Tag: Andrew Smith

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the total number of visit visa applications was from Sri Lanka in 2015; and how many such applications were refused.

James Brokenshire

The information requested is as follows:

Applications: 16745

Issued : 10940

Refused : 5785

*These figures are based on Management Information, not published statistics, and are therefore liable to change.

*These figures relate to all visit visa applications made via the Visa Application Centre in Columbo, Sri Lanka, in 2015. It will therefore incorporate applicants other than Sri Lankan nationals.

*Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has service standards for considering applications for the change of conditions of leave granted on the basis of family or private life.

James Brokenshire

There are no service standards for a change of conditions application.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce a maximum time limit on the length of time for which a person can be detained under immigration powers.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government does not believe that it is appropriate for there to be a formal time limit on immigration detention. A statutory time limit would serve only to encourage individuals to frustrate asylum and immigration processes in order to reach a point at which they have to be released.

However, the Government is committed to ensuring that individuals are detained for the shortest period necessary and is introducing a range of reforms to the way in which immigration detention is managed, including greater judicial oversight of immigration detention through the Immigration Act 2016. Section 11 of Schedule 10 imposes a duty to arrange consideration of bail before the First-tier Tribunal at four months from the point of detention, or the most recent Tribunal consideration of bail, and every four months thereafter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much centrally-provided capital funding has been provided to each further education college in each of the last five years.

Nick Boles

The amount of centrally-provided capital funding provided to each further education college in each of the last five years is shown in the attached table.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the likely financial benefit to the UK from sales of Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicles to other countries.

Mr Philip Dunne

Watchkeeper is being considered by other nations alongside other capabilities to fulfil their own defence requirements. The details of these negotiations are commercially sensitive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will discuss with his Indonesian counterpart the restriction on non-governmental organisations working in West Papua.

Mr Hugo Swire

We welcome the Indonesian government’s commitment to improving the situation in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua. President Joko Widodo has visited 3 times since his election, most recently spending New Year in Papua. During his visit in May 2015, he granted clemency to a number of prisoners and announced the lifting of travel restrictions for foreign journalists and international organisations. Since then, a number of foreign journalists have successfully visited and reported from Papua and West Papua. Our Ambassador in Jakarta last visited Papua in January. As well as raising these issues, he also discussed ways to ensure the sustainable and equitable development of the provinces with members of the police, and religious and community leaders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations his Department has received on the potential effect on universities and university research of the proposed ban on public funds being used to lobby Government.

Matthew Hancock

As I made clear in the House on 27 April, we are continuing to consider the comments of all interested parties, ahead of the introduction into grant agreements of the clause aimed at protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation, pending a review of the representations made, and to give further time to consider any necessary adjustments to the wording of the clause, or the policy on its implementation, to help to deliver this policy in the best possible way for all involved.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review the position of people serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection who are significantly over tariff and assessed as low or medium risk.

Andrew Selous

I refer the Rt. Hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave for PQ 38441, answered on 6 June 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the United Nations to provide an update on progress towards the construction of Antony airport near Abyei; and when construction of that airport is expected to be completed.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Through our regular engagement with the UN, we will ask for an update on progress with the construction of Athony airport to be included in the next Secretary General’s Report on Abyei, which is due by 15 October 2016. The UN have faced considerable disruption to the construction of the airport, and have thus been unable to confirm to us an exact date for completion.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS has spent on maternity services in each of the last 10 years.

Ben Gummer

Not all of the information requested is collected centrally. Data for primary care trusts (PCTs) secondary healthcare commissioning spend on maternity services for the years 2005/06 to 2012/13 is shown in the tables below. Maternity services may also be commissioned in primary care environments. However, it is not possible to separately identify the amount of primary care expenditure on maternity services from the statutory accounting data collected by the Department.

Table 1: 2005/06 to 2007/08. NHS expenditure figures on a pre-Clear Line of Sight resource budgeting basis.

Year	Maternity services commissioned by PCTs 2005/06 to 2012/13 ( £ billion)	Spend on maternity services as % of NHS revenue expenditure
2005/06	1.67	2.25%
2006/07	1.62	2.06%
2007/08	1.79	2.07%

Source: NHS (England) Summarised Account (2005/06 to 2010/11)

Table 2: 2008/09 to 2012/13. NHS expenditure figures on an aligned basis following the HM Treasury’s Clear Line of Sight programme.

Year	Maternity services commissioned by PCTs 2005/06 to 2012/13 ( £ billion)	Spend on maternity services as % of NHS revenue expenditure
2008/09	1.97	2.25%
2009/10	2.41	2.55%
2010/11	2.53	2.60%
2011/12	2.62	2.61%
2012/13	2.58	2.52%

Source: NHS (England) Summarised Account (2005/06 to 2010/11) and the Department of Health Annual Report and Accounts (2011/12 and 2012/13).

Notes:

1. Commissioning expenditure on maternity services relates to the payments made by commissioners to providers for delivery of maternity services.
2. The Clear Line of Sight HM Treasury alignment project simplified financial reporting to Parliament by ensuring improved consistency between accounts and HM Treasury budgeting rules.

Following the abolition of PCTs and strategic health authorities at 31 March 2013, NHS England became responsible for the commissioning of healthcare in England via the network of individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The Department does not collect data on maternity services spend by CCGs.

NHS England has published expenditure on ‘maternity and reproductive health’ services commissioned by CCGs for 2013/14, which was estimated to be £2.8 billion (4% of total CCG expenditure). CCG spend represents a proportion of overall NHS expenditure on maternity services. NHS England also commissions some services that were previously included within PCT estimates, such as antenatal screening services. NHS England is currently reviewing the data on direct commissioning expenditure and plans to publish this when finalised.