UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the concept of parity of esteem as outlined by the Belfast Agreement 1998 applies to those who march on the streets of Northern Ireland in army uniforms but are not members of the army, in the same ways as to members of the recognised security forces.

    Lord Dunlop

    This Government understands the concept of parity of esteem, as set out in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, as placing a general obligation on the UK Government to treat people of different traditions in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect. In the Agreement it is clearly expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland.

    As a general obligation there is no definition of particular circumstances in which it does or does not apply.

    As I have set out in previous replies to the Noble Lord, this Government is firm in its commitment to the protection of people against any form of discrimination, and the promotion of opportunity for all, across the whole of our United Kingdom.

    In respect of the Noble Lord’s question about those who might march wearing army uniforms but who are not members of an army, the concept of parity of esteem clearly does not absolve people from upholding the law. This Government has made clear many times that we will never accept any form of equivalence between members of the security forces and those who engage in terrorism or other forms of paramilitary activity.

  • Lord Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sheikh on 2016-07-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure a positive and constructive role for Sudan as part of the Khartoum Process.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is engaging with the Sudanese Government to tackle the full range of migration issues. As part of the Khartoum Process, we are discussing the challenges faced by all countries in the region, including the Sudan, and we welcome the constructive contribution they have made so far, in particular in hosting a meeting on smuggling and trafficking in May.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to meet patient representatives to discuss the outcomes of the NHS England clinical policy prioritisation process for specialised services.

    David Mowat

    In July 2016 NHS England laid out its provisional investment plans for specialised services. However, owing to a current court case regarding pre-exposure prophylaxis these decisions are not yet finalised.

    As the decisions are still subject to change, Ministers have not yet arranged meetings to discuss the final outcomes.

    However Ministers continue to receive and respond to correspondence from a range of correspondents on the provisional investment decisions.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to consult farmers and the agricultural sector on its firearms policy.

    Mike Penning

    Home Office officials recently met the Countryside Alliance, along with other interested groups, to discuss the proposed revisions to the European Firearms Directive. In 2014-15, the Home Office consulted widely on the increase to the firearms fees administered by the police made in 2015. From the consultation responses received, 8% of respondents identified as farmers and 6% as gamekeepers. We are also aware that the Countryside Alliance contributed to the Law Commission consultation on the review of firearms law.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage more young people to go into farming.

    George Eustice

    The Government is working with the food and farming industries to encourage bright, talented young people into agriculture. We aim to treble the number of food and farming apprenticeships by 2020. Agriculture and related subjects is the fastest-growing subject at university, with a 4.6% increase in student numbers last year. We are also working with industry partners and others to build links between food and farming businesses and schools. The Great British food campaign will help to highlight the breadth of careers the food and farming industries can offer.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total value is of the contracts Atos holds with the Home Office.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office holds three contracts with Atos.

    The first is “IND Procurement of Infrastructure Development and Support” (IPIDS), which provides application management supporting and hosting for major immigration IT systems. This contract expired on 31st January 2016, and a six-month transition period was invoked to provide support for a smaller subset of applications not covered by the replacement programme.

    The whole life cost of IPIDS was circa £220 million (exclusive of any additional project charges) until 31st January 2016. The maximum cost of the six-month transition period will be £642,000 (excluding VAT).

    The Department’s second contract with Atos is “Contain,” which is a direct replacement for IPIDS. The programme provides continuity for seven major Immigration IT systems, whilst work continues on the Immigration Platform Technology (IPT) platform. The Contain contract allows legacy immigration applications to be phased out whilst service continuity is preserved, and enables new applications delivered by the IPT programme to be brought in without disruption. The contract will run for a maximum of two years, and the total contract value is £18.1 million (excl VAT), which includes run and decommission costs.

    The third contract with Atos Worldline is a small G-Cloud Call-Off Agreement to enable passport application payments to be made online; the total contract value is £183,000.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a lie detector test has been used for serious sex offenders as part of their licence conditions, upon completion of their custodial sentence, since August 2014.

    Andrew Selous

    Since August 2014 there have been 820 polygraph examinations conducted on sex offenders on licence in the community.

  • Lord Trees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Trees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trees on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to require all abattoirs to have CCTV recordings of the slaughter process in the interests of animal welfare, and to require storage of such recordings and access to them by third parties.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The primary responsibility for protecting animal welfare in slaughterhouses rests with business operators, who must have operating procedures in place to prevent animals suffering avoidable pain, suffering and distress. Business operators must also have appropriate monitoring procedures in place.

    The vast majority of animals are slaughtered in slaughterhouses which have CCTV present, so the Government is not currently persuaded of the case for introducing regulation which would require all abattoirs to have CCTV, but we are keeping the issue under review.

    In their report last year, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee recommended that CCTV should be retained, by the slaughterhouse, for a period of at least three months and the Government supports that recommendation. Official Veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency are present in all approved slaughterhouses to monitor and ensure operators comply with strict animal welfare regulations and have the power to seize CCTV footage if they suspect a breach of welfare standards.

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they have made to include disabled cyclists within the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government will work to increase awareness of both the use of cycles as a mobility aid and the need for discretion when implementing ‘cyclist dismount’ regulations in public areas, including stations.

    We recently consulted on the draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and as part of the consultation sought views on how to increase cycling and walking in typically under-represented groups, including disabled people. The Government is in the process of analysing responses to the consultation and will publish a Government Response later this summer.

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people the Government sought to deport from the UK in 2015-16 where the immigration status application had not been finally determined.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    All removals adhere to existing legislative requirements contained within the Home Office Enforcement Instructions and Guidance, available at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapters-46-to-62-detention-and-removals