Tag: Danny Kinahan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from the Kurdish Region in Iraq (a) applied for and (b) were refused entry clearance to the UK in the last six months for which figures are available.

Karen Bradley

For the purposes of this answer, ‘people from the Kurdish region of Iraq’ has been interpreted to mean people making visa applications at the Visa Application Centre in Erbil, UKVI’s application point in the Kurdish region. It is possible for people not ordinarily resident in the region to apply in Erbil, and for people from the region to apply at other locations, but worldwide data specific only to people from the Kurdish region could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The most recent figures available are from April 2015 to September 2015 and show A) the number of Entry Clearance applications made via the Visa Application Centre in Erbil, Iraq, to be 1790 and B) the number of refusals 1165. * The figures quoted are not provided under National statistics protocols but have been derived from local management information. They are therefore provisional and subject to change.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with universities on the wide implementation of the Race Equality Charter Mark.

Joseph Johnson

The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) is a higher education sector body that supports equality and diversity for staff and students across the UK. They developed and launched the Race Equality Charter (REC) in January 2016, with the aim of improving the representation, progression and success of minority ethnic staff and students within higher education. Institutions can apply for a Bronze or Silver REC award, depending on their level of progress.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set a goal of increasing by 20% the number of BME students in higher education by 2020. In guidance to the Director of Fair Access, which we published on 11 February, we ask him to maximise the contribution of Access Agreements towards this ambition.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the US State Department on changes to the US visa waiver programme affecting people who have visited Iraq since 2011.

Mr Hugo Swire

While US immigration processes are a matter for the US authorities, we have raised with the US administration the importance of clearly communicating changes to their immigration policy. We remain in close contact with the US Embassy in order to avoid inconvenience to British nationals travelling to the US.

The Secretary of State for Home Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) raised migration issues with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson in Washington on 17 February.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the appointment of a representative from Northern Ireland to the Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group.

Mark Lancaster

The Armed Forces Covenant is making a real difference in Northern Ireland, where it is enshrined in law. Funding bids have been more successful there than in any other part of the UK – grants include £450,000 to Combat Stress to provide mental health support to veterans.

There is an open invitation to the Northern Ireland Executive to join the Covenant Reference Group (CRG). The Government wishes them to take a full and active part in the group, alongside the other Devolved Administrations. Whilst the Northern Ireland Executive has not yet put forward a representative for the CRG, much useful and effective engagement takes place at Executive departmental level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that social media activity by terrorist groups both within the UK and abroad is effectively monitored.

Mr Ben Wallace

This Government takes extremely seriously the threat from those that post online terrorist and extremist material.

In the UK, our dedicated police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) proactively identifies and refers online terrorist and extremist content to communication service providers for removal. Since its inception in February 2010, CTIRU has secured the removal of more than 220,000 pieces of terrorist-related content. Its work has a global impact as content is removed by industry from their social media platforms world-wide.

Internationally, the UK assisted in the establishment of the European Internet Referrals Unit (EUIRU) which replicates the UK model at European level and services all Member States. The Unit went live on 1 July 2015 and has focused on a broad range of non-English language content, including Arabic, French and German. Since its creation, the EUIRU has secured the removal of over 12,000 pieces of terrorist-related content.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to ensure that discussions on the Stormont House Agreement include tax credits.

Mr Ben Wallace

A range of issues are under discussion in the cross-party talks. These include welfare reform, the Executive’s budget and delivering longer term economic reform. The Government is committed to its long-term economic plan, key elements of which are tackling the deficit, making the costs of welfare sustainable and getting more people into work.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the operation of the procurement process in the Highways Agency.

Andrew Jones

Highways England complies with the Public Procurement Regulations. Each procurement exercise is led by a professional Procurement Officer who oversees the process to ensure that best procurement practice is followed.

Highways England is continually looking to improve its procurement processes. For example, when a contract is being renewed, a contract working group (CWG) is established to consider lessons learnt from the previous contract and to look at opportunities to improve.

Highways England is corporately accredited by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) which is an external endorsement of its procurement processes. CIPS Corporate Certification is an independent, comprehensive and procurement-specific assessment and signifies that Highways England has all the procurement governance mechanisms in place for effective and efficient procurement.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had on the influence of major contractors over procurement processes in the Highways Agency.

Andrew Jones

The Secretary of State and Minister for Transport hold frequent discussions with Highways England on all aspects of their performance and delivery of the Road Investment Strategy. Highways England has recently published its Supply Chain Strategy. This sets out its procurement approach and strategies which are being developed with input from highways suppliers and others, to ensure effective and efficient delivery of the Road Investment Strategy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the role of automated cone laying and retrieval on road maintenance worker safety.

Andrew Jones

Highways England and the Department for Transport (DfT) fully support the adoption of innovative techniques such as automated cone laying, where this will realise safety benefits for road maintenance workers. The then Highways Agency tested one machine – ‘Conemaster’ built by Jordan products Ltd., some years ago. On-road trials facilitated by the Highways Agency were successful and this indicated that the technique did offer positive safety benefits. In addition, the Highways Agency subsequently commissioned an independent economic assessment of the benefits of Conemaster in 2011. The final report, produced early 2012, concluded that the cone laying machine also offered positive economic benefits.

Highways England has a client role and it is for its supply chain to design and deliver traffic management solutions and it is for these suppliers to procure such equipment. The DfT has worked to assist Conemaster in its efforts to market its product and a meeting was facilitated with the then Highways Agency’s suppliers to demonstrate the benefits of the product.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to reduce barriers to small and medium sized enterprises supplying new products to the Highways Agency.

Andrew Jones

Highways England has set up an Engagement Council to ensure all highways suppliers, wherever they sit within the supply chain network, can have a voice and show leadership in identifying waste (cost, time and quality) and improvement to deliver better value.

Engagement Council

• Membership extends to all highway suppliers wherever they sit in the supply chain for Highways England contracts
• Prime route for collaboration
• Promotes innovation and improvement

Other ways which Highways England encourages SME involvements in its supply chain are:

• The use of Constructionline – a case study recently published by Constructionline recognises the benefits it brings to removing barriers through our Meet the Buyer events which allow us to directly engage with SMEs. This helps to identify potential tendering opportunities and give advice on the tendering process.
• Contract clauses – A standard contract clause included in our Model Contract documents to encourage the use of SMEs by our Tier 1 suppliers.
• Project Bank Accounts (PBA) – Highways England promotes the use of these on all contracts (unless there is a compelling reason not to do so) benefitting suppliers from a significant acceleration in payment of their monthly invoices.

Current PBA data at August 2015

• 48 PBAs in operation for live schemes.
• PBA total declared contract value of £4.66bn as of August 2015.
• In the first quarter of 2015/16 27% of the overall scheme spend is with SMEs. This data however is only based on those SMEs included in the PBAs and does not take account of spend with SMEs in the extended supply chain which could significantly increase this %.

Highways England is currently developing an SME mentorship scheme alongside key industry associations as well as the larger contractors operating on the network. The scheme will allow SMEs the chance to develop their capability and help to create an environment which removes barriers to market allowing them to operate effectively. Health & Safety, innovation and leadership will be key elements of the scheme.