Tag: Catherine West

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-15.

To ask the Prime Minister, if he will amend the Memorandum of Understanding of 25 November 2014 under section 2(2) of the Justice and Security Act 2013 to enable the Intelligence and Security Committee to review documents related to the military action against Reyaad Khan in Syria.

Mr David Cameron

I discussed the scope of the Intelligence and Security Committee’s (ISC) Inquiry with the Chairman, my Right Honourable Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) and we have reached agreement on the disclosure of material to the ISC that will enable them to conduct a robust review of the threat posed by Reyaad Khan. The ISC have received contemporaneous intelligence assessments of Khan and will take further evidence in the coming weeks.

The Chairman of the ISC has written to the Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, the right hon. Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman), to set out the Committee’s views and this has been published on the ISC’s website. I understand that the letter makes it clear that the ISC’s remit is intelligence not military action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) measure and (b) evaluate the effect of the men who have sex with men human papillomavirus vaccination programme on reducing rates of infection.

Jane Ellison

In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that a targeted human papilloma virus vaccination programme for men who have sex with men attending genito-urinary medicine and HIV clinics should be undertaken, subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price. The Department and Public Health England are considering the JCVI’s advice, including how such a programme could be monitored and evaluated.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of deployment by China of surface-to-air missiles on the Paracels Islands in the South China Sea.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are very concerned about Chinese missile deployments on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands, as reported in the media on 17 February. The UK opposes any actions which are likely to increase tensions in the South China Sea, including militarisation. We urge all parties to exercise restraint, to pursue the settlement of disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, and to uphold freedom of navigation and freedom overflight.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for an ambulance was (a) nationally, (b) in London and (c) in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publish the total number of Category A (most urgent) calls resulting in an emergency response and the proportion of responses against the three national ambulance performance standards.

This data is published on a monthly basis at both a national and individual ambulance trust level. Latest data for December 2015 for England and London Ambulance Service NHS Trust is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

– see interactive ambulance systems indicators time series to December 2015

Data is not available at constituency level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political and security situation in Turkey since the recent terrorist bombing in Ankara; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

The Government condemns the attacks in Ankara on 13 March and in Istanbul on 19 March. The UK stands in solidarity with Turkey, a NATO ally and valued partner for the UK. As noted in our travel advice, the threat from terrorism remains high, with the Kurdish separatist PKK, Daesh and other terrorist organisations continuing to plan and carry out attacks. The UK condemns terrorism in all its forms, and is clear that PKK terrorist attacks must end. We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many leave to remain applications have been refused as a result of the good character test in each year for which information is available.

Mike Penning

We are unable to supply the information requested, as Leave to Remain (LTR) applications are not assessed or refused on the basis of ‘the good character test’ . LTR applications are assessed against a range of criteria, including on the basis of the applicants suitability – which may be their character, convictions, associations or other reasons which may mean that their being in the UK is not ‘conducive to the public good’.

The specific refusal reasons entered onto the Home Office IT system during the assessment of a case, consist of a free-form text field, which can only be accessed on a case-by-case basis and therefore a wider Management Information report is not available for this question.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will hold a public consultation on the level of fees charged by the Office of the Public Guardian.

Caroline Dinenage

Work to review the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) fee structure is ongoing. Depending on the outcome of that work, a consultation will be published in due course if required.

No estimate has been made of the average cost to a user of OPG services of the over recovery of costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Burmese counterpart on the arrest and imprisonment of human rights activist U Gambira; and whether he has made an assessment of the living conditions of his imprisonment.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are concerned by the arrest and imprisonment of U Gambira. Together with our international partners we have been following his case closely, including attending court hearings on his case. While we have not made a formal assessment of the living conditions of his imprisonment, we are aware that a number of local and international NGOs have expressed general concerns about the
conditions in Burmese prisons. The UK has consistently lobbied the Government of Burma to release all political prisoners.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice entitled Next Steps to spread educational excellence everywhere announced, published on 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

When our White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere was published, we were clear that we would be listening and reflecting on discussions with MPs and the education sector about all of the proposals in the White Paper. Following these discussions, we have decided it is not necessary to take blanket powers to convert good schools in strong local authorities to academies at this time.

We remain committed to the vision of a dynamic high-performing education system where every school is an academy. We believe that this is the best way to tackle underperformance and ensure the best schools expand their reach.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her Department’s target waiting time is for a Disclosure and Barring Service local intelligence check to be completed by the police.

Karen Bradley

In 2015/16, the Disclosure and Barring Service processed 87% of all applications within 21 days, against a target of 85%.

Some of the over four million applications received each year need to be referred to one or more police forces for further checks. There is a service level agreement between the Disclosure and Barring Service and police forces in relation to the time taken to complete these local disclosure checks.

These standards are: –

85% of police checks must be completed in 14 days;

90% of police checks must be completed in 18 days;

95% of police checks must be completed in 25 days; and – 100% of police checks must be completed in 60 days.