Tag: 2016

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government’s policy is on steps to increase cooperation between police forces and fire services.

    Mike Penning

    The Government is committed to supporting the police and fire services to work more closely together. The Policing and Crime Bill includes a duty to collaborate and enables Police and Crime Commissioners to make the case to take on responsibility for fire and rescue locally, extending the benefits of directly elected, accountable leadership and driving collaboration.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress as regards refugees and migrants they are seeking from the planned France–UK, internal EU, EU–Turkey and UNHCR meetings; and whether they will report to Parliament on the results of those meetings.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government has regular discussions with EU and non-EU partners on refugees and migration. The Government’s consistent focus is on securing a durable and comprehensive solution to the current migration crisis, which tackles the causes of migration as well as the consequences. The UK-France Summit Communiqué contains information on our bilateral cooperation in this area. The Government will report the details of all relevant meetings to Parliament as appropriate.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of people removed from the UK under (a) the assisted voluntary return scheme and (b) enforced removals.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office works across government and beyond to reduce the size of the illegal population by ensuring that there is a consequence for every individual and organisation that is benefiting from immigration abuse. That includes ensuring that people who have no right to be here leave the UK, voluntarily or through an enforced return.

    The support available under the assisted voluntary return scheme is now integrated into the Home Office Voluntary Returns Service where a range of help and support is available to those here illegally who are seeking to return.

    Creating the single service as a clear point of contact for those seeking to return, working with key voluntary sector stakeholders, local authorities, increasing the work we do directly with community and faith groups and improving our understanding of the best ways to reach out to those here illegally – are all key parts of the work the Home Office is doing to help people return home.

    Encouraging voluntary returns allows us to focus our detention and enforcement resource on criminal cases and those that represent the biggest threat. Where someone refuses to leave the UK voluntarily we will take steps to enforce their swift removal and prevent them returning for up to 10 years.

    In terms of enforced removals the 2014 Immigration Act reformed the deportation process. More than 3,200 foreign national offenders have been removed under the new deport first, appeal later powers since they came into force in July 2014, with many more going through the system.

    We are also using biometrics to match identities and speed up the process of gaining emergency travel documents.

  • Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original planned date was for cutting steel to begin for the first Type 26 Global Combat Ship; to what date this planned date has been moved; whether the cause of that change was (a) limited capacity of BAE Systems and its sub-contractors to meet the original schedule or (b) a decision to remove a significant sum from the annual T26 budget; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No firm date has yet been set for cutting steel which will mark the start of the manufacture phase of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) programme.

    For equipment procurement programmes the cost and schedule is set at the main investment decision, and we have not yet reached that decision point.

    The approval, in March 2016, of the Extended Demonstration Phase is consistent with the incremental approach to approvals we have adopted for the T26 GCS programme.

    During the Demonstration Phase, we will continue to work with industry to re-baseline the programme in order to implement the changes resulting from the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the investment in Shore Testing Facilities, extending investment in our wider supply chain as well as further developing the detailed design of the ship ahead of the main investment decision and the start of manufacture.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HM Revenue and Customs staff are currently allocated to the production of employment histories for occupational disease compensation claims.

    Mr David Gauke

    In response to the significant increase in demand for employment histories in recent years, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has looked at a range of options for improving the Record Retrieval Service; this has included introducing measures such as prioritising requests relating to serious and life-threatening conditions (when specifically identified).

    However, the key constraint to reducing turnaround times is the existing machinery used to manually access the microfilm records – as these machines are no longer manufactured. Therefore, the deployment of additional staff would have negligible impact on service levels. It is not possible to provide a figure for the number of HMRC staff currently allocated to the production of employment histories for occupational disease compensation claims, as requesters of this information are not required to specify the reason for their employment history request. However, around 200 full time equivalent staff are allocated to the department’s Record Retrieval Service.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2016 to Question 40383, when he plans to make an announcement on when passengers will have access to compensation when trains are over 15 minutes late; whether the application of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) from 1 October 2016 will affect that access; after how many minutes of delay the consumer’s right to claim a full refund under the CRA will take effect; and if he will make a statement.

    Paul Maynard

    As set out in the previous answer, we are committed to improving compensation arrangements for passengers and we expect to make an announcement on this shortly.

    We want to strengthen the rights of rail passengers to get compensation for poor service. The Consumer Rights Act will allow rail passengers to challenge compensation amounts awarded for delays and cancellations where the train operator is at fault.

    Train operators’ existing compensation schemes will continue to provide the main means of redress for passengers after 1 October 2016, when the Act comes into force for all transport providers. We will continue to work with train operators to improve their compensation schemes.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people who voted in the 2015 General Election are not on the latest electoral register.

    John Penrose

    The electoral registers used for the 2015 General Election contained over 400,000 more entries than the last registers published prior to the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER). As such, suggestions that IER would lead to a decline in registration levels were simply incorrect.

    While data is not available on the number of non-IER registered electors who voted at the 2015 General Election, the Electoral Commission found 96% of the entries on the electoral register in May 2015 were already registered under IER.

    The Electoral Commission is planning to publish a report in February/March 2016 on the state of the December 2015 registers. This is expected to include data on the number of register entries and on the number of remaining non-IER registered entries removed in December.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the implications of the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the case of Costa v ENEL in July 1964 for the Government’s policy on the relative relationship between EU and UK law.

    Jeremy Wright

    By longstanding convention, the fact that the Law Officers have advised, or have not advised, and the content of their advice is not disclosed outside government.

  • Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 22 January (HL5044), which Members of the House were not sent writs of summons and why.

    Lord Faulks

    All members of the House were sent writs including a further seven writs sent by hand to Members disqualified for sitting and voting in the House.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of households eligible for the property compensation scheme proposed by Gatwick Airport Limited under the current proposal for the expansion of Gatwick Airport.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The property compensation scheme proposed by Gatwick Airport Limited consists of two elements, compulsory purchase and a voluntary purchase scheme (‘Home Owner Support Scheme’). Approximately 168 properties will be eligible for compulsory purchase compensation. The number of properties eligible for voluntary purchase will be determined by the promoters published eligibility criteria in due course.