UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to commemorate the First World War in 2016.

    David Evennett

    Since the Prime Minister set out plans for the Centenary in October 2012 the Government has delivered highly successful commemorative events for the start of the First World War and the Gallipoli Campaign.

    In May 2016, commemorative events will be held for the Battle of Jutland, and in July 2016, we will mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by holding national events at the Thiepval Memorial in France, at Manchester Cathedral, and at Heaton Park. In addition, a national vigil will be held in June at Westminster Abbey, and there will also be vigils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    Season Two of the 14-18 NOW culture programme has been announced and this – together with Centenary Partnership events, Heritage Lottery funded projects and local commemorative activity – will ensure people right across the UK have the opportunity to participate in commemorative events.

    Other centenary activities such as the UK Tour of the “poppies” and the national repair and conservation of War memorials also continue, more details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-world-war-centenary

    “

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects are terminated after the 20 week scan.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the socio-economic group for women having abortions is not collected centrally.

    In 2014, 442 abortions were performed because of neural tube defects; 34% of these were performed at 20 weeks gestation or over.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) unsuccessful and (b) successful applications there were for planning permission for residential homes in each of the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    We publish statistics on our website concerning dwellings. In the results attached we have used figures from ‘Table 2.5 s78 planning appeals – dwellings decided & allowed’ on the Planning Inspectorate Statistics page. Below is a link to this page.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planning-inspectorate-statistics

    “

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government Equalities Office is taking to implement the actions identified for it in the Government’s Ending Violence against Women and Girls 2016-2020, published in March 2016; and when a member of staff from the Government Equalities Office last attended a Violence against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting chaired by the Home Office.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government is committed to delivering the Strategy published in March. The table below shows the progress made in delivering the actions allocated to the Government Equalities Office (GEO).

    REF

    ACTION

    PROGRESS

    1

    Develop new guidance in consultation with teachers for PHSE lessons specifically about gender equality (Apr 2016).

    GEO has been working with the PSHE Association to consult teachers on how best to deliver this commitment.

    2

    Fund the Freedom Charity to expand the ‘Train the Trainers’ project…. (Apr 2016).

    GEO funded the Freedom Charity to expand their ‘Train the Trainers’ project to reach a greater number of communities and empower teachers to deal with the topic of forced marriage sensitively and confidently. This funding enabled an additional 3,620 students and 1,230 staff to learn about forced marriage with Freedom.

    5

    Launch the second phase of the national prevention campaign to challenge abuse in teenage relationships and promote understanding of health relationships and consent – including among LGB&T teenagers (Feb 2016).

    GEO, in partnership with the Home Office, launched Disrespect Nobody, the second phase of the national prevention campaign to challenge abuse in teenage relationships. This included a TV advert, along with a dedicated website, blogs and guidance for teachers.

    8

    Update Media Smart resources (with the Advertising Association) to help teachers and parents improve primary school children’s understanding of how gender is represented in the media and their resilience to negative content (Sep 2016).

    GEO commissioned the charity Media Smart to develop a new resource to help teachers and parents improve primary school children’s understanding of how gender is represented in the media and their resilience to negative content. The resource was published in August 2016 and will be disseminated to schools this term.

    10

    Conduct or commission mapping of the evidence base and initiatives that engage men, boys and bystanders in VAWG prevention to identify how Government can build on these initiatives to further social change (Apr 2017).

    GEO is currently mapping the evidence base and initiatives that engage men, boys and bystanders in VAWG prevention, as well as meeting with stakeholders working in this area.

    28

    Establish an official Government working group to map out current issues, prevalence, initiatives and barriers to addressing gendered online abuse to improve understanding and coordinate the response to online manifestations of VAWG (Dec 2016).

    In partnership with the Home Office, GEO has established an official Government working group to do this. This work is ongoing.

    30

    Continue to ensure victims of revenge pornography have access to bespoke support and advice about their right to have the images removed from websites (review Apr 2017).

    GEO has funded the Revenge Porn Helpline for a further year to continue its important work supporting victims of revenge porn and working to have such images removed from websites.

    GEO officials attend the Home Office-chaired cross-government working group on VAWG, the last of which took place on 23 June 2016. In addition, GEO officials have attended a number of Home Office-led consultation meetings with VAWG stakeholders, the last of which was in February 2016. Such discussions run alongside inter-ministerial meetings, the most recent of which I attended in June.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2016 to Question 48717, how many customers were interviewed in the small-scale qualitative evaluation of the Warm Home Discount scheme.

    Jesse Norman

    A total of 41 customers were interviewed as part of the evaluation of the Energy Rebate scheme.

    These customers were drawn from four representative sample groups of interest.

    The findings of the research can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220145/energy-rebate-scheme-evaluation.pdf

    “

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ask the UNHCR to select individuals and families for resettlement in the UK on grounds of family reunion with relatives, as well as of vulnerability and extreme need.

    Lord Bates

    We work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)to identify cases that they deem in need of resettlement according to agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme. One of the criteria is ‘refugees with family links in resettlement countries’. The scheme was expanded in September 2015 to ensure more of those in the greatest need are resettled in the UK.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of brownfield land sites in the Essex County Council area have been re-designated as community land trusts in each of the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by Community Land Trusts.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24423, what recent reports he has received on the disappearance of Mr Lee Po in Hong Kong; and whether he has had further discussions with (a) the Chinese authorities and (b) the booksellers or their families since that Answer.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), made clear in his six monthly report to the House published on 11 February (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2015) that ‘our current information indicates that Mr Lee was involuntarily removed to the mainland without any due process under Hong Kong SAR law. This constitutes a serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.’ The Foreign Secretary raised the case with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in London on 4 February. The Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State, my right Hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) also raised the case with the Chinese Chairman of the Politics and Law Commission, Meng Jianzhu, on 25 February. The Government continues to call on the Chinese Government for Mr Lee’s immediate return to Hong Kong. Despite formal requests which we continue to make, we have not been granted consular access to Mr Lee. We also stand ready to provide consular assistance to Lee Po’s family.

  • Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance to schools on how to identify and manage incidences of parental alienation.

    Edward Timpson

    Protection from abuse and neglect is a fundamental right of all children and young people, regardless of their family situation, and the government will continue to review how schools, police, social services and other agencies work together to protect all children.

    The Department published updated statutory guidance in 2015 on Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. All school and college staff should be aware of the various forms of abuse, including emotional harm, so that they are able to identify children in need of help and support and know what action to take. This would include recognising where children are suffering as the result of family relationship breakdown.

  • Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on people accessing services of a contract being terminated early by the Skills Funding Agency due to the provider being at risk of failure.

    Nick Boles

    The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) does not terminate contracts on the grounds of a provider being ‘at risk of failure’. When the Skills Funding Agency terminates a provider’s contract early, whatever the reason for the termination, it ensures that an alternative provider is in place to enable employers and learners to continue their programme if they wish to do so.