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Tag: 2016

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the total annual cost of energy bills in the UK which results from EU legal requirements.

    Amber Rudd

    My Department has made no estimate of the effect on annual energy bills in the UK resulting from EU legal requirements. Given that much of EU energy policy supports UK energy and climate objectives it is not possible to attribute particular cost elements of bills wholly to individual EU policies.

    Much EU legislation helps to keep down the level of energy bills – EU energy market liberalisation and integration and legislation such as product standards to improve energy efficiency provide significant benefits to UK consumers.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, on immigration detention, HCWS679, how many pregnant women (a) are detained and (b) have been detained for immigration purposes at the border in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    Management information for 19 April showed that two pregnant women were held at the border and there was one pregnant woman held in an IRC. Information on those held at the border and in IRCs in each of the last five years is not held centrally and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.

  • FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by a delegation of British lawyers Children in Military Custody published in June 2012 and the recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture published on 4 May, whether they will call on Israel (1) to incorporate the crime of torture in its penal code, as defined in Article 1 of the UN Convention Against Torture, (2) to remove the defence of necessity” as a possible justification of torture in national legislation

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is firmly committed to the promotion and protection of human rights in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, as well as compliance with international humanitarian law. We regularly discuss implementation of those obligations with the Israeli authorities. We are aware that Israel is in the process of incorporating the crime of torture into national legislation.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded and facilitated an independent report on Children in Military Custody by leading British lawyers in 2012. Ministers and our Ambassador in Tel Aviv have urged Israel to take action on the recommendations in this report. We remain concerned at the number of Palestinian minors held in Israeli detention and continue to push for further measures to ensure that international standards are upheld in regards to the treatment of those detained. We welcomed progress made in recent Israeli policy amendments, such as the increase of the age of majority from 16 to 18 years old, and the enactment of a special statute of limitations for minors. We continue to encourage Israel to introduce mandatory audio-visual equipment for all interrogations.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department expects the Brimstone 2 missile system for Typhoon aircraft to be in service.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The planned in service date for the integration of the Brimstone 2 missile system on the Typhoon aircraft is December 2018, as previously published in the Major Projects Report 2015.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce (a) homelessness and (b) rough sleeping.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many, and nobody should ever have to sleep rough. That is why the Government is clear that prevention must be at the heart of everything we do to reduce homelessness. We are investing £500 million to prevent, relieve and reduce homelessness in this Parliament, including protecting £315 million homelessness prevention funding for local authorities to help them continue to provide quality advice and assistance to everyone who approaches them for help.

    We have also increased central government investment to tackle homelessness to £139 million. This includes £10 million to help those new to the streets, or at imminent risk of sleeping rough, building on the success of projects such as No Second Night Out. Alongside this, we have £10 million of Social Impact Bond funding to support entrenched rough sleepers with the most complex needs, building on the success of the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond, run by the Greater London Authority.

    In addition, we committed £100 million at Budget to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to provide at least 2,000 places for people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis.

    I am also considering Bob Blackman MP’s Homelessness Reduction Bill and the role that further legislation might play in preventing homelessness.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have received how many Syrian refugees.

    Richard Harrington

    My rt. hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced on 16 December that we have delivered on the promise to resettle 1,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees before Christmas. We can also confirm that as of the beginning of December 2015, 55 local authorities across the UK had signed up to participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and made confirmed offers of places.

    In order to help protect the privacy of those arriving, we will not be giving a running commentary on location or numbers of persons resettled. Notwithstanding, the Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release in February 2016 and will cover the period October-December 2015. This adheres to the standard practice for the release of information about the work of the Department, ensuring statistics are published properly in a way which is open and accessible to all.

  • 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 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have taken up the voluntary early departure scheme in each month since May 2010; how much has been paid in severance in each month to those prison officers; what average amount is paid in severance to those prison officers; and what the average continuous service was of those prison officers.

    Andrew Selous

    Information on the number of prison officers taking voluntary early departure has been published in PQ 25478. The total and average amount of severance they received and their average length of service in each month since May 2010 is contained in the table below. The severance amounts in the table relate to the payments made to the officers who left during the particular month and may not reflect the actual date that the money was received. For this reason the information will not match with accounting records.

