Tag: Dan Jarvis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the UK’s membership of the EU to the UK’s work in (a) preventing and (b) identifying and detaining terrorists.

James Brokenshire

Terrorism and serious organised crime are global threats that cross national borders. Our unique relationship with the EU gives UK law enforcement access to EU tools and instruments that help keep people safe and tackle serious and organised crime, but also mean we are not obliged to participate in new measures when we do not judge them to be in the national interest.

The tools and instruments that the UK participates in include Europol, an EU agency which supports cross-border police operations and intelligence sharing, and can assist in the identification of terrorist threats; the European Arrest Warrant, which allows swift extradition between EU countries of individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence; and the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), which enables law enforcement agencies around the EU to share live alerts, for example, for missing people and stolen vehicles. The UK is also in the process of implementing Prum, which will give us access to fingerprint and DNA data from other member states.

Since 2004, using the European Arrest Warrant, over 1,000 individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence have faced justice in UK courts and over 7,000 have been extradited from the UK.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what international humanitarian aid exercises her Department has been involved in that have (a) involved EU member states and (b) been EU-led.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK participated in the Triplex 2013 Exercise which was led by the International Humanitarian Partnership and co-funded by the European Union.

The Triplex Exercise brings together EU Civil Protection Teams and Modules with the United Nations, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) and military, to strengthen preparedness and coordination of an effective response in the first phase of a large-scale humanitarian emergency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to reduce consumer energy prices.

Andrea Leadsom

There are now 33 independent suppliers for households to choose from in additional to the six largest suppliers, giving more choice than ever before. By switching from a standard tariff to the best fixed, direct debit deal on the market, many people could save around £300 and some could save even more. We have already made it simpler and quicker to switch supplier and are working towards next day switching.

The Government supports the Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation into the retail energy market and we will take forward appropriate implementation of its final recommendations which are due to be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Prime Minister, how many meetings he had to discuss tax evasion and avoidance between (a) 5 April 2016 and 5 May 2016 and (b) 6 May 2016 and 6 June 2016.

Mr David Cameron

I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects.

I also hosted the Anti-Corruption Summit, the first of its kind, which discussed among other issues tax evasion and avoidance. The Summit conclusions have been published on the gov.uk website.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone makes a fair contribution towards reducing the deficit. We have already announced, during this Parliament, that we will legislate for over 25 measures to tackle avoidance, evasion and aggressive tax planning, which are forecast to raise £16 billion by 2021.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to publish its Life Changes Strategy.

Damian Hinds

The Prime Minister is clear that tackling poverty and disadvantage, and delivering real social reform, is a priority for this Government and we will be coming back to the House with a number of announcements over the coming months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what account his Department plans to take of the closure of steel plants in 2015 in the strategic defence and security review process.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Strategic Defence and Security Review will be a comprehensive review of our defence and security capabilities.

Separately, the Cabinet Office are leading a cross-Government Steel Procurement Working Group on which the Ministry of Defence is represented. The Government has published new guidelines for Departments to apply to major projects when sourcing and buying steel directly. Departments will be encouraged to take into account social impacts of competing suppliers when placing contracts directly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to improve the environment as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

James Wharton

The Northern Powerhouse is about bringing together northern cities and regions to maximise the potential of the North and help drive UK economic growth.

We will do this by investing in science and technology, transport, digital and innovation, culture and tourism across the region, alongside devolving power to give the North a powerful new voice, investment and decision-making powers to meet these ambitions. Improving the environment could be a consideration in how we take forward these investments and activities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether contractors have housed asylum seekers in properties with doors that are all uniform or nearly uniform in colour in regions other than the North East.

James Brokenshire

Home Office officials are working closely with our housing providers to ensure that asylum seeker accommodation is not easily identifiable. I am not aware of a uniform door colour being the practice in any other region. My officials have also spoken to our housing providers to tell them that such a practice is not acceptable.

I was first made aware of this issue when The Times contacted the Home Office in mid-January. G4S has investigated correspondence and discussions on the issue of external door colour in the North East and has confirmed that it was raised in 2012 by a Middlesbrough local councillor and was considered by the G4S audit and assurance team, no complaints from asylum seekers relating to this matter were found and a response was issued.

As I said to the House on 20 January, I instructed officials to look into this issue as a matter of urgency and I expect that the audit will be concluded on the Home Office side very shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the Government’s timetable is for introducing measures to place a duty on larger employers to publish information about bonuses paid to men and women as part of their gender pay gap reporting.

Caroline Dinenage

Eliminating the gender pay gap is a key priority for this government. We will shortly seek views on the draft regulations requiring large private and voluntary sector employers in Great Britain to publish information about differences in the pay and bonuses paid to male and female employees. The government wants to commence these regulations at the earliest opportunity. We have also pledged to extend these requirements to the public sector. Public bodies will be covered by different regulations, following a further consultation that we will issue soon.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to address inequalities in cancer incidence across England resulting from smoking.

Jane Ellison

We know that smoking causes over a quarter of cancer deaths in the United Kingdom and that these deaths disproportionally occur in the poorest areas and most vulnerable populations.

The Government has committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan to further reduce the prevalence of smoking in England. Addressing the health inequality caused by smoking will be one of the key priorities underpinning this strategy and we are working with partners across the system to embed locally, the success we have had reducing prevalence nationally.