Tag: 2016

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have offered places to unaccompanied refugee children from (1) Europe, and (2) Syria, and which councils other than Kent County Council have already filled their quota.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    As the Prime Minister announced on 4 May and as set out in the new Immigration Act 2016, we will work to admit unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK. The very nature of this legislation means we must take the time to consult others before bringing final proposals on how to implement this scheme.

    We will consult local authorities to establish how best to implement this commitment and the recently announced Children at Risk resettlement scheme, which is the only other resettlement to include unaccompanied children, as part of our wider discussion with them about the transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking children who have arrived spontaneously, which is designed to relieve the pressure on authorities such as Kent. We are not proposing to ask local authorities to distinguish between which unaccompanied children they accept.

    We are determined to ensure that no local authority is asked to take more than the local structures are able to cope with. That is why we are talking to local authorities and other partners including non-governmental organsations to ensure that capacity can be identified and the impact can be managed in a fair and controlled way.

    Work has already begun and we are committed to act as quickly as we can but it is important we take the necessary time to ensure we have the capacity to resettle and support those who are resettled. We must also ensure that we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations of the Creative Industries Council in its report entitled Create Together, published in July 2016, on clarifying the role of safe harbours and rights holders’ remuneration.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Create Together strategy produced by the industry members of the Creative Industries Council is a strategy for building on the economic success of the UK’s creative sector. It is one which the Government supports. Government is currently reviewing specific recommendations within the strategy, including on safe harbour. We are strongly committed to working constructively with industry on these issues.

    The Government agrees that it should not be possible to benefit from encouraging the posting of copyright infringing content through safe harbours, and that the rules governing who is responsible for such content should be clear. In developing the UK’s copyright framework going forward, we will consider whether the current situation is providing the right mix of incentives and protections.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that human rights are being upheld in Ethiopia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We remain deeply concerned by the violence which has occurred in the Oromia and Amhara regions of Ethiopia throughout 2016 including the high number of deaths.

    We have made clear to the Government of Ethiopia, including at ministerial level, our concerns about the handling of these protests. We have reiterated our strong support for the constitutional right of all Ethiopian citizens to gather peacefully and express their opinions. We also supported the EU’s statement of 10 August expressing concern and condolences to those affected, and their statement on the current state of emergency.

    At the Ethiopian state opening on Parliament on Monday 10 October, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, announced proposals which Ethiopia hope will address some of the underlying grievances of the wider population.

    We continue to raise our concerns with the Government of Ethiopia both through our bilateral engagement, as well as jointly with our international partners.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how his Department will measure the progress of the roll-out of the broadband universal service obligation.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Once the new broadband USO is in place, Ofcom will monitor its implementation and feedback progress to Government.

  • 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 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the publication, entitled The Department for Education review, published in November 2012, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the potential benefits of departmental regional office bases to the delivery of his Department’s policies.

    Joseph Johnson

    There have been no conversations between the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Secretary of State for Education on the subjects above.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to enforce section 54 of the Pensions Act 2008.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Section 54 of the Pensions Act 2008 prohibits employers from taking any action for the sole or main purpose of inducing a worker to leave a workplace pension scheme.

    The Government takes potential inducement by employers very seriously. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is responsible for all matters relating to employers’ compliance with their enrolment duties, including investigations into individual cases of potential inducement by employers.

    Through automatic enrolment we are delivering a fundamental shift in workplace pension saving that is changing the way that people are enabled to save for retirement. Already 100,668 employers have completed their declaration of compliance with the Regulator, resulting in more than 6 million eligible jobholders being automatically enrolled into a qualifying pension scheme.

    The law relating to inducements is an important safeguard for workers and the Regulator has statutory powers of investigation and enforcement it can use in appropriate circumstances. We are working with the Regulator to monitor the number and nature of possible inducement cases as the roll-out of automatic enrolment continues. That will enable us to judge whether the current legislation covering inducement, and the guidance and messaging provided by the Regulator, are operating effectively to protect employees, and whether change may be appropriate.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve dental standards amongst primary school age children.

    Alistair Burt

    We are committed to improving the oral health of school children. Public Health England (PHE) has produced a toolkit to support local authorities in their responsibility to improve dental health and reduce inequalities among children and young people in their area. It supports local authorities to invest in programmes which have demonstrated improvement in children’s dental health, for example targeted community-based fluoride varnish programmes, targeted tooth brushing programmes and water fluoridation. PHE has also this year published a toolkit to support the consideration of water fluoridation as a measure to reduce levels of tooth decay.

    Sugar consumption is the primary cause of tooth decay in children. The Sugar Swaps campaign was launched in January 2015, helping families reduce their sugar consumption through making simple swaps to their diets. In addition PHE has developed guidance for dental teams on preventing dental disease in young children. Advice on prevention of dental disease has also been published by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take, in the light of the recent deaths caused by the electricity crisis in Gaza, to (1) initiate discussions with other EU member states to end import restrictions, (2) assess the humanitarian situation first-hand, and (3) put forward a plan of action to rehouse citizens of Gaza who are forced to move owing to pollution.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are concerned by the electricity shortage in Gaza and the serious impact it is having on the humanitarian situation. We, and the EU, regularly raise Gaza’s energy and the need to ease movement and access restrictions with the Israeli authorities. Our staff who visit and work in Gaza assess the humanitarian situation frequently. We have not put forward a plan rehouse citizens of Gaza who are forced to move owing to pollution.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many inspectors operated at Ofsted in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15 and (e) 2015-16.

    Nick Gibb

    These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House libraries.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 September 2016 to Question 45858 and 2 August 2016 to Question 42407, whether Government assistance has been provided to the UK Thalidomide Trust on its proposal to allow collective compensation applications to Contergan Foundation established by the German government.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Government has discussed this proposal with the Thalidomide Trust and is considering the detail. The German Government has been clear, however, that collective compensation is not permissible. In response to the UK Government’s previous correspondence they have stated that:

    "The assessment of damage by the Medical Commission of the Contergan Foundation and the individual categorization in line with the damage points according to the legally stipulated points based system are mandatory – irrespective of analogous assessments from abroad".

    The German Government further states that there are approximately 300 non-German recognised persons worldwide who are currently supported by the Contergan Foundation, each of whom has undergone individual assessment. This information has been shared with the Trust.