    All prison officers who left on voluntary early departure had at least 24 months continuous service.

    Voluntary exit was used in the last Parliament as a result of the closure of uneconomic prison places. These prison closures and benchmarking reforms have delivered savings of £300 million a year, with the average cost per prison place falling in real terms by 19% since 2009/10.

    Prison Officers Taking VEDS, May 2010 to September 2015

    Year

    Month

    VEDS Leavers

    Total Severance Received (£)

    Average Severance Received (£)

    Average Length of Service of VEDS leavers (Years)

    2010

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    70

    £2,132,290

    £29,209

    17.6

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    2011

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    April

    30

    £1,108,573

    £38,227

    17.1

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    20

    £617,345

    £38,584

    22.7

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    10

    £360,949

    £36,095

    21.8

    2012

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    30

    £1,257,194

    £41,906

    21.1

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    40

    £1,121,641

    £30,315

    14.6

    2013

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    180

    £6,204,024

    £33,718

    19.5

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    180

    £6,353,177

    £35,100

    20.3

    July

    170

    £7,010,396

    £40,290

    19.7

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    720

    £25,920,953

    £35,802

    18.9

    October

    130

    £4,964,209

    £37,608

    20.8

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    40

    £1,298,680

    £29,515

    17.2

    2014

    January

    100

    £3,152,467

    £32,838

    20.0

    February

    10

    £425,167

    £38,652

    24.5

    March

    30

    £1,308,937

    £39,665

    19.8

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    October

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    November

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    December

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    2015

    January

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    February

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    March

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    April

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    May

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    June

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    July

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    August

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    September

    ~

    ~

    ~

    ~

    Notes:

    All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic, and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate, and to present unrounded figures would be to overstate the accuracy of the figures. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures.

    ~ denotes suppressed values of 5 or fewer or calculations based on a population of 5 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed, in conjunction with the rounding policy to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998.

    Information in the table relates to cases of voluntary exits where payment information is available. In a small number of cases information on severance payments does not reflect the reason for leaving held on the central reporting system and may vary slightly from leavers figures published from that source in the NOMS Workforce Bulletin.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bus operators have an incentive to invest in new vehicles when franchising is an option open to local authorities.

    Andrew Jones

    Local transport authorities with access to bus franchising powers will wish to ensure that local operators are aware of their intentions, so that investment decisions can be taken and services continue to be provided in the best interests of passengers.

    Any authority that chooses to implement franchising will have the ability to specify its requirements of operators as part of any franchise contract. This could include requirements relating to the standards of vehicles to be used by operators.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will ensure that any new Emergency Authorisations related to neonicotinoids or seed management will include a provision that both certified seed and farm-saved seed are acceptable for the distribution of the seeds that are in the order.

    George Eustice

    Any future application for authorisation of neonicotinoids for emergency use will be assessed according to the legal requirements. These cover: the risks from use; whether the use addresses a danger which cannot be contained by any other reasonable means; and the means by which the use will be limited and controlled.

    The requirement for limited and controlled use includes ensuring that the product is demonstrably targeted towards those growers with the greatest need. The applicant would need to establish an auditable supply chain to ensure this requirement was met.

    The assessment of the application would be based on the case made by the applicant. If the requirements outlined above are met, the Government would have no grounds for withholding authorisation.

    However, there is no clear reason why it would be necessary to exclude farm-saved seed in designing appropriate control measures for an emergency authorisation of pesticide use on oilseed rape. We have drawn this issue to the attention of potential applicants.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 April 2016, on immigration detention, HCWS679, whether there will be independent oversight of decisions to detain pregnant women.

    James Brokenshire

    At present, detention is authorised by an officer of at least the rank of Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) or Higher Executive Officer (HEO). As stated in the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement of 14 January, the Government is developing a new approach to the case management of those detained. This is intended to replace the existing detention review process with a clear removal plan for all those in detention.

    It will ensure that all detainees, including pregnant women, spend the minimum possible time in detention. Under the new policy in order for detention to be extended beyond 72 hours ministerial authorisation will be required and the maximum detention period will be one week.

    Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards already provide independent oversight of detention facilities and conditions of detention. Individuals, including pregnant women, are given prior notification of their liability to removal from the UK by the Home Office and they would be detained only for the purposes of identification or removal.