Tag: Alison McGovern

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to publish written guidlines for British drone strikes.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Unmanned drones are no different from any other weapon system and subject to the same legal and other frameworks. We have no plans to publish any guidelines. I refer the hon. Member to the evidence provided by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 16 December 2015 to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Government has made towards its target of resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK by 2020.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Latest statistics published on 25 August confirmed that a total of a total of 2,898 Syrians have been resettled under the scheme since it began, 2,646 of these arriving since 1 October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on support for people with mental health conditions who claim jobseeker’s allowance.

Alistair Burt

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Secretary of State for Health met on 3 June this year where they agreed to greater cross government working between our respective Departments. Both Departments have established a joint working unit and next year will launch a range of voluntary mental health and employment pilots to support claimants with, or at risk of developing a mental health condition to retain and return to employment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of reports by independent monitoring groups of civilians casualties caused by British air strikes in Syria; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

All UK airstrikes in Iraq and Syria are assessed post-strike using the best available imagery, intelligence and other sources of information to assess the impact of the strike on the target and affected area. This assessment, coupled with pre-strike checks provides the evidence base to support the statement that in the hundreds of airstrikes conducted by the RAF to date in Iraq and, more recently Syria, we have found no evidence of civilian casualties arising from UK airstrikes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government last held discussions with the Saudi government in which specific reference was made to human rights in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised human rights with the Saudi Arabian authorities on 7 September. Our Embassy in Riyadh also frequently raise our concerns and will continue to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on ensuring that mental health is removed as an obstacle to entering the workplace.

Alistair Burt

Ministers at the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions met on 3 June and agreed to greater cross government working between our respective Departments. Following that meeting, the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions Work and Health Unit was created to improve the health and employment outcomes of benefit claimants. Next year, the unit will launch a range of voluntary mental health and employment pilots to support working age individuals with or at risk of developing a mental health condition retain and return to employment.

We know that people come into contact with the welfare system at a time when they may be vulnerable because of unemployment and its associated consequences. The Department for Work and Pensions provides guidance and training for staff to help them identify and support people who may be vulnerable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the target of 20,000 resettled Syrian refugees is met by the end of this Parliament.

Richard Harrington

On 16 December 2015, the Prime Minister informed the House we had met our commitment of resettling 1,000 Syrians before Christmas. By hitting this target we have shown that we are on track to resettle 20,000 during the life of this parliament. The Government is working closely with local authorities, international delivery partners and the voluntary sector, putting in place the plans and structures to deliver this and ensuring the system is scaled up in a way that protects the interests of all concerned.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on support for people with mental health conditions who claim jobseeker’s allowance.

Alistair Burt

Ministers at the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions met on 3 June and agreed to greater cross government working between our respective Departments. Following that meeting, the Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions Work and Health Unit was created to improve the health and employment outcomes of benefit claimants. Next year, the unit will launch a range of voluntary mental health and employment pilots to support working age individuals with or at risk of developing a mental health condition retain and return to employment.

We know that people come into contact with the welfare system at a time when they may be vulnerable because of unemployment and its associated consequences. The Department for Work and Pensions provides guidance and training for staff to help them identify and support people who may be vulnerable.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to implement the recommendation of Professor Steve Field in his report on how the NHS treats transgender people.

Jane Ellison

Specialised gender identity services are directly commissioned by NHS England.

NHS England has considered the outcomes of the listening exercise conducted by Professor Field and has put in place a significant programme of work to improve healthcare services for transgender and non-binary people. A dedicated task group has been established to provide leadership and coordination of NHS England’s work to improve transgender and non-binary people’s experience of the National Health Service, and NHS England holds a Transgender Network event twice a year. Regular updates on NHS England’s work to improve gender identity services are given on NHS England’s website by the Regional Director of Specialised Commissioning (London) who chairs the task group.

A Clinical Reference Group for Gender Identity Services has been established, comprising professional and lay experts. This group makes recommendations to NHS England on clinical matters. Issues around the standardisation of pathways across gender identity services and clinical protocols are being considered as part of the current work to develop a service specification that, it is proposed, will describe how NHS England will commission these services in the future. The process for developing a proposed service specification has included a period of public consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department took into account the global growth potential of solar energy in making its decision to end Government support for the UK solar sector.

Andrea Leadsom

We are currently consulting on revised rates under the Feed-in Tariff scheme, and our proposal includes tariffs that would continue to provide a reasonable rate of return for the best sited solar PV projects.

We have additionally recently consulted on closing the Renewables Obligation to new solar PV projects of 5MW and below.

In both cases, the tariffs under consultation and the Impact Assessments have been conducted including analysis of the global cost trajectory of solar panels, and other materials in the solar supply chain.

The Impact Assessments for the FIT Review and RO Closure consultation can be found at:

FIT Review Consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-a-review-of-the-feed-in-tariff-scheme;

RO Consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv.

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