Tag: 2016

  • Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent children being detained in police cells overnight because no suitable local authority accommodation is available.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is committed to ensuring that young people are protected and treated appropriately while in police custody. This is why in January last year, the Home Secretary commissioned a multi-agency Working Group on Section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which concerns the transfer of children from police custody to local authority care when charged and denied bail. The purpose of the group is to better understand the problems with the operation of the law and to develop solutions to enable forces and local authorities to meet their respective statutory responsibilities. The group is currently finalising a package of measures and will present these to the Home Secretary once the work is complete.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many UK-registered patients received treatment in other European Economic Area countries under the European Health Insurance Card scheme in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The United Kingdom European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) means that people living in the UK are able to travel to the European Economic Area (EEA) safe in the knowledge that they will be able to receive free or reduced cost healthcare should they need it.

    EEA countries reimburse the UK for the cost of the National Health Service providing treatment to EEA EHIC holders, just as the UK reimburses other EEA countries for the cost of them providing healthcare to UK EHIC holders.

    The Department does not hold information on how many people have used their UK EHIC to obtain state provided healthcare in another EEA country in any 12 month period. This is because data on UK EHIC usage is recorded by individual treatment episode rather than the card holder.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his oral contribution of 12 January 2016, Official Report, column 697, whether UK personnel provided a quick check on whether the reported airstrike in Yemen on a market place in the Hajjah Governorate had broken international humanitarian law.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The role of the UK liaison officers is to maintain an information flow with the Saudi Arabian authorities. We do not comment on the specifics. The Saudi Arabian Government announced on 29 February, that they are forming an independent committee to examine military activity in civilian areas in order to minimise possible civilian casualties; assess the Coalition’s rules of engagement; assess accidents, verification and targeting procedures and advise how they can be improved; and provide a clear, full and objective report for each investigation made including conclusions, lessons learnt and recommendations for future actions.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to gather evidence on food insecurity in the UK.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    There is no single definition of food insecurity. The factors that impact on household food security are complex. There are multiple indicators such as quality, variety and desirability of diet as well as total intake, not all of which are measured consistently. It is, therefore, very difficult and potentially misleading to attempt to develop a single classification of food insecurity.

    Defra publishes annual statistics to show the proportion of household income spent on food by (a) all households and (b) the lowest income 20% of households. Lower income families spend a greater proportion of household income on food (15.7% compared to 11.4% for the average household). This has remained stable over recent years: 16.5% in 2013, 16.6% in 2012, 16.6% in 2011, 15.8% in 2010 and 16.1% in 2009. The most recent statistics are in the Food Statistics Pocketbook 2015 on the GOV.UK website.

    Year on year food prices have continued to fall with an annual rate of inflation of -2.7 per cent in the year to March 2016. General inflation is 0.3 per cent, unchanged from January.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Attorney General, what information he holds on whether the Serious Fraud Office plans to investigate the UK office of the law firm Mossack Fonesca.

    Jeremy Wright

    On 10 April, the Prime Minister set up a multi-agency taskforce to obtain and analyse the leaked “Panama Papers” and take action where possible. The taskforce comprises HMRC, the National Crime Agency, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Financial Conduct Authority who are working collaboratively to investigate any evidence of wrong-doing identified within the “Panama Papers”. The taskforce will report on its progress later this year.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff are employed by Border Force; whether that number has decreased in the past year; and what assessment they have made of whether Border Force has sufficient immigration officers to operate effectively.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    This Government has always made the integrity of the UK border a priority and we will never compromise on keeping the people of this country safe from terrorism, criminality and illegal immigration.

    We have pursued an ambitious programme of reform at the border to keep this country safe. Border Force has transformed its working practises, command and control and leadership. And we have invested in new technology, like e-Gates at airports and heartbeat monitors at freight ports, to improve security and prevent illegal entry to the UK to improve security, benefit passengers and deliver efficiencies.

    These reforms are working. Border security has been enhanced. Border Force continues to perform 100 per cent checks on scheduled passengers arriving in the UK.

    Deployments are made across a wide range of activities based on levels of demand and intelligence and will take into consideration the requirement for deployment of a flexible seasonal workforce, which is prone to fluctuations depending on seasonal pressures.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the increase in the national minimum wage on the incomes of low income households; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The introduction of the National Living Wage in April 2016 marked an important step towards building an economy that works for everyone. At £7.20, it represented a 50p increase on the National Minimum Wage, and a pay rise for over a million low paid workers across the UK, many of whom will be in low income households.

    The estimated impacts of the National Living Wage are set out in the impact assessment and Annex B of the Office of Budget Responsibility’s July Economic and Fiscal Outlook (available at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111141625/impacts/2016/3 and http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/July-2015-EFO-234224.pdf respectively).

  • Nigel Huddleston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nigel Huddleston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to widen access to basic bank accounts.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Improving access to banking services is central to the Government’s agenda. I am therefore delighted that the nine largest personal current account providers in the UK have been offering new basic bank accounts since January 2016.

    For the first time, truly fee-free basic bank accounts are available for anyone who doesn’t have an account, or can’t use their account due to financial difficulty.

  • Lord Krebs – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Krebs – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Krebs on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the Lead Advisory Group, reported by the Chairman in his letter of 3 June 2015 to the Secretary of State, that 10,000 children are growing up in households where they could regularly be eating sufficient game shot with lead ammunition to cause them neurodevelopmental harm and other health impairments”.”

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Food Standards Agency has identified that lead shot game is unlikely to be a significant source of exposure for the majority of consumers but recognises that it may be a significant additional contribution for frequent consumers and vulnerable groups. The FSA has advised that those consuming high levels of such game should reduce their intake, especially vulnerable consumers such as children and pregnant women. The FSA is considering what further action is required to raise awareness of their advice, particularly with vulnerable groups such as parents and carers of young children.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are being supported under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 where their parents have no recourse to public funds.

    Edward Timpson

    Information on children supported under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 is published in the annual Children in Need Census statistical first release. This data collection does not identify the number of children supported where their parents have no recourse to public funds.

    Information in the form requested is therefore not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.