Tag: 2016

  • Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to retain access for UK universities to EU research programmes after the UK leaves the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government is committed to maintaining and enhancing the strength of the UK’s research base. This is why it has protected the science resource budget in real terms from its 2015/16 level of £4.7 billion for the rest of the Parliament, as well as committing to invest in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale – £6.9 billion over the period 2015-2021.

    HM Treasury’s decision to underwrite the grants of competitively bid for EU research funding will give British participants and their EU partners the assurance and certainty needed to plan ahead for projects that can stretch over many years. The Government will ensure that the UK continues to be a world leader in research and innovation.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to provide assistance to people in Madaya, Syria; and if she will work with allies of the UK, the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to provide humanitarian relief to that region.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have pledged over £1.1 billion, making us the second largest bilateral donor after the US. We also co-sponsored and lobbied hard for the passage of UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which call on the parties to allow rapid, safe and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to besieged and hard to reach places. We are working to bring about an inclusive political solution to end the conflict in Syria through our engagement in the International Syria Support Group, with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, and with the Syrian Opposition.

    The UK has provided support to the UN and international NGOs (INGOs) since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria, including Madaya.

    On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the hard to reach towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Two further convoys have been given permission. The convoy is expected to meet survival needs of the 40,000 persons inside Madaya, and of 20,000 people inside Foah and Kefraya. DFID funding to UN agencies is directly supporting the current convoy with food parcels, nutritional supplements, essential drugs and non-food items including winterisation kits.

    The UK worked with partners in the UN Security Council to put humanitarian access in Madaya, and across Syria, on the Security Council’s agenda on Monday 11 January.

    In February 2016, the UK will invite world leaders to London for a Conference to support immediate needs and identify longer-term solutions to address the needs of those affected by the crisis.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment of the effect on Nepal’s recovery from the 2015 earthquake of India closing border crossings into Nepal.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    We are deeply concerned about the impact of the blockages at the India-Nepal border on the supply and distribution of humanitarian goods. DFID is working on the ground to make sure that vital supplies reach those affected by the earthquake of early 2015. Through its partners, DFID is providing winter support to approximately 42,000 families (over 200,000 people). We welcome the adoption of the National Reconstruction Authority Bill and formation of the National Reconstruction Authority.

    DFID and FCO Ministers have discussed their concerns with Ministers from the Governments of Nepal and India. The British Ambassador in Kathmandu is also working closely with others in the international community and is in close contact with Prime Minister Oli and his cabinet.

    There has been an increase in the level of goods, including fuel, entering Nepal via India. Despite the main border crossing between the two countries remaining closed, between 60-70% of the usual amount of goods are entering Nepal through alternative border crossings.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual rent paid by his Department is on 39 Victoria Street.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department does not currently lease 39 Victoria Street and is not paying rent for the building.

  • 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 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31069 on corruption, what the usual practice is for disclosing such costs.

    Matthew Hancock

    All Cabinet Office costs are published in its annual report and accounts available on the GOV.UK website.

    The Anti-Corruption Champion has had a range of meetings with Ministers and officials from other government departments, as well as representatives from civil society and business, both in the United Kingdom (UK) and overseas.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is legal for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to advertise and provide access to the Government’s referendum leaflet on its main website and whether any costs involved are additional to, or part of, the total spending on producing and distributing the leaflet.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Gov.uk provides a range of Government information, including links to the eureferendum.gov.uk website which sets out information for the public in order to ensure they are able to make an informed decision on 23rd June.

    It is legal for Government to do so and there are no additional costs associated with this. These links will be removed at the start of the restricted 28 day period.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been of investigations into sexual offences in (a) Wiltshire and (b) the UK in each of the last five years.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office does not hold this information. It is an operational decision for chief officers to determine the best use of available resources according to local priorities and held to account by their elected Police and Crime Commissioner.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that government departments and executive agencies return people’s personal identification documents by secure delivery.

    Ben Gummer

    Personal identification documents can be requested by departments to verify an individual’s identity for a service that they provide. It is for each department to determine the most appropriate method for returning these documents to the individual, taking into account the risk of loss and potential for fraud. Departments that regularly handle personal identification documents are expected to have clear procedures in place to return documentation to the owner.

    The government has also launched ‘Verify’ on the GOV.uk website. As more government services are provided online and using the Verify service, the need for personal identity documents to be sent in hard copy through the postal network will be reduced.

  • 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 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the government of Sri Lanka on the persecution of Tamil people in that country; and if he will call for an international investigation into that persecution.

    Alok Sharma

    ​The Sri Lankan government has taken a number of positive steps to improve the human rights situation in that country, but we recognise that there remains much to be done. In our statement to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in June we set out the areas we felt were important for Sri Lanka to focus on. These included further land returns in the north of the island, the repealing of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the devolution of political authority through constitutional reform and the creation of credible justice mechanisms. I most recently raised Tamil issues with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister in September. We will continue to work with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of UNHRC resolution 30/1, co-sponsored by the UK in October 2015, while recognising the scale of the challenge this represents and allowing time for credible, well thought out transitional justice mechanisms to be developed and implemented.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claimants have had their asylum claim rejected in each month since May 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office publishes data on asylum initial decisions in Table as_01q (Asylum data tables Volume 1) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release.

    A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April – June 2015, is available from:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

    Initial decisions do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period and exclude the outcome of appeals or other subsequent decisions.