Tag: Charlotte Leslie

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people of each (a) ethnicity, (b) religion and (c) occupation have received an honorary knighthood in each of the last 10 years.

James Duddridge

The following table provides the available information on all recipients of an honorary knighthood in each of the last ten years, including the range of their occupations and their nationalities.

Nominators are given the opportunity to provide information on ethnicity of the person they are nominating, but rarely do. Information on the religion of honours nominees or recipients is not collected.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many allegations of fraudulent benefit claims made by members of the public led to (a) benefits being stopped and (b) prosecutions in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel

The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-05-24.

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

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We remain concerned about the residents of Camp Liberty. Our Embassy in Baghdad regularly raises this issue with the Government of Iraq and we support the United Nations’ calls for more to be done to protect residents. We are working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to relocate all the residents to safe third countries.

That being said, Monitors from the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) regularly visit Camp Liberty and issue daily reports which provide an update on the situation there. Their assessment remains that the provision of life support systems such as water, electricity and food continue to be well in excess of basic humanitarian standards. They have reported that the relocation of protective bunkers and installation of additional protective concrete walls, to increase the security and safety of the residents, has been completed. Iraqi government officials have reported that diesel tankers and trucks containing food and other supplies continue to routinely enter the camp, that residents continue to be referred to hospitals and that the clinic remains in operation. Residents’ representatives have confirmed this to be accurate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much each NHS trust has recuperated by recharging insurance companies for the costs associated with the treatment of customers who are involved in road traffic accidents in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The information is not held in the format requested. Whilst the Department does hold National Health Service trust level data on the total costs recovered through the NHS Injury Cost Recovery scheme, we cannot currently extract trust level data specifically related to road traffic accidents without incurring disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether victims of crime are informed (a) when prisoners appeal against their sentences and (b) the progress of such appeals.

Mike Penning

Victims of crime are informed of any notice of appeal; the date, time and location of any hearing and the outcome of that appeal, including any changes to the original sentence in accordance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime.

Victims are notified of this information on appeals from the magistrates’ courts to the Crown Court within one working day. For appeals from the Crown Court to the Court of Appeal, vulnerable or intimidated victims will receive this information within one working day and for all other victims of crime within five working days.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the duration of ambassadorial postings (a) where HM Ambassador is a speaker of the official language of the country to which he is posted (b) where HM Ambassador’s primary foreign language is not that of the country to which he is posted.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The majority of Heads of Mission have a tour length of three or four years, unless they are posted to a hardship or conflict post where the tour may be shorter. Around 100 Heads of Mission roles require language skills and are designated “speaker slots”.

We offer language training to Heads of Mission where this is required. The FCO Language Centre was re-opened in September 2013 to renew the focus and investment in languages as a core diplomatic skill to ensure that we get the right people with the right skills in the right jobs to deliver our foreign policy objectives. The Language Centre gives us a strong platform to grow our language skills as an organisation and develop a pipeline of talent to fill language slots on a continuous basis. It is essential that all our Heads of Mission have the necessary skills, including languages, to do their jobs. Many of our Heads of Mission will return to Posts where they have existing language capability, in these cases we will provide top up or refresher training. Our Head of Mission Appointment Boards take into account language skills as part of the overall assessment of suitability for a role. In some cases the best candidate may not already speak the language and for these roles we will provide longer training to reach the requisite level. We encourage all those who have undergone language training to maintain their language skills throughout their careers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that failed asylum claimants who have spoken out against the government of their country of origin are not deported in such a way as to draw the case to the attention of immigration officials in the destination country.

James Brokenshire

We carefully consider all asylum claims on their individual merits and provide protection for those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This includes an assessment about whether a person who has spoken out against their government is likely to be at risk of persecution or serious harm on return.

We do not provide any information relating to an asylum claim to the government of a claimant’s country of origin. No one who is at risk of serious harm in their country is expected to return there, but we do expect those who do not need our protection to return home voluntarily.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Honours Committee has made of the potential merits of granting an honorary knighthood to Muhammad Ali.

James Duddridge

Honours nominations are treated on a confidential basis to maintain the integrity of the honours system and the privacy of the individuals nominated. Honours Committees and Secretariats therefore do not comment on nominations. Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. Nominations are considered twice a year by a series of honours committees which consist of independent and official members.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what mechanisms his Department uses to communicate its decisions to air cadet units.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Ministry of Defence, through the Air Cadet Organisation (ACO), has a variety of mechanisms to communicate its decisions and policy changes to air cadet units.

Routine issues without any sensitive aspects are publicised on the ACO IT system, BADER, which all air cadet units have access to. These can be placed on BADER’s home page on the scrolling news announcements.

Departmental decisions that may have some sensitive aspects are normally communicated down through the chain-of-command by either e-mail or letter. Highly sensitive issues may be briefed by senior commanders in face-to-face meetings.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the annual cost to the NHS of General Medical Council appraisals.

Ben Gummer

In November 2012, the Department published an analysis of the costs and benefits of medical revalidation in England: “Medical Revalidation – Costs and Benefits”. This estimated that revalidation would result in additional costs of £97 million per year in England, over the ten-year period starting in 2013.