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Tag: 2016

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she plans to take to ensure adequate care and safeguarding of young people at Medway Secure Training Centre in response to findings of the Ofsted report of 8 August 2016 on that centre.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    The allegations of abuse at Medway and the findings of the most recent Ofsted led inspection in June are shocking and decisive action has already been taken.

    Since the period covered in the report, G4S have been removed from the running of Medway and the centre has been brought under the leadership of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).

    The new governor has a strong track record of working with children in secure care and has already put in place a robust action plan to improve safeguarding, reduce violence and create a positive environment where children have the opportunity to learn and develop.

    The safety and rehabilitation of young offenders is extremely important. We will be responding to the Charlie Taylor review with our plans for reform of the youth justice system shortly.

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the Government’s support for climate risk insurance as part of her preparations for the COP22 UN Climate Change Summit in Marrakesh, to be held in November 2016.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK is proud to be a global leader in disaster risk finance and insurance and we are committed to contributing to meeting the G7’s InsuResilience collective target (set out in the 2015 G7 Leaders Elmau declaration) of helping up to an additional 400 million people in the most vulnerable developing countries to gain access to climate risk insurance by 2020. The Department for International Development (DFID) leads the delivery of the Government’s plans to scale up the use of insurance and risk finance instruments in developing countries to enable:

    • Increased resilience for millions of the most vulnerable people, through improved access to insurance cover,
    • Faster, more efficient emergency response, with a larger proportion of losses in vulnerable developing countries to be covered by insurance systems, taking the strain off the overstretched humanitarian system,
    • Stronger and more stable economic development in developing countries, by helping to reduce the costs and barriers to credit.
  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of local authority funding reductions on the provision of transport for vulnerable adults.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not collect data on how much is spent by local authorities on vulnerable adult transport.

    Social care is a key priority for this Government. This is why, against the context of tough public sector finances; we have taken steps to protect social care services. As announced in the Spending Review, the Government is giving local authorities access to £3.5 billion of new support for social care by 2019/20.

    This means local government has access to the funding it needs to increase social care spending in real terms by the end of the Parliament.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prison officer hours spent guarding prisoners in hospital as as a result of incidents involving new psychoactive substances.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with mental health charities on the effect of the Work Programme on its participants.

    Priti Patel

    Officials met with the Disability Charities Consortium on 15 January to discuss input into the new Work and Health Programme, which included discussion of the lessons learned from the Work Programme. Officials will also be attending a round table on future employment support, hosted by Mind, on 24 March.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of gaps in maritime capability.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Given the constantly evolving nature of the threats we face, maritime capabilities are regularly reviewed and assessed. I am witholding the details of those assessments as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese government on the safety of British journalists working in China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We remain concerned by the harassment and detention of journalists in China. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities to respect and protect freedom of expression and association, in line with its constitution and the international frameworks to which China is a party. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised this issue with the Chinese Foreign Minister earlier this year. Specifically, he expressed his disappointment at the unacceptable treatment of journalists, including those from the UK, outside the court during the trial of Pu Zhiqiang. I raised the same issue with Vice Minister Cheng Fengxiang, of the Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department, in December 2015. The latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights report highlights further concerns over the treatment of some journalists in China (including foreign journalists).

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to introduce compulsory advanced notification for (a) commercial and (b) pleasure craft of arrival in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    The security of our border remains a absolute priority. Border Force works closely with domestic and international partners on an intelligence-led approach to identify unlawful maritime activity including facilitation and illegal entry.

    Information on vessels travelling to and from the UK is collected from a range of sources and analysed at the National Maritime Information Centre. The Government keeps all options relating to advance notification requirements under review and will continue to ensure proportionate measures are in place to secure our border.

  • Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to implement the long service compensation cap for the Pension Protection Fund.

    Richard Harrington

    I am committed to implementing the Pension Protection Fund long service cap and hope to be able to make an announcement shortly.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will amend his policy on proposed increases to business rates in order to help augment the speed of broadband roll-out.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. We have proposed a £3.4 billion transitional relief scheme to ensure that no ratepayer is unfairly penalised by the 2017 revaluation.