Tag: Andrew Rosindell

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Questions 28144 and 28086, if her Department will take into account, when making a decision on granting right to abode, the Government’s obligations for life under the Armed Forces Covenant to support veterans and their families.

James Brokenshire

The assessment of the request by former members of the Hong Kong Military Service Corps that they be granted right of abode in the UK is under consideration. This will take into account all available information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to promote gender equality in the Middle East.

Mr Desmond Swayne

To ensure compliance with the Gender Equality Act (2014), DFID ensures all programmes consider gender in order to understand and mitigate negative impacts of inequality and maximise opportunities to promote equality. Our strategic vision for women and girls is to unlock their potential to play a critical role in reducing poverty and building peaceful societies. For example, in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank in Jordan, Egypt and the OPTs, the £10m Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund addresses the job market challenges faced by poor women, enabling 150,000 women to work, grow their business and increase their voice, choice and control over economic activities. In the humanitarian context, in response to the Syria crisis, DFID funding is enabling INGOs and UN agencies to provide specialist assistance to those affected by sexual-and gender-based violence through clinical care, case management, counselling, reproductive health care and cash assistance to vulnerable households.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether during his recent visit to Mauritius the British Indian Ocean Territory Commissioner discussed prospects for resettlement with Oliver Bancoult, the Leader of the Chagos Refugees Group.

James Duddridge

The Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory, who also holds the position of Director of Overseas Territories in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visited Mauritius to lead a UK delegation to continue official-level talks started in November in London to implement the recent UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Tribunal Award. The Commissioner took the opportunity to, once again, seek Mauritius’ views on the question of resettlement, though as before this was refused by Mauritius. While in Mauritius, the Commissioner joined meetings between the British High Commissioner to Mauritius and Chagossian leaders, including Mr Bancoult. A range of matters were discussed, including the Government’s further work to develop its policy on the question of resettlement of BIOT. The Commissioner indicated that the UK is still considering its policy in this area and will announce developments in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what involvement UK armed forces have had with EU battle groups in the last three years; and how many UK armed forces personnel the Government has pledged to commit to those groups.

Mr Julian Brazier

The EU Battlegroup concept has Lead Nations on standby for six month periods. The UK was an EU Battlegroup Lead Nation from July to December 2013, and will be again from July to December 2016. The total number of UK personnel involved is 2,330. They remain under national control and direction at all times.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the rollout of the new submarines for the replacement Trident programme does not disrupt the Government’s commitment to having a constant at-sea deterrent.

Harriett Baldwin

As set out in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we are taking steps to manage the defence nuclear enterprise and ensure the Successor submarines are delivered to time and budget. As part of this, we have established a new Director-General Nuclear to act as single and accountable focal point within the Ministry of Defence for all aspects of the defence nuclear enterprise. We are also establishing a new submarine delivery body for the procurement and in-service support of all nuclear submarines, including the Successor submarines. We have deliberately moved away from a traditional single ‘Main Gate’ approach, to a staged investment approach with multiple control points. This will enable us to better regulate and control programme funding and delivery.

The rollout of the Successor submarines supports the programme to maintain a Continuous at Sea Deterrent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that UK-based science research teams can employ foreign researchers without restriction.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Immigration reforms since 2010 have explicitly taken account of the needs of scientists and researchers. The Government has consistently enhanced the treatment of scientists and science in the immigration system.

In Tier 2, the skilled work route for non-EEA nationals, PhD-level occupations have higher priority when allocating places within the annual limit. These occupations are also exempted from the £35,000 earnings threshold for settlement applications, and we have relaxed the Resident Labour Market Test to allow the best candidate to be appointed, regardless of nationality.

We have introduced the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route for world leaders in science, engineering, humanities, the arts and digital technology.

The Tier 5 (Temporary Work) route contains further provisions which enable sponsored researchers to participate in international research collaborations

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 906599, for what reason that Answer does not refer to unemployment levels.

Damian Hinds

The Department has made no assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage on employment levels. However, in 2015 the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that the National Living Wage would have a +0.2 percentage point impact on the unemployment rate by April 2020 – equivalent to around 60,000 people.

The Government is committed to reducing long-term unemployment and youth unemployment, and the overall unemployment rate is currently at the historically low level of 4.9%. The Government will also continue to consider advice on increases of the National Living Wage from the Low Pay Commission, whose remit it is to make sure that wages rise to reward workers while considering the impact on the economy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the Government’s policy is on the provision of incremental annual pay rises for personnel of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt

As part of its New Employment Model programme, Defence is developing a new pay model which will be simpler, more transparent and provide Service personnel with greater pay predictability, removing some of the unpopular and divisive features of the current pay model. However, the details of this new pay model, including incremental progression arrangements, cannot be finalised until the outcome of the Spending Review is known.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress has been made on the application by Romford Football Club to build a stadium on Westlands playing field; and when she expects a decision on that application will be reached.

Edward Timpson

School playing fields are protected by Section 77 of the SchoolStandards and Framework Act 1998. Schoolsand local authorities must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval beforethey can dispose of their land. Applications to dispose of schoolplaying fields are considered by the independent school playing fields advisory panel, and are approved only when it is demonstrated that the application meets published criteria.

We are aware of an application by Havering Local Authority to seek approval to dispose of part of Westlands Playing Field to Romford Football Club. The application is currently being processed by officials at the Education Funding Agency, who are seeking further detail from the local authority about the proposal. The application will only be considered when sufficient information is available to assess the overall benefit of the scheme against the needs of pupils and existing community users. The Secretary of State will consider the panel’s recommendation before making her final decision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will assess the extent to which grants made by his Department to third parties are used for activities designed to influence his Department, other departments or Parliament.

Joseph Johnson

Grants made by my Department and its partner organisations can only be used for lawful activities and for purposes which have been approved by Parliament – for example to promote business, research and innovation. Any unauthorised activities should not attract grant support.