UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with her counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive on applying lessons learned from statistics on low energy bill debts.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC officials have meetings with their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive on a regular basis to discuss market issues.

    I welcome the use of smart technology, such as the introduction of keypad electricity prepayment meters in North Ireland, to help consumers manage their bills and reduce energy debt. The rollout of smart meters across Great Britain has the potential to transform customers’ experience in a similar way.

  • Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Williams on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what dates in 2017 tax-free childcare is planned to be made available to children aged (a) 0-2, (b) 3-4, (c) 5-6, (d) 7-8, (e) 9-10 and (f) 11-12 years.

    Damian Hinds

    Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

    We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course and in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people on removal flights from the UK in the last 12 months had (a) lived in the UK for over 20 years and (b) still had family in the UK when they were removed.

    James Brokenshire

    This information is not captured in our standard reports. To obtain this would require a manual search of the Home Office Case Information Database. The Information requested could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2015 to Question 43633, what the terms are of his Department’s emergency loan agreement for British nationals overseas who require assistance from public funds to pay for repatriation; and what provision his Department makes for people who cannot afford the repayment conditions.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    When a British national (BN) enters into an emergency loan agreement with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) they sign a form to declare that they have exhausted all other methods of helping themselves, and accept the sum of the debt in its entirety. By signing the form, the BN is acknowledging that if they do not repay the loan within 6 months, the remaining balance will be subject to a surcharge of 10%; and that the total amount loaned to them must be repaid within five years. Failure to repay the debt may result in legal proceedings to recover monies owed.

    In most cases, people are also required to agree to give up their passport. In all cases they must acknowledge that Her Majesty’s Passport Office will not process an application for a new passport until the debt is paid in full. They must also consent for the Department for Work and Pensions to release to the FCO such information as may be relevant in respect of any non-payment.

    We know that some individuals face difficulties in repaying their loan. When agreeing to the terms of the loan agreement we advise people to contact the FCO upon their return to the UK to discuss the options for loan repayment.

  • Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the implications of the police indicating to a person being interviewed under caution that no further action will be taken due to insufficient, or a lack of, evidence.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The implications in such circumstances are detailed in a written answer on 31 March 1993 by the then Attorney General (Sir Nicholas Lyell), as outlined below.

    The fundamental consideration remains that individuals should be able to rely on decisions taken by the prosecuting authorities. The policy of the Director of Public Prosecutions is that a decision to terminate proceedings or not to prosecute should not, in the absence of special circumstances, be altered once it has been communicated to the defendant or prospective defendant unless it was taken and expressed to be taken because the evidence was insufficient. In such a case it would be appropriate to reconsider the decision if further significant evidence were to become available at a later date especially if the alleged offence is a serious one.

    Special circumstances which might justify departure from this policy include:

    (1) rare cases where reconsiderations of the original decision show that it was not justified and the maintenance of confidence in the criminal justice system requires that a prosecution be brought notwithstanding the earlier decision; and

    (2) those cases where termination has been effected specifically with a view to the collection and preparation of the necessary evidence which is thought likely to become available in the fairly near future. In such circumstances the CPS will advise the defendant of the possibility that proceedings will be re-instituted. (Official Report, Col’s 200-201).

    Following this written answer and further written ministerial statements, the Crown Prosecution Service has produced guidance for prosecutors to follow concerning the exercise of the CPS discretion to institute, reinstitute or continue proceedings after a suspect has been informed by the police or CPS of a decision not to prosecute. The above mentioned Written Statements are detailed below and are published in the Official Report.

    WMS – Crown Prosecutors Code – 22 February 2010. Column WS64, Baroness Scotland of Asthal.

    WMS – Reconsidering a Prosecution Decision (CPS Guidance) – 31 October 2012, Col 15WS, Rt. Hon Dominic Grieve

    WMS – Victim’s Right to Review – 5 June 2013, Col 99WS, Rt. Hon Dominic Grieve

  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the charity Broken Rainbow on renewing funding from her Department; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence and abuse. Broken Rainbow plays an important role in supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims of domestic abuse, and the Home Office provided £120,000 to support the Broken Rainbow helpline for the 2015/16 financial year.

    We are carefully considering ongoing funding of national helplines, in close consultation with helpline providers, and decisions on renewing funding will be announced shortly.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people on temporary admission who travel for mandatory reporting from Oxfordshire to London have their transport costs paid from the public purse.

    James Brokenshire

    Immigration Enforcement retains a record of tickets that are issued to people on temporary admission for the purpose of travel to report at an Immigration Reporting Centre.

    Immigration Enforcement does not keep a record of the area from which those individuals have travelled. We are required to provide a travel ticket if the subject resides more than 3 miles away from the reporting centre and is in receipt of Asylum Support. We do not routinely provide travel tickets for anyone else who reports unless they reside over 25 miles away and there is an exceptional reason to do so. Each case is assessed and considered on its own merit.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will update national and planning policies to (a) account for shale operations and (b) introduce buffer zones between shale developments and local communities.

    James Wharton

    The National Planning Policy Framework and supporting guidance sets out a comprehensive approach to planning for shale gas extraction in England. Planning guidance includes the use of buffer zones in the determination of planning applications for hydrocarbon extraction, including from shale. This states that above ground separation distances are acceptable in specific circumstances where it is clear that, based on site specific assessments and other forms of mitigation measures (such as working scheme design and landscaping), a certain distance is required between the boundary of the minerals site and the adjacent development.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Financial Conduct Authority is taking to enforce rules which prevent misleading advertisement by credit brokers.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    This Government supports the system of co-regulation and self-regulation, overseen by the independent Advertising Standards Authority and underpinned by consumer protection legislation. This regulatory system is independent of the Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising, ensuring that all adverts, wherever they appear, are legal, decent, honest and truthful. The Government believes the system has worked well, suitably serving consumers and is sufficiently flexible to deal with both technological advances and new evidence.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether measures are in place to prevent people remanded in custody from distributing passwords for social media platforms for use by people not in custody.

    Andrew Selous

    An extensive programme of work is underway to prevent prisoners having access to mobile phones. As the Prime Minister said on 8 February 2016, we are working with the mobile network operators to challenge them to do more, including developing new technological solutions, so we can block mobile phones’ signals in prisons.

    Although there are no rules to prevent prisoners on remand from passing on passwords for social media platforms, prisoners, including those on remand in custody, are not allowed access to social media platforms either directly or via a third party.

    It is a criminal offence for a person to take or transmit any image or sound from within a prison and send it outside the prison and where a link between a prisoner and content posted on social media is identified, the case will be referred to the police. A sentence of up to two years can be given if those charged are found guilty. If the police decide not to pursue a criminal investigation, a prisoner can be punished under the prison disciplinary system, for example, by having privileges removed or additional days added to their time in prison.