Tag: 2016

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Liberia.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Liberia has made significant progress since the end of its civil war in 2003. However, Liberia’s second Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in 2015, highlighted continuing concerns over gender-based violence and victims’ access to justice; the length of pre-trial detention; investigative capacity of the police and judiciary; and the death penalty. The government of Liberia accepted 147 of the 186 recommendations made. The UK Government regularly presses for concrete action in these areas through our Ambassador in Monrovia and in multilateral fora.

    The UK is concerned about inflammatory statements by the Liberian opposition in the run-up to the country’s elections in 2017. In March, our Ambassador urged the Government of Liberia to show restraint by ensuring that their responses to such statements are proportionate.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is his policy is on forcing overseas territories to publish public registers of beneficial ownership.

    Matthew Hancock

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answers of 27 April 2016 to Questions 34797 and 34798, what assessment he has made of the implications for the UK’s role in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations of UK funding being used by UN-funded non-governmental organisations to commemorate Palestinian terrorists.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have made no such assessment.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff at what civil service grades his Department employs.

    Greg Hands

    Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF), Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as some new hires.

    Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.

    As DIT is currently being formed, the number staff the Department employs is being finalised while employee transfers and recruitment are taking place.

  • Peter Bone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Peter Bone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will extend the Help to Buy scheme to shared ownership housing association tenants.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Government has recently launched the new Help to Buy: Shared Ownership scheme which enables people to purchase an initial 25% to 75% of a new home and pay rent on the remainder with the option to purchase more later. It is open to those with a household income below £80,000 in England or £90,000 in London. The Government has no plans to combine this with Help to Buy: Equity Loan.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Ofwat concerning the profits made by water companies between 2010 and 2015.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government has regular discussions with Ofwat about its strategic priorities and objectives for regulation of the water sector.

    Ofwat sets price controls independently of Government. This independence is crucial to ensure stable economic regulation which keeps investment costs down and customer bills low.

    In 2009, Ofwat set price controls for the period from 2010 to 2015. During this period water companies benefited from several factors outside their control, including low taxation and low borrowing costs. In March 2013, Ofwat challenged companies to share gains with their customers. The then Secretary of State wrote to companies in November 2013 in support of Ofwat’s drive. As a result, companies absorbed costs and provided water bill discounts worth £435 million over this period.

    In 2014, Ofwat delivered a tough price review which means that bills will fall by around 5% in real terms from 2015 to 2020.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will estimate the number of schools which have been built using EU funds.

    Edward Timpson

    The department does not hold information on the number of schools which have been built using EU funds, nor does it hold information on the number of schools which have received funds from EU sources for improvements or maintenance.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical professionals have completed each of Health Education England’s e-learning training sessions on female genital mutilation in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16 to date; and which e-learning training packages are currently available for medical professionals to access.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England’s Healthcare Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) e-learning programme was launched on 19 March 2015 and has been available for 11 months to date. We are therefore unable to provide statistics for the periods 2013-14 and 2014-15.

    For the period 19 March 2015 to date, the numbers of professionals who have completed each of the e-learning modules are:

    ― Introduction to FGM – 4,325 times completed by users;

    ― communication Skills for FGM Consultations – 3,432 times completed;

    ― legal and Safeguarding Issues Regarding FGM in the United Kingdom – 3,198 times completed;

    ― FGM: Issues, Presentation and Management in Children and Young Women – 3,116 times completed; and

    ― FGM: Issues, Presentation and Management in Women and Around Pregnancy – 3,008 times completed.

    All five of the above e-learning packages are currently available to healthcare professionals including school nurses, practice nurses, health visitors and general practitioners, via the e-learning for healthcare training platform.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what scientific testing Spirit Healthcare’s Empower type 2 diabetes education programme underwent for the outcomes it produces.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many accountancy (a) practitioners and (b) firms are supervised by (i) HM Revenue and Customs and (ii) each of the other accountancy bodies; and how many such practitioners and firms have been (A) investigated for suspected money laundering and (B) struck off as a result of such investigations.

    Mr David Gauke

    There are 15 supervisors of the accountancy service provider (ASP) sector in the United Kingdom, including HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

    13,131 ASPs are registered with HMRC for anti-money laundering supervision. The professional accountancy bodies listed in Schedule 3 to the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 between them supervise 32,069 firms and individuals. Whilst the statistics vary between bodies as to the number of individuals supervised compared to firms, 18,872 of the 32,069 have been identified as individuals.

    HMRC does not record statistics for its investigations in a way that enables figures relating to ASPs to be separately identified. HMRC does not hold data about practitioners and firms investigated or struck off by other supervisory bodies.