Tag: 2016

Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what she is doing to help safeguard the welfare of (a) unaccompanied minors who have gone missing and (b) other unaccompanied minors in the refugee camps in Calais and Dunkirk.

James Brokenshire

Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK has committed to support a range of work to address the migrant situation in northern France. The two governments have established a permanent official contact group focused on ensuring that the provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively, including the provisions on family unity. A Home Office official was seconded to the Interior Ministry’s Dublin Unit in Paris to assist with the identification of potential requests for the UK to take charge of an asylum seeking child in France and to bring them into the Dublin Regulation procedure without delay.

The UK has provided funding to a project run by a French non-governmental organisation to identify potential victims of trafficking and exploitation (including unaccompanied children) in Calais and to direct them to appropriate support services in France.

01/01/2023
Lord Crisp – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Crisp on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the recent British Medical Association report In Good Hands: Tackling labour rights concerns in the manufacture of medical gloves.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department has worked with its national contracting and logistics partner, NHS Supply Chain to develop a range of ethical procurement interventions that increase the scrutiny applied to suppliers, based on the risks presented.

All suppliers contracted by NHS Supply Chain are required to adhere to the NHS Supply Chain – Supplier Code of Conduct. A copy of the Code of Conduct is attached.

This code of conduct includes requirements for suppliers to work in line with the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and makes specific reference to forced and compulsory labour. The Supplier Code of Conduct has been a contractual requirement of all Framework Agreements since 2009.

For categories of products where the risk of labour standards abuses has been assessed as high, by the nature of the manufacturing processes, employment practices or location, NHS Supply Chain require all suppliers to implement a Labour Standards Assurance System to specified standards.

NHS Supply Chain continually review the wider contract portfolio, and where appropriate, the Labour Standards Assurance System requirements will be applied to new contract areas.

Contract terms will require suppliers to implement and improve their Labour Standards Assurance System, in line with stipulated milestones, during the life of the framework agreement.

Suppliers are contractually required to evidence compliance by providing details of independent third party audits conducted on their Assurance System.

Where suppliers do not meet the specified standard within the stipulated timescales, their contract will be suspended in the first instance, and then terminated if remediation actions are not undertaken in a suitably timely manner.

NHS Supply Chain provides support for suppliers required to implement a labour standards assurance system with webinars that provide access to expert support and capability building material.

In relation to the British Medical Association (BMA) report In Good Hands, all suppliers awarded on the current Framework Agreement for Examination and Sterile Surgical Gloves are subject to the NHS Supply Chain Code of Conduct and contractual requirements to operate a Labour Standards Assurance System.

Since the framework agreement launched in December 2015, a webinar workshop has been held with all suppliers to explain the Labour Standards Assurance System and implications of the Modern Slavery Act.

Of the manufacturers named in the BMA report, two are currently awarded under the NHS Supply Chain national framework agreement for medical gloves.

In both cases the Department in conjunction with NHS Supply Chain has investigated the allegations thoroughly by working with specialist independent third party audit bodies, who have undertaken assessments at the identified facilities.

Audit findings have not identified any specific cases of slavery or human trafficking, or any serious systemic abuses of worker or human rights, however, improvements in management procedures, communications and training were recommended to reduce the potential for abuses to arise.

Both suppliers have acknowledged these findings and have agreed actions, as part of contractual remediation plans, to address these.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received from music and sport event organisers on security at large events; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace

The Home Office regularly receives correspondence from organisations about major events taking place in the UK including music festivals, sports and other events. The policing of major music festivals, sports events and other large temporary events are dealt with through operational policing efforts. Advice on security, including counter-terrorism, is undertaken by specially trained police Security Coordinators (SecCos), who provide protective security advice and plans to police command teams prior to an event.

Where appropriate SecCOs draw on the advice of police specialist Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs), who assess sites and provide recommendations on appropriate and proportionate mitigating security measures to address the terrorism threat.

01/01/2023
Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to raise public awareness of (a) pancreatic cancer and (b) other cancers for which symptoms can be non-specific and have similarities to other benign conditions.

David Mowat

Public Health England’s (PHE) Be Clear on Cancer campaigns are designed to raise the public’s awareness of specific cancer symptoms, encourage people with those symptoms to go to the doctor and diagnose cancer at an earlier stage. An early visit to a general practice can make a cancer more treatable, and thereby improve cancer survival rates. These campaigns are delivered by PHE in partnership with the Department and NHS England. There are a number of cancers, including those where symptoms can be non-specific, which are not covered by ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ explicitly.

