Tag: Danny Kinahan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to assist internally displaced persons in northern Iraq with humanitarian aid.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK has committed £79.5 million of humanitarian assistance to Iraq since summer 2014. This includes cash assistance, access to clean water, food, medicines and other life-saving assistance for the most vulnerable. Our partners distribute our aid on the basis of need across Iraq, including to internally displaced persons in northern Iraq.

Given the importance of a coordinated response, we are providing funding to UNDP to support the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Joint Crisis Centre (JCC), as well as its equivalent for the Government of Iraq, the Joint Crisis and Monitoring Centre (JCMC). In close collaboration with the JCMC, UN, donors and NGOs, the JCC is leading humanitarian efforts for the KRG.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the adequacy of the level of protection against discrimination in employment, training and career development for people with disabilities.

Penny Mordaunt

Equality legislation for Disabled People is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

In Great Britain, the Equality Act 2010 defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-today activities”. Where an employee/applicant or service-user has a condition that fits the definition of a disability, they are protected under the 2010 Act. Employers and service-providers are therefore required to make reasonable adjustments available in order to ensure that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to those who do not have a disability.

It is for the courts to decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether there has been disability discrimination where a reasonable adjustment has not been made available.

For those who need additional support over and above that which is a reasonable adjustment, Access to Work can help. Access to Work provides practical and financial support with the additional costs faced by individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. Access to Work continues to support over 36,000 people per year take up or retain employment.

Disability Confident, on which this Department leads, was launched by the then Prime Minister in July 2013 to challenge perceptions, engage employers and promote good practice.

Disability Confident is about creating a movement for change – getting employers to think differently about disability and to take action to improve how they attract, recruit and retain disabled workers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to highlight the potential benefits of a military career to young people from deprived areas.

Mark Lancaster

Our Armed Forces welcomes people from all backgrounds. There is a role in the Services for people regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin or religious belief. No account is taken of sexual orientation or social background. The Armed Forces has a strict code of conduct to make sure that everyone is treated fairly. As a major employer we are working to create a more inclusive working environment in which people are able to reach their full potential.

The Armed Forces has an extensive programme of engagement with schools and educational establishments, including deprived areas. However, the Armed Forces does not recruit in schools and only visits educational establishments when specifically invited to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce legislative proposals to prevent UK tax rules allowing companies to avoid paying tax in developing countries.

Mr David Gauke

The UK, like most countries, has a territorial tax system that focuses on taxing profits generate from economic activity in the UK. It is not possible to use the UK tax system to prevent companies from avoiding paying tax in other countries. Our corporate tax system is designed to protect the UK’s tax base, not those of other countries.

The key issue is ensuring that developing countries have the assistance required to develop their own rules to protect their tax bases. The UK has set up a specialist Tax Capacity Building Unit in HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which deploys HMRC staff to developing countries to provide technical expertise. Earlier this year, we committed to doubling our funding for tax projects in developing countries.

The UK is also at the forefront of global efforts to address tax avoidance by multinational companies through the OECD-G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Over 60 countries have been involved in this work, including developing countries.

The BEPS project was completed on 5 October, and the focus is now on implementation. The UK is chairing a group of over 90 countries, including developing countries such as Zambia, who are working together to develop a multilateral instrument (MLI) to update the global network of tax treaties in line with the BEPS project outcomes. The MLI will help developing countries whose tax treaty negotiation expertise may be more limited than in governments of developed economies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with (a) the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and (b) her counterpart in the Republic of Ireland on steps to ensure the proposed North-South electricity interconnector is delivered.

Mr Ben Wallace

Non-nuclear energy policy is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to allocate enough funding to cover predicted changes in the cost of cancer care beyond treatment.

Jane Ellison

The Independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July this year. It identified improving support for people living with and beyond cancer, and improving long-term quality of life as high priorities.

NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations of the Taskforce report. A cross-system Cancer Transformation Board, chaired by the new National Cancer Director, Cally Palmer, will be established to oversee implementation of the strategy, and will have its first meeting in early 2016. The Transformation Board will formulate more detailed plans for implementation of the report’s recommendations based on the final outcome of the spending review. More details will be available in early 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of the £50 million fund established for First World War commemorations has been allocated to or spent in Northern Ireland.

David Evennett

The Heritage Lottery Fund has committed £13.9m of Lottery funding to 58 projects across Northern Ireland and continues to welcome applications for First World War projects of any size. One of these projects is the restoration and display of HMS Caroline – the only surviving ship from the 1916 Battle of Jutland – in Belfast’s historic maritime quarter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2015 to Question 3343, if she will commission an independent review of the reasons for the refusal of visa applications by people from the Kurdistan region of Iraq over the last three years.

James Brokenshire

There are no plans to commission an independent review into visa refusals of applications made by people from the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

UKVI places great importance of the quality of all entry clearance decisions. All applications are assessed against the Immigration Rules. Decision quality is assured both by local managers and as part of the overall Home Office audit and assurance framework to make sure that the correct decision is reached on all visa applications.

Further assurance is provided by regular third party inspections and audits.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-04-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to reduce the obstacles to first-time house-buyers due to their outstanding student loans.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Government has announced a series of measures which will help people become homeowners, including plans to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes, 135,000 Shared Ownership homes and the Help to Buy: ISA, through which the Government tops up mortgage deposit savings for first time buyers by up to £3,000. The Government has also announced the creation of the Lifetime ISA, which will help young people save flexibly towards a first home and retirement at the same time.

The Council for Mortgage Lenders advise that a student loan is very unlikely to materially impact on an individual’s ability to get a mortgage.

This is because it is only repayable when a borrower’s income is over £21,000.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to improve the life chances of people with disabilities.

Penny Mordaunt

The Government is committed to improving the life chances of disabled people and has made a commitment to halve the employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people.

The Government is working with employers through Disability Confident to challenge attitudes towards disability and ensure that disabled people have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations. Since 2013 the number of disabled people in work has increased by almost half a million (493,000). Nearly 3.4 million disabled people are now in employment.

Access to Work provides practical and financial support with the additional costs faced by individuals whose heath or disability affects the way they do their job. 36,470 individuals were helped by Access to Work in the 2015/16 including record numbers of people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and young people. Last year’s Spending review announced a real-terms increase in funding for access to work starting in 16/17 to enable the scheme to help a further 25,000 people by the end of the parliament.

Work Choice is a voluntary contracted specialist disability employment programme introduced in 2010 and helps people with disabilities whose needs cannot be met through other employment programmes, Access to Work or workplace adjustments. It provides individually tailored support (e.g. job search skills, basic training, and work placements) for disabled people who face the most complex employment barriers to find and stay in work.

Later this year, we will produce a Green Paper exploring a range of options to close the disability employment gap and transform the lives and prospects of disabled people, and conduct a consultation which will reach out to disabled people and their representative organisations.