Tag: 2016

  • 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 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22858, on the basis of the evidence seen by the Government, what assessment he has made of who was responsible for the damage to the Iranian Embassy in Sana’a.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    It is important to determine the facts of any incident. From current evidence we have seen, it does not appear that a Saudi airstrike hit the Iranian Embassy. We are continuing to work with all parties to de-escalate regional tensions.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of France about their plans for the refugees now in the Grande Synthe site near Dunkirk; what improvements are in progress; and whether voluntary organisations will be involved.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The management of the migrant situation in Dunkirk is the responsibility of the French government. We share the French government’s concerns about the difficult living conditions in the region and continue to assist their efforts to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Migration issues were discussed at the UK-France Summit on 3 March. The summit communiqué provides details of the further cooperation agreed.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with (a) disability charities and other third sector groups, (b) disabled people, their families and informal carers and (c) organisations led by disabled people on his Department’s planned white paper on improving support for disabled people and people with health conditions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The department regularly engages with disability charities and organisations, as well as disabled people and their families and carers, at both Ministerial and official level. We proactively seek stakeholder views on current health, care and employment services to understand what works and where improvements can be made through roundtables, focus groups and face-to-face meetings. These discussions inform and provide the opportunity to test our thinking as we being to develop proposals for the forthcoming White Paper, and we will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the level of his Department’s budget for estates after completion of the BIS 2020 change programme.

    Joseph Johnson

    Detailed plans are being developed across the BIS estate. An initial estimate is that some £40M savings in office estate could be achieved. This depends on a range of other factors.

  • Baroness Goudie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Goudie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Goudie on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make a multi-year funding commitment to the Education Cannot Wait fund for education in emergencies that represents an increase in real terms funding for education in humanitarian situations.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has played a leading role in the development of the Education Cannot Wait fund, which is designed to attract multi-year additional funding for education in emergencies and protracted crises. The UK has recently announced a new multi-year commitment of £30 million, over the first two years, to the Education Cannot Wait fund at the World Humanitarian Summit on 23rd May, as a founding donor to this important initiative.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to conclude and publish its consultation on establishing public central registers of beneficial ownership of UK properties owned by foreign companies.

    Margot James

    The Department is currently developing the policy detail to be included within the consultation, which we intend to publish later this year.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to section 6.5 of the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and the Palestinian National Authority, whether the implications of any breach of the commitment on the principle of non-violence was discussed at the annual partnership talks between her Department and that Authority.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK raised the issue of incitement as part of the FCO-led UK-Palestinian strategic talks and in the DFID-Palestinian Authority (PA) annual talks that review the DFID-PA Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), sending a clear message of discouraging incitement to violence. The UK’s assessment is that the PA is not in breach of the MoU and the track record of President Abbas and Prime Minister Hamdallah demonstrates their overall commitment to non-violence and a negotiated two-state solution.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the What About YOUth survey, published 8 December 2015, what assessment he has made of the findings of that survey; and if he will commission further research on the health behaviour of young lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

    Jane Ellison

    We want all young people to have healthy lives, and reducing inequalities is central to our work. We have increased the National Health Service budget by £10 billion and introduced legal duties to ensure inequalities are taken into account when planning health services.

    Further research on the health of young lesbian, gay and bisexual people has not been commissioned. The data collected through What About YOUth survey is available on a dedicated tool on the Public Health England (PHE) Public Health Profiles webpage. Key indicators on this page can be viewed partitioned by different factors, such as sexuality, gender, ethnic groups and deprivation deciles.

    PHE has developed an action plan to address the health and wellbeing inequalities experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A strand of this work considers ways to reduce the risk of suicide experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and includes training for nurses in a range of health and community settings and in schools.

    The Department is aware of the difficulties experienced by some LGB patients in accessing primary care, in response to this the Department recently funded work by the Lesbian & Gay Foundation to develop a benchmarking tool to identify general practitioner surgeries that are fully committed to assuring that their surgery is fully accessible to lesbian, gay and bisexual people, including their young LGB patients.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the Department for International Development’s humanitarian aid package for Jordan is intended to meet the needs of Iraqi refugees in Jordan.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK’s humanitarian aid package for Jordan is not earmarked to a particular group of refugees, in line with international humanitarian principles of impartiality. Instead, it targets those most vulnerable and in urgent need, irrespective of nationality. In particular, DFID provides direct support to UNHCR’s protection mandate which serves all registered refugees and asylum seekers in Jordan, including the 53,756 registered Iraqis. DFID’s partners in Jordan subscribe to the same principles and operate an open door policy, providing health, protection services and basic needs support to all refugees, whether they be Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni or from elsewhere.

    DFID also support projects aimed at improving overall public services used by all people living in Jordan, such as water supply, sanitation services and solid waste management. As well as the fact that Iraqi refugees have been in Jordan longer and are therefore better established, it is important to note that the number being met with humanitarian services is lower due to the fact that there are nearly 12 registered Syrian refugees to every one registered Iraqi refugee.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 16 March (HL6672), whether the respective Codes of Conduct for (1) ministers, (2) officials, and (3) special advisers, allow them to draft letters to be signed by retired military officers or business people and then published in national newspapers.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The respective Codes of Conduct for Ministers, officials and special advisers make clear the role of these individuals in developing and implementing Government policies.