01/01/2023
Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school-aged children in each London borough attended a maintained school outside their borough of residency on 1 January of each year from 2010 to 2016.

Nick Gibb

The number of pupils in each London borough attending a school outside their borough of residency can be found in the cross border movement tables which can be found as part of the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics’ statistics[1]. Data for 2016 has not been collected yet but is expected to be available in June 2016.

[1] 2015 data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015 – click on ‘Cross-border movement Local Authority Tables’

2014 data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2014 – click on ‘Cross-border movement Local Authority Tables’

2013 data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013 – click on ‘Cross-border movement Local Authority Tables’

2012 data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2012 – click on ‘Additional Tables 1’

2011 data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2011 – click on ‘Additional Tables 1’

2010 data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2010 – click on ‘Additional Tables 3’

“

01/01/2023
Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 5 January 2016 with regard to Mr Julian Chapman.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Thank you to the Right Hon Gentleman for his letter, which we received on February 12. He will receive a response within 20 working days from that date.

01/01/2023
Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luke Hall on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what sanctions the Certification Officer can implement against trades unions which fail to compile and maintain an accurate register of members; and on what occasions such sanctions have been used in the last 10 years.

Nick Boles

Section 24(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 currently requires trade unions to keep registers of their members’ names and addresses and to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that these registers are accurate and up-to-date.

Under the 1992 Act, if the Certification Officer finds that a union has breached this duty, he must make a declaration of his findings and may make an enforcement order. Failure to comply with the Certification Officer’s enforcement order may be treated as contempt of court.

In the last 10 years, the Certification Officer has made one declaration that Unite the Union breached section 24(1) of the 1992 Act. This case was Mr J Hicks v Unite the Union (No2) (D/32-39/14-15). The Certification Officer decided that it was not appropriate to issue an enforcement order in this case.

01/01/2023

Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department provided for Bikeability in each year from 2007-08 to 2015-16 expressed in 2015-16 prices; and how much his Department plans to provide for that scheme in each year from 2016-17 to 2020-21 expressed in 2015-16 prices.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The amount of funding provided by the Department for Transport to support the delivery of Bikeability cycle training in each financial year from 2007/08 to 2015/16 is set-out in the table below:

Financial Year	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16
£m	1.11	3.92	5.94	9.50	11.48	10.97	11.71	12.45	11.19
Funding expressed in 2015/16 prices £m	1.30	4.49	6.67	10.35	12.25	11.51	12.05	12.60	11.19

Footnotes: Figures provided in the table cover Bikeability training grant costs only. Funding expressed in 2015/16 prices was calculated using parameters in the Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) data book.

Between 2010/11 and 2015/16 this government provided an average of £11.66m per year in 2015/16 prices, compared to an average of £4.15m per year in the three years previously under Labour.

The projected budget for the delivery of Bikeability in each financial year from 2016/17 to 2019/20 is set-out in the table below:

Financial Year	2016/17	2017/18	2018/19	2019/20
£m	11.40	11.59	11.79	11.99
Funding expressed in 2015/16 prices £m	11.22	11.21	11.19	11.15

Government funding for Bikeability in 2020/21 will be decided at a future Spending Review.

01/01/2023

Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Government plans to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2016.

Amber Rudd

The UK will ratify the Paris Agreement together with the EU and Member States as soon as possible. The Commission is planning to publish a proposal on EU and Member States ratification alongside legislative proposals for the Non-Traded Sector of the EU2030 Framework this summer.

01/01/2023

Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged under (a) section 1 and (b) section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 since those provisions came into force on 31 July 2015.

Jeremy Wright

I am answering on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice, as I am the minister that superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who is responsible for bringing charges.

The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with offences brought by way of Section 1 or Section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; or Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004; or Sections 57 and 58 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (Sections 57, 58 and 59 were repealed and replaced by section 59A Sexual Offences Act 2003 on 13 April 2013) This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

However, although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with a particular offence, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. The table below shows the number of offences, rather than defendants, charged by way of the human trafficking offences during each of the last three calendar years. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

2013	2014	2015
Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 { 4 }	20	73	48
Coroners and Justice Act 2009 { 71 }	36	26	34
Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 1 }	0	0	5
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 57 }	22	35	69
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 58 }	84	35	75
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59 }	4	4	9
Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59A }	1	17	94
Total Human Trafficking Offences Charged	167	190	334
Data Source: CPS Management Information System

No offences have yet been recorded under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which came into force on 31st July 2015.

01/01/2023