Tag: Barry Sheerman

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote freedom of speech in the Middle East.

Mr David Lidington

Freedom of expression has been a human rights priority for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from the beginning of this Parliament; and the subject of an Expert Group which advises Ministers. We raise press freedom regularly in multilateral fora, supporting relevant initiatives and resolutions, and in bilateral conversations – in both private and public. We regularly raise the importance of freedom of speech with counterparts in government across the Middle East and North Africa. Through our Arab Partnership Initiative, we are working to support the development of legitimate and inclusive institutions to improve governance, enable inclusive reform and protect fundamental freedoms such as freedom of speech. Our Arab Partnership Participation Fund has supported the training of journalists in countries across the region, including Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt to deliver un-biased reporting and work to protect freedom of speech. In Iraq, we have worked to build a legal and regulatory environment in order to allow Iraqi media to operate safely, freely and effectively.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a landlord licensing scheme.

Brandon Lewis

Local authorities have strong powers to introduce selective licensing schemes where they have acute, localised problems of high levels of crime, inward migration, anti-social behaviour or deprivation, or suffer from low housing demand or poor property conditions. These powers should only be used where there is a real need and it is proportionate to do so.

We do not support blanket licensing schemes as they put unnecessary burdens and expense on good landlords which reduces choice, and increases costs, for tenants. A targeted approach helps to ensure that local authorities focus their enforcement activity on areas with the most severe problems, and are able to deliver their local plans in a way that is beneficial to both landlords and tenants.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to promote freedom of speech in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK is a strong and leading supporter of freedom of expression around the world. We continue to raise a range of human rights issues with the Saudi authorities including the right to freedom of expression. Earlier this month we raised freedom of expression at a senior level with the Saudi authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase public understanding of diabetes and its symptoms.

Jane Ellison

Change4Life, Public Health England’s (PHE) social marketing programme aimed at families with children aged 5 to 11 gives advice about healthy lifestyles in order to lower the risks of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, some cancers and heart disease. More than 2.7 million people have engaged with the campaign.

PHE is currently developing a social marketing campaign for adults about improving their own health, encouraging them to make a number of lifestyle changes including taking more exercise, improving diet, stopping smoking and reducing alcohol consumption.

The Department, building on the National Diabetes Prevention Programme, has committed to improving the outcomes for those with and at risk of diabetes. We will announce our plans in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on the case of Raif Badawi in Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Whilst the latest flogging has been postponed, we remain seriously concerned by Raif Badawi’s case. The UK condemns the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in all circumstances. We have raised Mr Badawi’s case at a senior level with the Saudi authorities.

The UK is a strong supporter of freedom of expression around the world. We believe that people must be allowed to freely discuss and debate issues, challenge their governments, exercise the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and speak out against violations of human rights wherever they occur.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in children under five.

Jane Ellison

We are supporting the improvement of diagnosis and treatment of children with diabetes through a national best practice tariff, which sets out the standards of care and services that should be in place for children and young people in diabetes services. A round of peer review of all units providing care for children with diabetes was completed in September 2014. Through the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership we support the dedicated National Paediatric Diabetes Audit.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the sale of arms by UK companies to countries with governments which consistently violate the human rights of their citizens.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

This Government supports a responsible defence and security industry that helps meet the legitimate defence needs of other states, and contributes to their security and law and order.

We take our arms export responsibilities very seriously and aim to operate one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All defence and dual-use exports are required to meet the UK’s strict export control legislation and adhere to the UK international commitments including international treaties and obligations.

Each application for an export licence is subject to rigorous case-by-case assessment against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Risks around human rights violations are a key part of our assessment. We do not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to increase the fines that local authorities can impose on landlords convicted of housing offences.

Andrew Selous

Magistrates can impose a fine of any amount for many housing offences. For all fines, the courts will continue to impose amounts based on seriousness and the financial circumstances of the offender.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received from (a) researchers, (b) academies, (c) pressure groups, (d) parents and (e) people working in education on the appropriate age for children to enter primary education.

Elizabeth Truss

Formal school starting ages vary across OECD member states. However it is useful to compare the state provision of education for young children prior to the start of compulsory education as the majority of children in OECD countries have entered the education system at a young age – participation rates in formal childcare and pre-school are broadly similar across Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Research indicates that most countries have published curricula governing the provision of early years education from the ages four to six years which are consistent in their use of learning objectives and expected outcomes. The Department has commissioned the OECD to carry out an international review of pedagogy and practice in the early years to investigate this issue further. We anticipate a report in autumn 2014.

Research has demonstrated that all-round development is enhanced for those children attending nursery compared to those who don’t before starting school. This suggests that attending a formal learning environment from an earlier age is typically beneficial. Furthermore duration in nursery matters, with every month of nursery experience after age two years linked to better intellectual development and improved independence, concentration and sociability at age five with a continued effect at Key Stage 1.

High quality early years education will help close the attainment gap that already exists by the beginning of primary school between disadvantaged children and their peers. Evidence is clear that children’s learning and development in their early years is crucial to later attainment. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project found that high quality early years education is a strong predictor of achievement in English and mathematics later on in school.

We cannot provide the information requested on representations on this topic. The Department receives a huge volume of mail and representations on education and children’s issues. There would be a disproportionate cost to providing a response in this case.