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Tag: 2016

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many new cases have opened after the establishment of the Complex Casework Directorate; and how many such cases were resolved by way of granting a leave.

    James Brokenshire

    Complex Casework Directorate was set up to be responsible for the remaining un-concluded asylum cases where the initial asylum application was lodged before March 2007. The work to review and communicate decisions to the cohort of older asylum cases was completed by the end of December 2014, other than for a small number of cases that were on hold, although work continues to progress the removal of applicants who received a negative decision from the Home Office and who otherwise have no lawful basis to remain in the United Kingdom.

    As of 31 December 2015 there were 524 older asylum records requiring review, and a further 742 were on hold. These cases were on hold for legitimate process reasons. There are no dormant records.

    The older asylum records relate to asylum applications made prior to 5 March 2007, and there are therefore no new cases, although cases that are reopened following contact with an individual whose record was previously closed are added to the cohort of older live asylum records. It is not possible to say how many reopened cases were subsequently granted leave without incurring disproportionate cost.

    Information relating to older asylum records is published as part of the Asylum Transparency Data. This data includes the work in progress, on take of people who enter the cohort and the number of individuals granted leave.

  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to work together with the French government to ensure that unaccompanied children have access to high quality legal assistance to submit claims for family reunion in the UK, and to fund improved measures for identification of, and support for, unaccompanied minors in Calais and Northern France.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK and France have committed to ensuring that the provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases the two governments have established a permanent official contact group, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and the UK seconded an asylum expert to the French administration to facilitate the improvement of all stages of the process of identifying, protecting and transferring relevant cases to the UK. The Home Office will review the existing arrangements as part of the work to implement the relevant provisions of the Immigration Act 2016.

    To assist with the identification of potential victims of trafficking and exploitation (including unaccompanied children) in Calais the UK has funded a project run by a French non-governmental organisation which aims to identify and direct these vulnerable people to the appropriate support services in France.

    The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which informs individuals (including unaccompanied children) of their rights to claim asylum in France and gives them information on family reunification. The frequency of these campaigns has been increased in line with the Joint Declaration signed in August 2015.

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the preliminary ceasefire recently agreed in South Sudan.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) condemned the violence and called on all sides to cease fighting. The former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) and senior members of Her Majesty’s diplomatic service have also been in touch with regional colleagues on how to bring an immediate end to the crisis. At the UN, we are pressing for action at the Security Council including on securing an arms embargo to tackle the flow of weapons and ammunition to those pursuing violence.

  • 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 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff employed by his Department are non-UK nationals.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The total Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) workforce as at 31 March 2016 was 12,563 comprising 4,295 FCO UK based staff and 8,268 FCO local staff. The Aliens’ Employment Act 1955 makes it a requirement that all UK-based staff must be British nationals or dual nationals where one of those nationalities is British. We do not collect centrally details of the nationality of our staff employed locally overseas.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many nations have Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth; how many Maritime Patrol Aircraft are based at RAF Lossiemouth; and which nations have had Maritime Patrol Aircraft based at RAF Lossiemouth at any point in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Penny Mordaunt

    There are no Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) permanently based at RAF Lossiemouth. However, following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review the Government announced that the United Kingdom would purchase a fleet of nine Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft which will be based at RAF Lossiemouth.

    Over the course of 2015 MPA from the United States, Canada, France and Germany were temporarily deployed to RAF Lossiemouth. We do not discuss the detail of such maritime operations as this would, or would likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which charities have used government grants to pay for campaigns in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 to date; what the nature of each such campaign was; what estimate he has made of the amount of government funding used for each such campaign; and which such charities have been asked to repay part of their grant on the grounds that such expenditure was outwith the terms and conditions of that grant.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • 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 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of passengers departing overseas from each British (1) airport, (2) port, or (3) railway station, are currently having their passports checked by Border Force officers, and when they expect to reach 100 per cent checking for each departure point.

    Lord Bates

    Exit checks have been in place since April 2015 across all scheduled commercial services departing the UK from air and sea ports and from international rail stations, except those services not within scope such as, for example, journeys within the Common Travel Area. Departure data is collected by carriers and port operators and transmitted to Home Office systems, where work takes place to match it to arrival data, visa conditions and other information as appropriate.

    Exit checks are not conducted by Border Force officers; however Border Force officers do from time to time carry out intelligence led operations and interventions which are not part of the exit checks procedures.

  • 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 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted for an offence relating to a use of a drone; and what the average sentence is for such an offence.

    Dominic Raab

    The number of offenders found guilty of offences relating to flying a drone, under S 160 of the Air Navigation Order 2009, in England and Wales, in 2014, is two. Each offender was sentenced to a fine.

    Please note that this figure relates to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

    Incidents involving drones are rare, but we remain constantly vigilant to all new threats to prison security. This Government has made it a criminal offence to throw, or otherwise project, any article of substance into prison without authorisation. Anyone using drones in an attempt to get contraband into prisons can be punished with a sentence of up to two years. We take a zero tolerance approach to illicit material in prisons and work closely with the police and CPS to ensure those responsible for a drone incident are caught and, if appropriate, prosecuted.

  • Lord Tyler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tyler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to reallocating public funds presently allocated to (1) candidate and party election addresses, and (2) government advertising, to enable a cost-neutral package of reform of the rules on political party finance, including a cap on donations.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government is open to dialogue on practical measures to reform the funding of political parties. This can only be achieved by cross party discussions from the political parties themselves.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the advertising of junk food on children’s diets and health; and if he will make a statement.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Our forthcoming Childhood Obesity Strategy will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet will be working over the coming days and weeks to establish their priorities and how we deliver on these commitments.