UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: 2016

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) monitor the welfare of unaccompanied refugee children who arrive in the UK and are in the care of the relevant authorities and (b) locate those refugee children who have gone missing in the UK in the last five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    All local authorities have statutory duties to safeguard children as part of their local responsibilities regardless of nationality or immigration status. Once an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC) becomes a looked after child the main responsibility for that child’s welfare lies with the respective local authority.

    Home Office staff dealing with UASC receive specialist training and are required to follow published guidance on processing asylum claims from children, which requires the child’s welfare to be taken into account throughout the asylum claim.

    The government takes the issue of missing children extremely seriously and has published a cross government strategy on missing children and vulnerable adults.

    Migrant children over the age of 5, including asylum seeking children will have their biometrics captured by the Home Office. If a child goes missing, the local police and UK Missing Persons Bureau will be notified and the child’s details will be circulated on the Police National Computer. Home Office guidance requires staff to maintain contact with the local authority and the police until the child is found.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have in place to ensure that asylum seekers in Calais have access to legal advice on their rights to enter the UK.

    Lord Bates

    All migrants, including families and children, in Calais who wish to seek asylum should do so in France and provide information to the French asylum authorities about any family members in other Member States, including the UK. We will consider any request made to us by the French asylum authorities to take responsibility for an asylum applicant in France because they have close family who are legally in the UK in accordance with the terms of the Dublin Regulation concerning the principle of family unity and the best interests of the child.

    If not claiming asylum, individual migrants in France, as in any other country, are entitled to apply under the Family Reunion provisions to join relatives in the UK by making the appropriate visa application.

    Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK has increased the frequency of communications campaigns involving British officials, French authorities and NGOs speaking to migrants in Calais to inform migrants of the reality of life in the UK, and their rights to claim asylum in France. The UK is also helping to fund dedicated facilities away from Calais to allow migrants to reflect on next steps and to consider an asylum claim.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards extending the remit of the Grocery Code Adjudicator to the contractual relationship between small family dairy farmers and dairy processors.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government introduced the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) to enforce the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code) which regulates the relationship between the UK’s ten largest supermarkets and their direct suppliers. The Code was put in place in 2009 by the Office of Fair Trading (now the Competition and Markets Authority), following a market investigation by the Competition Commission. The Code will be reviewed shortly.

    The dairy industry code of best practice on contractual arrangements was created in Great Britain in 2012. Among its provisions is a requirement for 30 days’ notice of a cut to a farmer’s price or other significant change to contractual terms. In addition, a farmer who disagrees with a proposed price change or significant change to contractual terms can exercise a right to terminate the contract on three months’ notice. About 85% of processors have signed up to it.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Turkish government on the conflict in South East Turkey and further steps to protect the civilian population in that region.

    Mr David Lidington

    We are aware of reports of civilian casualties in south east Turkey. The Turkish Government have said that 120 civilians and more than twice that number of Turkish police and military personnel have lost their lives in clashes between 20 July 2015 and 17 February 2016. We continue to believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), whose attacks we condemn as we condemn all terrorism. Our thoughts are with the victims of these attacks, and the civilians who have been caught up in the violence. As in any conflict, civilian casualties should be avoided and human rights need to be fully protected.

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), and our Ambassador in Turkey have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights, avoid civilian casualties and return to the peace process. We have been clear, in public and private, that PKK violence must end and we support a return to the peace process, in the interests of Turkey and the region. We stand ready to help in any way we can. I raised these issues when I met Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister on 12 March and with my Turkish counterpart the last time we met in August 2015.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle child sexual abuse; and what steps she plans to take in regards to such abuse in the next year.

    Karen Bradley

    Tackling child sexual abuse is a top priority for this Government and good progress is being made on delivering the commitments made in “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” – the Government’s response to address on a national scale the failures that had been seen in Rotherham and elsewhere. We are working collaboratively across Whitehall to deliver on our commitments and will publish an update to the “Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation” report later this year. This will set out our progress to date on what we have achieved in tackling offending, reducing vulnerability and supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. It will also set out what future steps the government plans to take.

