Tag: 2016

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers who are also victims of trafficking were witnesses or accused in criminal proceedings in each year from 2010 to 2015.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office does not systemically record whether asylum seekers who are also victims of trafficking have involvement in criminal proceedings. Data on involvement of witnesses, defendants and offenders in criminal proceedings is a matter for the Ministry of Justice.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what requests for information his Department made regarding the cutting to 15 minutes the length of delay after which compensation for train passengers will kick in.

    Claire Perry

    In our manifesto we committed to improve compensation for delayed rail passengers and the Spending Review reiterated this. We have already changed the system to get compensation paid in cash, not travel vouchers, and we are putting new compensation obligations like automatic delay/repay into future franchise specifications.

    We will negotiate hard with rail operators to get even better compensation arrangements for passengers and are considering options on this at the moment.

  • Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24107 on tribunals: Scotland, how many of those people whose data was breached were not made aware that that breach had occurred.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service takes its responsibility for data incidents very seriously and treats each case on its individual merits. Notifying individuals of data breaches or incidents is considered, but is not a mandatory action in every instance.

    Informing people and organisations about a breach is not an end in itself. Notification should have a clear purpose, whether this is to enable individuals who may have been affected to take steps to protect themselves or to allow the appropriate regulatory bodies to perform their functions, provide advice and deal with complaints.

    The above criteria is considered when deciding whether or not to inform individuals or organisations of a data breach. In relation to the incidents referred to in this PQ it is unclear, as no statistical information has been retained, as to whether or not individuals were notified.

    Guidance on data breach notification is set out by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in the link below:

    https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-7-security/

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  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential terrorist and security threat to the corps of Royal Engineers who will be deployed in March to provide short-term engineering support to the multinational force and observers in Sinai.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As is the case with all operational deployments, a full risk assessment was conducted prior to the decision to deploy Royal Engineers to support the Multi-National Force Observers (MFO) mission in Sinai. This covered the full range of risks to our personnel and identified appropriate measures to mitigate risk.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what representations he has received on British service personnel being served food which contains mould and maggots; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to ensure that all food served to such service personnel is of a satisfactory standard.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Department is aware of concerns that have been expressed in the media about the standard of food.

    The Department has in place a number of safeguards to ensure a good quality of food. These include; contract monitoring, site visits, reviews, customer engagement and assurance by Single Service catering subject matter experts to improve on the service provided.

    Any complaint over food can be raised through the chain of command or directly with the contractor by way of a complaints book.

  • 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 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is their policy that the other members of NATO have a responsibility to ensure that Turkey only uses proportionate force when dealing with insurgents and alleged terrorists; and whether they intend to call for discussions about that issue amongst NATO members.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Turkey is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ally and valued security partner for the UK. All countries, including NATO Allies, have a responsibility to use proportionate force when dealing with insurgents and alleged terrorists. We have no plans to call for discussion about that issue amongst NATO members.

  • Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Cox on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding they have made available to the Free Yazidi Foundation and other organisations in Iraq and Syria to aid the collection of evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have a long-standing commitment to accountability for human rights violations and abuses and have supported efforts to document them in Syria and Iraq. The UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses in Iraq. We continue to support the UN Commission of Inquiry’s investigations into human rights violations and abuses in Syria.

    We have provided over £8 million to support the documentation of human rights abuses and violations in Syria and Iraq. We also supported the translation of the International Protocol for the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict into Arabic and Kurdish to further build the capacity of human rights, justice and healthcare professionals to respond to and document these terrible crimes.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of how much her Department will spend on children’s centres in each of the next five years; and if she will make a statement.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Local authorities have a duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. Local authorities must meet their statutory duties on children’s centres from funding that forms part of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) Business Rates Retention Scheme. In addition, other government funding, including that for public health, adult skills training and troubled families may also be used locally to support services delivered wholly, or in part, through children’s centres.

    Since April 2010 local authorities have reported actual and planned expenditure on children’s centres (regardless of the funding source) through annual Section 251 returns. This information is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/expenditure-on-education-children-and-young-peoples-services-academic-year-2011-to-2012 and: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/section-251-materials

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  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been granted refugee status or another type of subsidiary protection in the UK on the basis that they have been trafficked since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Our records indicate that since 2010, 1,003 confirmed victims of trafficking have been granted refugee status or other form of protection as a result of an application for asylum. It is not possible to say whether refugee status was awarded due to the applicant being a victim of trafficking without a review of individual case record at disproportionate cost.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Audit Office report, Delivering major projects in Government, published on 6 January 2016, what steps his Department is taking to ensure all infrastructure projects are delivered on time and on budget.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport (DfT) accounts for a whole life value of £92bn within the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

    The DfT follows the Cabinet Office transparency policy by publishing the Department’s data in line with requirements, including the annual publication of GMPP data, SRO appointment letters and individual project cases.

    The Department continually assures project delivery in relation to costs, timings and benefits through clear governance and project and programme management (PPM) requirements, which must be satisfied throughout the life cycle of a project. This includes investment board endorsement at key project planning and delivery stages, and independent assurance within the Department. Further external assurance is provided for example by the Infrastructure and Project Authority (IPA). The department uses a widely understood and highly regarded economic tool, known as WebTAG, for calculating costs.

    In addition to individual project assurance, the Department works with the IPA on both GMPP and its own portfolio reporting requirements. The Department has been actively involved in work to improve the collection, collation and analysis of key areas of project delivery, including costs and benefits, in line with the recent IPA review and refresh of GMPP data collection.

    As part of the Department’s internal governance, regular portfolio reporting on the aggregated performance and health of major projects is presented to the Department’s investment board. The Department has recently assessed the maturity of its portfolio reporting and has an action plan to further develop its capability in key areas.

    The Department reports infrastructure projects that are £50m or more on the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) which details public and private infrastructure investment which is either forecast, being delivered, or completed. It is published on the Treasury’s website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-infrastructure-pipeline-july-2015).

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