Tag: 2016

  • Richard Benyon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Benyon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Benyon on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what levels of UK consular access the government of Iran has granted for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is a dual UK-Iranian national. The Iranian Government does not recognise dual nationality for Iranian nationals and therefore does not permit our consular staff to visit British-Iranian dual nationals detained there. Nonetheless we continue to push for consular access to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and for more information about the charges against her – along with assurances that she has access to a lawyer and appropriate medical care.

  • Mrs Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mrs Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) salary, (b) postal address and (c) other contact details are of the interim Construction Commissioner for High Speed 2.

    Andrew Jones

    The salary of the Interim HS2 Construction Commissioner is £575 per day, plus VAT. Correspondence to the Interim Commissioner can be addressed to HS2 Ltd, 1 Canada Square, London, E14 5AB or by email to complaints@hs2-cc.org.uk. The Interim Commissioner can also be contacted via the following website: https://hs2cc.wordpress.com/contact/.

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  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to extend railway network services between London and Okehampton.

    Claire Perry

    We are absolutely committed to ensuring that the South West has the best infrastructure possible and we are determined to do everything possible to stop damage like we saw in 2014 happening again. That is why we have invested £31 million into improving the resilience of rail routes in the South West, and Network Rail spent £40 million on repairing and strengthening the line at Dawlish after the extreme weather.

    We are working with the rail industry and the Peninsula Rail Task Force as they explore the potential for longer-term improvements in the area, including the premise of additional routes to the current mainline route via Dawlish.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24122, when his Department last made an assessment of responsibility for damage to cultural property in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi-led coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabian government.

  • 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 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, 25 February 2016, HCWS549, on offender management, what financial penalties were incurred by his Department as a result of terminating the contract to develop a bespoke tagging product with Steatite Limited; and how much his Department spent on that contract before its termination.

    Dominic Raab

    The relevant termination costs are subject to ongoing commercial discussions. We have spent approximately £21m on programme mobilisation to date. The majority of this was spent on investment in the telecommunications network, mapping software, monitoring service and other programme costs which the MoJ will be able to reuse for ongoing electronic monitoring work.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetes specialist nurses there are in (a) Leicester General Hospital, (b) Leicester Royal Infirmary, (c) Glenfield Hospital and (d) Leicestershire.

    Ben Gummer

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses.

    It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses.

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Scotland of the UK leaving the EU.

    David Mundell

    I refer the hon Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon Members for North Ayrshire and Arran, Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Ochil and South Perthshire, Motherwell and Wishaw, Angus and East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer to Lord Ahmad of 7 April 2016 to Question HL7297, if her Department will make it its policy to use in all future documents and legislation a definition of extremism which includes the phrase mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs, rather than the phrase mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.

    Karen Bradley

    The Counter–Extremism Strategy set outs our approach to tackling extremist ideologies. We will challenge all those groups or individuals who vocally or actively oppose our fundamental values, who seek to promote, encourage and spread intolerance of individuals of different faith and beliefs. We are clear that this approach tackles all forms of extremism: violent and non violent, Islamist and neo-Nazi.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions have taken place between the British and Iranian authorities on the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I am deeply concerned by recent reports that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been sentenced without confirmation of the charges against her. We continue to raise our strong concerns about British prisoners in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, at the highest levels in both London and Tehran. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), did so in her introductory call with Iranian President Rouhani on 9 August. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), similarly raised this case in his introductory call with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 4 August, and followed up in writing on 29 August. Our Ambassador and embassy staff in Tehran raise this case with their Iranian counterparts at every available opportunity, and will continue to press for further details as well as assurances of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s welfare. I met Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s family on 8 September to reassure them that we will continue to do all we can.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Written Ministerial Statement of 10 October 2016, HCWS174, what proportion of existing (a) support and (b) work related-activity group claimants of employment and support allowance will (i) continue and (ii) cease to be subject to re-assessment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We will be working over the coming months with medical professionals and other stakeholders to develop a process and functional criteria that will help us identify those with the most severe health conditions or disabilities, for whom repeat work capability assessments can be stopped. This change will only apply to those placed in the Support Group and Universal Credit equivalent.

    No proportion of Support Group claimants can be estimated until the criteria has been agreed. This change will come into effect by the end of 2017.