaureate in 2010, and (2) before the decision in 2015 to make the measure mandatory; and whether the results of those consultations will be published.

    Lord Nash

    The 2010 schools white paper, The Importance of Teaching, set out that the proportion of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) would be published in the school performance tables.

    The Government’s consultation on implementing the EBacc ran between 3 November 2015 and 29 January 2016. The Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.

    Both papers can be found on GOV.UK and have been attached to this answer.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has provided aid payments to Syrian businesses which have been approved by the EU and the US government.

    Rory Stewart

    My Department has not made any direct aid payments to Syrian businesses. Our aid is delivered through the United Nations, international non-governmental organisations and other international organisations.

    The UN, which operates in a very difficult environment in Syria, has assured us that they comply with all relevant sanctions.

  • 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 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers who have received severance or redundancy packages since May 2010 have subsequently been re-employed (a) as a prison officer or (b) in another capacity by his Department.

    Andrew Selous

    It has not been possible to answer this question within the time available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart to request that he (a) take steps to protect trade unionists who have received death threats in the Valle del Cauca region and (b) establish who is responsible for those threats.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Whilst I cannot interfere in the judicial process of another country, I raised human rights concerns with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister during the UN General Assembly in September and again with the Colombian Ambassador in November. I continue to urge the Colombian authorities to ensure justice for all victims of the conflict and to thoroughly investigate threats.

    Our Embassy in Bogotá takes every opportunity to urge the Colombian Government to take further measures to prevent violence and threats against human rights defenders including trade unionists. Our Ambassador in Bogota recently raised concerns about human rights defenders with both Colombian Interior Minister and the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights. Furthermore, this year we are funding a Colombian NGO to develop protection measures for human rights defenders in rural areas. Our Embassy will continue to raise these issues in regular meetings with the Colombian government.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that China maintains its commitment to the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    During his meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on 5 January and in London on 4 February, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), stressed the importance of respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all residents of Hong Kong. He also made clear our expectations that the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law for Hong Kong should be respected. During those meetings, China reaffirmed its commitment to the implementation of ‘One Country, Two Systems’ and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy.

    During the visit to London by Hong Kong Chief Executive C Y Leung on 15 and 16 October 2015, the Foreign Secretary and I also discussed with him the importance of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and the need to preserve the rights and freedoms which are enshrined in the Joint Declaration.

    The Foreign Secretary’s most recent six-monthly report to the House, published on 11 February (covering the period 1 July–31 December 2015), urged “the Chinese and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments to reassure the people of Hong Kong that the fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents will continue to be fully protected, and respected by all, in accordance with the Joint Declaration and Basic Law.” The report also stated that “while we assess that during the reporting period ‘One Country, Two Systems’ has, in very many areas, continued to function well, there have been some areas which have given grounds for concern. These revolve principally around the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, including academic freedom and the freedom of the press.” We will continue to raise such issues with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.

    We aim to provide consular assistance to all British citizens, and to dual nationals in their country of other nationality in exceptional circumstances, in line with our consular guidance. We acknowledge that some countries do not accept dual nationality.

    In the case of British citizen Mr Lee Po, the Government continues to call at the highest level on the Chinese Government for his
    immediate return to Hong Kong. Despite formal requests which we continue to make, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee. We also stand ready to provide consular assistance to Mr Lee’s family.

    The Government will continue to monitor rights and freedoms in Hong Kong through the Foreign Secretary’s six-monthly reports.

    The full report can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2015

    “

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making country-by-country reporting of UK-listed company profits publicly available.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated the international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting to tax authorities during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a template for this as part of the BEPS project.

    The UK was the first to commit to implementing the OECD model with legislation in Finance Act 2015. The Government believes that there is scope for greater transparency by pressing the case for public CbC reporting on a multilateral basis. As the Chancellor has said, this is something that the UK will seek to promote internationally.

    The European Commission has now proposed amendments to the Accounting Directive for public CbC reporting, and we believe these proposals are a step in the right direction towards new international rules for greater public transparency

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of a letter from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to Lord Marlesford, how a series of sophisticated search algorithms and the search systems incorporating them would be able to make the link between a UK passport holder’s passport and a second passport of another nationality held by the same person if there is not a record of such second passports held by British passport holders held on a central UK government database available online to immigration officers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    It is longstanding policy not to disclose details of how search systems work, as to do so would not be in the interest of border and national security.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of leaving the EU on the number of UK students studying overseas at universities in EU member states.

    Joseph Johnson

    There are no immediate changes following the EU Referendum, including in the circumstances of British citizens studying, or planning to study, in the EU. Future arrangements for studying abroad will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.