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Tag: 2016

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31078, on immigration officers, whether (a) her Department, (b) the Interception of Communications Commissioner and (c) any other body has reviewed the use of the power of immigration officers to carry out property interference since 2013.

    James Brokenshire

    The Office of Surveillance Commissioners (OSC) provides independent oversight of the use of property interference powers by law enforcement, including immigration officers. The Police Act 1997 was amended in 2013 to enable immigration officers to carry out property interference. The OSC regularly inspects law enforcement use of the power and scrutinises all individual property interference authorisations. A statutory code of practice for covert surveillance and property interference which can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384975/Covert_Surveillance_Property_Interrefernce_web__2_.pdf

    applies to all agencies with property interference powers.

    The Investigatory Powers Bill will provide enhanced safeguards for the use of equipment interference, including the requirement that equipment interference warrants are subject to the double-lock authorisation safeguard. The Bill will also create a new and more powerful Investigatory Powers Commissioner who will keep the use of this important power under close and regular review. A new Equipment Interference Code of Practice was published in draft alongside the Investigatory Powers Bill. This Code will provide further guidance on the use of equipment interference powers to all relevant agencies.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of 23 February 2016, Official Report, column 82WH, on the Motability car scheme, whether the ability to walk 20 metres is one of the assessment criteria for enhanced mobility.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As with all the activities, a claimant should be assessed as satisfying a descriptor only if the reliability criteria have been fully considered. The reliability criteria are a key protection for claimants being assessed for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and are a new introduction that did not apply under Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Claimants who cannot walk 20 metres reliably are guaranteed to receive the enhanced rate mobility component.

    PIP has also introduced a new criteria around the ability to plan and follow a journey, which is designed to recognise the mobility challenges of non-physical conditions and ensure these claimants also have access to the highest level of support where appropriate.

    Further information on how the reliability criteria should be applied can be found in the PIP Assessment Guide for Health Professionals carrying out assessments.

    This guidance can be accessed on the gov.uk website:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449043/pip-assessment-guide.pdf

    “

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the number of people whose asylum application has been transferred for consideration by the Government under the Dublin III Regulation as part of quarterly immigration statistics.

    James Brokenshire

    The information published in the quarterly Immigration Statistics is kept under review, taking into account the needs of users, burdens on suppliers and producers, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. There are currently no plans to publish data relating to asylum applications transferred under Dublin III Regulation.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of dehydration on the (a) safety and (b) health of elderly people living in care homes; and if he will make a statement.

    David Mowat

    In 2014 the Government updated the requirements of regulation with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide greater clarity about how the nutritional and hydration needs should be met. The new requirements are set out in Regulation 14 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 1 April 2015. The CQC can prosecute for a breach of this regulation if a failure to meet the regulation results in avoidable harm to a person using the service, or a person using the service is exposed to significant risk of harm.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of the potential implications of the UK leaving the EU for quarantine measures for pests and disease of plant material.

    Mr David Jones

    I refer the Hon Member to the reply previously given on 25th October 2016, PQ UIN49488 by my hon Friend, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, George Eustice.

    We recognise that the UK’s exit from the EU may have implications for the way in which current UK plant health services operate, including phytosanitary certification on imports, quarantine measures to mitigate the highest risk pests and diseases, and plant passporting.

    We are considering the implications and possible options as part of our planning for, and negotiations on, the UK’s exit.

    Continuing to deliver a risk-based, proportionate plant health regime that effectively protects the UK from plant pests and diseases, whilst maximising the free movement of goods, remains of the highest priority.

  • 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 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to ensure that the government of Israel complies with the UN General Assembly resolution adopted on 22 December 2015 regarding unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    UN General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding; Article 10 of the Charter of the UN states that the General Assembly “may make recommendations to the Members of the United Nations or to the Security Council”. The UK, and all other EU Member States, abstained on the General Assembly resolution regarding unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries. The UK, the EU and other Member States are of the view that unilateral economic measures should respect the principles of international law, including the international contractual obligations of the State applying them and the rules of the World Trade Organization where applicable. The UK, the EU and other Member States consider that such unilateral economic measures are admissible in certain circumstances in particular when necessary in order to fight terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or to uphold respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good governance. The UK has no plans to ensure any particular country complies with this resolution.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Overseas Security and Justice Assessment assessments the Government has carried out in relation to UK aid and security assistance programmes to Saudi Arabia in the last two years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In the past two years the MOD has conducted three Overseas Security and Justice Assessments in relation to security assistance programmes with Saudi Arabia. Such engagement encompasses Defence Exercises, Defence Training in Saudi Arabia, Defence training in the UK (or a third party country), High Level International Engagement, UK personnel conducting long-term capacity building (Loan Service Teams/British Military Mission) and Working level International Engagement.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24803, whether Jobcentre work coaches are able to advise universal credit claimants of their eligibility for council tax reductions.

    Priti Patel

    Due to minor variations between different Local Authorities’ council tax reduction schemes, only the individual local Authority can advise claimants on eligibility requirements for their scheme.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many former civil servants who worked on JSi projects have now left his Department.

    Andrew Selous

    I refer my the Rt Hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statement of 14 March:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-03-14/HCWS619/

    I will update the House once the investigation is complete.

    “

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what work his Department has completed with the charity Open Doors since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    Ministers and officials from the FCO’s Human Rights and Democracy Department and from a number of geographical departments regularly meet with representatives of Open Doors. FCO Ministers have also attended and spoken at the annual launch of the Open Doors Annual Report.