Tag: 2016

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what information his Department holds on the effect of museums on health and well-being.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department holds a number of case studies and research papers with examples of the benefits that museums have on well-being, and has noted the importance of these benefits in the Culture White Paper. Examples of best practice in this area include National Museums Liverpool’s “House of Memories” dementia project, and the ‘if: Volunteering for wellbeing’ programme at IWM North, Manchester Museum and Museum of Science & Industry, with a particular focus on improving health of participants.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost benefit ratio was of the business case for (a) Crossrail, (b) High Speed 2 and (c) the Todmorden Curves.

    Claire Perry

    The latest central case estimate of the benefit cost ratio for the full HS2 Y-network, dating from November 2015 is 2.2. Excluding wider economic impacts (WEIs) it is 1.8.

    The benefit cost ratio for Crossrail was assessed in July 2011 and was estimated at 3.09. Excluding wider economic impacts the benefit cost ratio was estimated to be 1.97.

    The Todmorden curve was a locally promoted scheme that received funding through the Regional Growth Fund, the Department does not hold the information requested on this scheme.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of breast ironing have been recorded in each of the last five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    This Government is clear that political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of preventing and uncovering so-called ‘honour-based’ violence (HBV) in all its forms, including ‘breast ironing’. No one should suffer because of who they are or which community they are born into.

    As set out in the Government’s new Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, we will continue to challenge the cultural attitudes that may underpin harmful practices, and ensure that professionals have the confidence to confront these issues to safeguard victims and bring perpetrators to justice.

    Figures on ‘breast ironing’ are not collated centrally. Where ‘breast ironing’ is practised on girls it is child abuse and a crime, and should be treated as such by all frontline professionals. Statutory guidance for local authorities and others on how to safeguard children can be found in ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/419595/Working_Together_to_Safeguard_Children.pdf

  • Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procedures are followed when a foreign national resident in the UK not previously understood to be a diplomat claims diplomatic immunity.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 the sending State must make certain that the agrément of the receiving State has been given for the person it proposes to accredit as its head of mission (Article 4). The UK also requires sending States to submit the names of military, naval and air attaches for approval (Article 7). Diplomatic missions are further required to notify the receiving State of the arrival of all members of the mission (Article 10). If a foreign national resident in the UK claimed to be a diplomat, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) would check whether the person’s name was on its database of foreign diplomats and their families as notified to the FCO by the sending State. As necessary, the FCO would also confirm with the relevant diplomatic mission that the individual was a member of the mission’s staff.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25018, what his Department’s estimate is of the cost of the Emissions Testing Programme; and what Skoda’s financial contribution is to the ongoing testing of VW vehicles outside that programme.

    Andrew Jones

    There is an initial budget of £650k for the Emissions Testing Programme. To retain independence we are not seeking contributions from manufacturers. Where testing is being done specifically on Skoda vehicles outside of this test programme, Skoda will be charged on a case by case basis by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA). The fees are set out in The Motor Vehicles (Type Approval and Approval Marks)(Fees) Regulations 1999, as amended. VCA will charge between £8,000 and £10,000 per vehicle. The emissions test facilities will be charged separately.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of the non-UK EU nationals to whom national insurance number registrations were issued in the year to end of September 2015 were (a) resident in the UK, (b) in employment, (c) self-employed and (d) jobseekers at the time of registration.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chris Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the public purse has been of storing, maintaining and facilitating research access to the Corsellis Brain Collection in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    George Freeman

    The excess costs of maintaining the collection compared with the income from specimen preparation over a number of years have rendered the collection unsustainable as a research resource. West London Mental Health Trust has therefore decided – once it has responded to current requests for samples – to respectfully dispose of those tissue samples for which no scientific purpose can be envisaged. Some tissue has also been requested by the University of Hong Kong for training purposes for their neuropathology students, which the Trust is providing as a more appropriate use of such clinical material than respectful disposal. The Trust has obtained the appropriate Human Tissue Authority licenses for this work. We understand that the collection will close by the end of June 2016.

    The Trust has provided figures for each of the three years to 2014/15. In each case the cost has been borne by the Trust, offset (to a relatively small extent) by fees received for tissue sample requests and – in 2014/15 – by a donation. The figures are shown in the following table.

    Financial Year

    Cost

    Income

    Donation

    2012/13

    £101,126

    Nil

    Nil

    2013/14

    £84,561

    £7,016

    Nil

    2014/15

    £80,684

    £1,003

    £69,316

    The Medical Research Council supports a range of brain tissue banks which have been set-up around specific disorders and diseases generally to collect post-mortem brain tissue from consented donors.

  • 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 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the German Bundeswehr’s M3 Amphibious Rig bridging vehicles were loaned to UK armed forces in each of the last six years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    38 M3 Amphibious Rigs have been in service with the British Army in each of the last six years. No additional rigs have been loaned from the German Army during that time. The planned out of service date for the M3 amphibious rig is 2027; early work is under way to provide a wide wet gap crossing capability in future. No decisions have yet been made about future basing sites for the M3 Amphibious Rig.

    The following table shows the number of recorded equipment failure reports (EFR) in each of the last six years.

    Calendar Year in which EFR recorded

    No of EFRs recorded in calendar year

    2010

    16

    2011

    0

    2012

    5

    2013

    1

    2014

    4

    2015

    0

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mechanisms for parliamentary oversight of the UK’s bilateral investment treaties.

    Anna Soubry

    Treaties, including bilateral investment treaties, that are subject to ratification, approval, acceptance, accession or the mutual notification of completion of procedures are laid before Parliament for scrutiny purposes for a period of 21 parliamentary sitting days under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (Part 2: ratification of treaties) which commenced on 11 November 2010. This legislation provides that the UK cannot legally ratify or consent to be bound by a treaty laid under its provisions until the statutory 21 sitting day process has elapsed. During the 21 sitting days, hon Members and Select Committees have the chance to scrutinise the treaty provisions, ask questions, and potentially report. They may ask for extra time. The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act does not guarantee a debate, but any request would have to be seriously considered. If Parliament debated and resolved that HMG “shall not ratify”, then the latter could not legally do so at that point.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35819, on Islamic State, how much funding the Government provided to (a) each of those projects listed in that Answer and (b) other projects to support survivors of sexual violence in each year since the conflicts in Syria and Iraq began.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    In the 2015/16 financial year, we provided £198,000 through the Human Rights and Democracy Fund for the project referenced in the answer to PQ 35819. Since June 2014 we have provided over £1.3million for projects that support gender equality and work to combat sexual violence. This includes funding this year to promote the use of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict and to combat the stigma associated with sexual violence. The Department for International Development also funded two experts to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to improve coordination and information management of the gender based violence response. We continue to work to mainstream gender sensitivity effectively into all of our programmes in Iraq. Under the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, its predecessor the Conflict Pool, and the Magna Carta Fund, the Government has provided £7 million in direct support to gender related projects in Syria since the start of the crisis. For financial year 2016/17, we are spending a further £1.9 million. And across the 2016 programme, all projects are gender sensitive and taking action to raise awareness of gender equality issues, promote the empowerment of women, and gather evidence and accountability for sexual and gender-based violence. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have placed many women and girls at risk of violence, exploitation and insecurity. The UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the Syria crisis and since June 2014, has committed £129.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. UK support is enabling INGOs and UN agencies to provide specialist assistance to those affected by sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). This includes clinical care, case management and counselling, reproductive healthcare and cash assistance to particularly vulnerable households. We are working to ensure all humanitarian programmes follow good practice and are sensitive to SGBV, child protection and the importance of women’s participation.