Tag: Andy Slaughter

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what bi-lateral discussions she has had with her counterparts in which EU member states on the long-term status of UK citizens in those member states.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government has repeatedly stated that there will be no immediate changes in the circumstances of UK nationals and their family members entering or currently residing in the European Union.

During the period of the negotiations, the UK remains a full member of the EU, entitled to all the benefits and obligations of membership. We have published guidance on gov.uk which makes this clear.

It is a Government priority to protect the legal rights of British nationals living in EU countries, as well as EU nationals in the UK, and we are confident that we will be able secure those things together during discussions with our EU partners.

As part of this process, the Secretary of State will continue to work closely with EU counterparts and with relevant stakeholders.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how the Government plans to use its position on the UN Security Council to facilitate diplomatic negotiations on protecting civilians in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Protection of civilians in Syria, as well as those who have been forced to flee the country, is a priority for the UK. In the UN Security Council the UK has co-sponsored a number of humanitarian resolutions that call for an end to: indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including the use of barrel bombs; starvation as a method of warfare; and obstruction of the flow of humanitarian aid. Specifically, the UK played a key role in negotiating UN Security Council Resolution 2191, which has allowed the UN and its partners to deliver aid across Syria’s borders to people who were previously denied access, including food for 2.1 million people and medical supplies for 2.5 million people. The UK will use its seat on the UN Security Council to push proactively for a renewal of Resolution 2191.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) enforce the European Commission Interpretative Notice, C2015 7834 final, on the indication of origin of goods from territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 and (b) ensure that penalties for mis-labeling of such products are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

George Eustice

The principal feature of the Interpretative Notice is a recommendation that goods imported into the EU which originate from Israeli settlements in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 should bear an indication which makes that provenance clear. That recommendation was included in technical advice to UK retailers and importers concerning labelling agricultural produce from the West Bank that was issued by Defra in 2009. We are currently in discussion with other Departments to consider whether revisions need to be made to the 2009 advice in the light of the Interpretative Notice. As regards sanctions and penalties for mis-labelling, these are dealt with in various pieces of legislation depending on the goods concerned.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which contracts worth more than £5 million his Department has signed since 1 September 2014; with which organisations such contracts have been signed; what the purpose was of each contract; what the (a) annual and (b) total cost is of each such contract; and what the length is of each such contract.

Mike Penning

All contracts awarded since 1 September 2014 over the value of £5 million are published on the Contracts Finder website:

Notices from 26 February 2015 onwards can be found at https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

This covers all notices from the 26^th February 2015 onwards.

An archive of notices going back to 11 February 2011 can be found at: https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what humanitarian support the Government is offering in refugee camps in (a) Lesbos, (b) Idomeni, (c) Calais, (d) Dunkirk and (e) other locations.

James Brokenshire

Asylum seekers and refugees in other Member States are the responsibility of the authorities of those countries. Member States, furthermore, are bound by EU and international legal obligations to provide adequate care and reception to asylum seekers and refugees within their territory.

The UK, nevertheless, continues to provide practical support to other Member States and both France and the UK are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August, the UK committed to providing a £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

In addition to our work with France, we are also providing practical support to Greece through the European Asylum Support Office by deploying UK asylum experts to the border control ‘hotspot’ in Lesbos to assist with the swift screening of asylum applicants arriving there. We stand ready to provide further such assistance where necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of delaying the introduction of a fixed recoverable costs regime for medical negligence cases until the planned reductions in costs resulting from the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 have been made.

Ben Gummer

The intention is to introduce fixed recoverable costs (FRC) for clinical negligence claims from 1 October 2016, following the outcome of the public consultation. The Department is aware that there are pre-Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 cases in the system and will be for a number of years. However, FRC for clinical negligence is not a new concept and had been proposed by Lord Woolf and Lord Justice Jackson in 1996 and 2009 respectively in order to better manage clinical negligence claims through the legal process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-16.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to use any of its statutory regulatory powers to ensure that there is the reduction in the cost of car insurance referred to in paragraph 1.143 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Harriett Baldwin

The pricing of insurance products is a commercial matter for individual insurers in which the Government does not seek to intervene. The motor insurance market is intensely competitive and the Government therefore expects that the insurance industry will pass on savings to consumers.

Some insurers have already committed to pass on all savings to consumers as a result of the proposed changes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on Saudi Arabia’s use of counter-terrorism laws; and whether such laws are being used legitimately to tackle terrorism or to supress political and religious opposition.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have been following Saudi Arabia’s counter-terrorism and terrorism financing legislation issue closely since it was implemented on 31 January 2014. As we noted in our 2014 Human Rights and Democracy, a number of human rights activists have been sentenced in the Specialised Criminal Court, set up under this legislation for security and terrorism cases. We will continue to monitor this issue carefully.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on the operation of the new arrangements for obtaining medical reports in road traffic claims of the changes to personal injury law and procedure announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab

The measures announced in the Autumn Statement build on the Government’s previous reforms including, in particular, the MedCo system for obtaining independent medical reports which remains integral to the Government’s approach to tackling abuses in the whiplash claims process.

The Government will consult on the detail of the new measures in due course and the consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will meet with representative bodies of people acting for personal injury complainants to discuss the outcome of his discussions with the insurance industry; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab

The Government continues to work with a wide range of stakeholders in taking forward the whiplash reform package announced by the Chancellor in his Autumn Statement in November 2015. Officials met with representative bodies for claimant solicitors in December 2015 and a ministerial meeting is planned for the end of January 2016. They will have a further opportunity to comment when we consult on the detail of the reforms in due course.