Tag: Catherine West

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of freedom of information requirements in the British Virgin Islands; and what plans he has to promote transparency in that territory.

James Duddridge

Freedom of information policy in the Virgin Islands is the responsibility of the government of the Virgin Islands. As such, the Governor announced the Virgin Islands Government’s intention to introduce a Freedom of Information Bill and a Data Protection Bill in the Speech from the Throne of 10 November 2014.

The Governor again underlined the importance of Open Government as the ‘foundation stone to a modern democracy’ at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Government on 10 June 2015. Discussion between the Governor and the elected Government continues on a range of Open Government and transparency initiatives.

The 2012 White Paper states our commitments on working with the governments of the Overseas Territories on improving transparency and accountability. We are supporting these governments in moving towards systems of open government through sharing best practice and capacity building. This is a devolved area of competence and it is for Territory governments to develop a system that meets their particular requirements and circumstances.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

Mr Edward Vaizey

DCMS shares premises with other Government Departments – HMRC and DfE – that are responsible for the employment and payment of cleaning staff.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in the Government Equalities Office.

Nick Gibb

The hourly rate of pay for cleaners working in buildings managed by the Department for Education is between £7.85 and £9.15 depending on location and duration of tenure.

The Government Equality Office is based within buildings managed by the Department for Education, and therefore the same rates apply.

From 1 April 2016, the rate of pay will be increased to the 2016 Living Wage Foundation rates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much security guards in his Department are paid.

Justin Tomlinson

DWP do not directly employ any security guards, they are supplied via our PFI contractor Telereal Trillium who subcontract the supply of all security to G4S.

G4S pay rates (as of 1 January 2016) vary on geographical location and the average pay rate for each Government Office Region (GOR) is set out below:

GOVERNMENT OFFICE REGION	HOURLY PAY RATE (Average)
GOR 1 Scotland	£7.84
GOR 2 North East	£7.84
GOR 3 North West	£7.85
GOR 4 Yorkshire & Humberside	£7.86
GOR 5 East Midlands	£7.86
GOR 6 West Midlands	£7.83
GOR 7 East of England	£8.38
GOR 8 Wales	£7.87
GOR 9 Southern	£8.39
GOR 10 London	£9.26
GOR 11 South West	£7.88

All G4S security guards/officers (irrespective of age) are already paid above the National Living Wage of £7.20/hour which will be introduced from 01-Apr-16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation in Indonesia.

Mr Hugo Swire

Our Embassy in Jakarta engages with a wide range of Indonesian civil society organisations and regularly seeks their assessments of the human rights situation. Indonesia has a strong tradition of religious diversity and tolerance but there has been a rise in recent years of localised instances of inter- and intra-religious conflict and examples where the rights of religious and other minority groups have not been protected.

We will continue to raise our concerns on these important issues with the Indonesian authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on LGBT rights in Bangladesh of the murder of Xulhaz Mannan in Dhaka.

Mr Hugo Swire

Human rights are universal and should apply equally to all people. On Monday 25 April I said publicly that I was deeply saddened by the senseless murders of Xulhaz Mannan and Tanay Fahim and called for the killers to be brought to justice. Same sex relations in Bangladesh are illegal, however the Foreign and Commonwealth Office work to uphold the rights and freedoms of LGBT people in all circumstances. In 2015 we funded a project promoting social justice and dignity for LGBT groups in Bangladesh.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice Next Steps to spread educational excellence everywhere announced, dated 6 May 2016, how long before she made the announcement of her decision to change her policy on schools becoming academies that decision was made.

Edward Timpson

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provisions are in place at detention centres for people suffering with mental health conditions.

Ben Gummer

People detained in immigration removal centres (IRCs) should receive an equivalent range and quality of treatment and services for their mental health needs to those in the community with similar clinical needs.

Health care in IRCs in England is commissioned by NHS England, who commission evidence-based treatments approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

NHS England commissions services against service specifications which define the standards of care expected from healthcare providers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) children have entered the UK under the refugee family reunion rules in each of the last three years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The family reunion policy allows those granted refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK to sponsor their pre-flight family members, i.e. spouse or partner and children under the age of 18, who formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country, to reunite with them in the UK.

Information on how many men, women and children have entered the UK under refugee family reunion provisions in the Immigration Rules is not captured in our published data and would require a manual review. This information cannot therefore be provided without exceeding proportionate costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what level of funding his Department has allocated to schemes that encourage investment in tidal energy in each of the last five years.

Jesse Norman

Over the past five years, solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, wave and tidal electricity projects have received support from either the Renewables Obligation (RO) or the Feed-in Tariff (FITs).

Expenditure through the Renewables Obligation in 2011/12 to 2015/16 can be broken down by power generation technology shown in the table (£million in nominal prices). Solar PV and some small-scale onshore wind are also supported by the Feed In Tariff scheme, but costs are not available disaggregated by technology. Total support is shown below (£million).

RO (£million)	11/12	12/13	13/14	14/15	15/16
Onshore wind	£482.6	£557.1	£755.6	£786.8	£803.0
Offshore wind	£371.1	£698.5	£988.7	£1,108.0	£1,429.7
Solar PV	£0.1	£0.9	£34.9	£133.9	£264.8
Wave & Tidal	£0.1	£0.4	£0.4	£0.1	£0.2
TOTAL RO	£1,457.7	£1,991.3	£2,599.3	£3,114.2	£3,743.2
TOTAL FITs	£151	£506	£691	£866	£1,110

Renewables Obligations: Source Ofgem:

www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/ro/contacts-publications-and-data/publications-library-renewables-obligation

www.ofgem.gov.uk/publication-and-updates/renewables-obligation-ro-annual-report-2014-15

www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0

FITs: Source Ofgem:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/fit/contacts-guidance-and-resources/public-reports-and-data-fit/levelisation-reports

The Contracts for Difference Scheme opened for delivery from 2015/16 onwards. No projects started deploying in 2015/16 so no payments were made.

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