    As part of this work, we have prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat, providing a clear mandate for police forces to safeguard children and to share intelligence and best practice. We have also rolled out to all UK police forces Child abuse image database (CAID) which provides law enforcement with effective tools to search seized devices. We have delivered a £7 million uplift in funding over the financial years 2014 – 15 and 2015 – 16 for non statutory organisations which support victims and survivors of sexual abuse and have announced that the same amount will be available in 2016 – 17.

    In January this year we launched a new national whistle-blowing helpline, operated by the NSPCC, for any employee who wants to raise a concern about how their organisation is dealing with a concern about a child. The establishment of the Centre of Expertise has formed part of discussions held at the Inter Ministerial Group on Child Sexual Abuse, and we are currently working towards its procurement. In terms of the Centre working with the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Inquiry is independent of Government, but the Government is, and will, continue to fully co-operate with it.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the change by his Department in total spend per head of population is in 2016-17.

    Alistair Burt

    The estimated increase in total spend per head of population in England by the Department from 2015-16 to 2016-17 is £51.00 or 2.4%.

  • Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Calum Kerr – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Calum Kerr on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of UK negotiations with the EU resulting from the outcome of the referendum on the planned reorganisation of UK Science Research Councils proposed by Sir Paul Nurse.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government will continue taking forward the important legislation that was set before Parliament in the Queen’s Speech, including the Higher Education and Research Bill. This includes the formation of the new body UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Now, more than ever, we need a strong and unified voice to represent the interests of UK research and innovation across Europe and around the world which UKRI will provide.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce knife crime.

    Sarah Newton

    Tackling knife crime is a priority for the Government. On 23 March this year, we published the Modern Crime Prevention Strategy which sets out a range of measures to strengthen our response to knife crime including working with the police and industry to ensure there are effective controls on the sale of knives to under-18s.

    We have also passed legislation to ban the sale and importation of ‘zombie knives’ which came into force in August. We are encouraging the police to undertake a series of coordinated weeks of action to tackle knife crime under the Operation Sceptre banner.

    This includes targeting habitual knife carriers, weapon sweeps, test purchases of knives from identified retailers, and use of surrender bins. The next operation will take place the week of 17 October.

    We are also working with Crimestoppers and other potential organisations in delivering knife crime prevention messages to young people. In July 2015, the Government also introduced the sentencing provision that anyone caught in possession of a knife for a second time will now face a mandatory minimum custodial sentence.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how long on average the Office of the Independent Adjudicator took to close a case in 2015.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s Annual Report (2014), which contains the latest published figures available, states that it took an average of 207 days to close a complaint from the time the student first submitted a complaint form. Provisional figures indicate that improvements have been made since then and the 2015 Annual Report is likely to show a significant reduction in this figure.

    The European Directive on Alternative Dispute Resolution, which came into force on 9 July 2015, now requires dispute resolution bodies such as the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) to issue complaint outcomes within 90 days of receiving the full complaint file, unless the case is highly complex. The OIA and other alternative dispute resolution bodies are required to report to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, which is monitoring compliance with the Directive.

  • Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 17 February (HL6083), how many of the 14 direct entry superintendents still employed in police forces in England and Wales are (1) in command of front-line operational units, and (2) in administrative or back-office management jobs.

    Lord Bates

    Of the 14 direct entry superintendents employed in police forces in England and Wales, six (43%) are female and three (21%) are from an ethnic minority background. This is significantly more representative than the current make up of the superintendent rank of which 19% are women and 4% are from an ethnic minority background.

    Direct entrants take part in an 18 month training programme. During the course of this training they undertake a variety of roles, including frontline roles, at Constable, Sergeant, Inspector and Superintendent levels aimed at providing a policing context for their leader-ship skills

    The eight direct entrants who began their training in 2014 will complete the programme in May 2016. Should they be successful, the force will decide the roles that they will undertake. The six direct entrants who started in 2015 will not complete the programme until April 2017.