Tag: David Burrowes

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will suspend the powers of enforcement contained in the Psychoactive Substances Bill in relation to alkyl nitrates pending the outcome of the review announced in response to the Home Affairs Select Committee First Report of Session 2015-16, published on 23 October 2015.

Mike Penning

Pending the outcome of the review announced in the response to the report of the Home Affairs Select Committee, we will seek to ensure a proportionate response to the sale of poppers by all those enforcing the legislation and that this approach is reflected in the guidance currently being drafted by enforcement partners.

The Bill has lower penalties than the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and provides for civil sanctions, as an alternative to a criminal prosecution, to enable law enforcement agencies to adopt a graded response in tackling the trade in the range of psychoactive substances. The Bill does not criminalise simple possession of poppers and this will also be borne in mind by partners when enforcing the legislation.

In consultation with the Department of Health and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), we will consider whether there is evidence to support the claims that ‘poppers’ have a beneficial health and relationship effect and, if so, whether it is sufficient to justify exempting the alkyl nitrites group (or individual substances in the group).

Should we conclude that a case has been made to include alkyl nitrites in the list of exempted substances, we intend to complete this consideration in time to enable any such draft regulations to be laid before both Houses and approved before the summer recess.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many online sellers of knives have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted under section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 for selling knives to people under 18 since that section came into force; and what sentences were handed down to people so convicted.

Andrew Selous

This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to publish the number of applications for refugee family reunion which were granted outside the rules in its quarterly migration statistics.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Home Office does not currently plan to change the data that is published on this category of applications. The question covers a number of different casework operations and the information is not recorded in a way which can be reported directly.

The Home Office keeps under review the statistics that are published in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, balancing user needs against burdens on data suppliers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will update its travel checklist to include advice and warnings about the danger posed by carbon monoxide when travelling abroad.

James Duddridge

While the number of consular cases involving British nationals affected by carbon monoxide poisoning overseas is low, this remains a concern. The travel industry has an important role to play in addressing this issue, including through communications, although care must be taken to ensure the onus is not placed entirely on the traveller. Holiday providers should provide a safe environment without requiring holidaymakers to, for example, carry carbon monoxide alarms. In the UK, the energy industry is providing important advice to the public on carbon monoxide poisoning through its ‘Be Alarmed’ campaign. Our foreign travel checklist on the GOV.UK website signposts travellers to their advice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has for the allocation of the £70 million funding for relationship support announced by the Prime Minister on 11 January 2016; and what the timetable will be for the distribution of that funding over the Parliament.

Priti Patel

The Department is developing the detail of how the funding will be allocated. For 2016/17 we are extending our programme of relationship support provision which will include supporting local authorities to improve the quality of couple or co-parenting relationships and extending the evidence base in this policy area.

We are also exploring which interventions can maximise the important links between parenting and relationship support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the time taken to process applications related to refugee family reunion.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Customer service is a key priority for UK Visas and Immigration, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the visa application process is kept under regular review, including by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. The published service standard for resolving refugee family reunion applications is within 12 weeks, or 60 working days.

Where an application is complex and likely to take longer than the advertised processing times, UKVI will contact the applicant to inform them of this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a Minister from his Department plans to attend the high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees hosted by UNHRC in Geneva on 30 March 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

No Foreign Office Minister is planning to attend this meeting. We understand that a Home Office Minister is considering attendance and will make a decision in the coming weeks.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the Government plans to spend on relationship support in 2016-17; and on what programmes that funding will be spent.

Priti Patel

The Department is developing the detail of how the funding will be allocated. For 2016/17 we are extending our programme of relationship support provision which will include supporting local authorities to improve the quality of couple or co-parenting relationships and extending the evidence base in this policy area.

We are also exploring which interventions can maximise the important links between parenting and relationship support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what consultation her Department has undertaken on the draft Adults at Risk policy for vulnerable people detained under immigration powers.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Stephen Shaw carried out a comprehensive consultation in preparing his report of his review of the welfare of vulnerable people in immigration detention, and the draft adults at risk policy forms part of the Government’s response to Mr Shaw’s review. The Government saw no reason to duplicate this in developing the adults at risk policy. However, when the draft policy was published on 26 May, the Government wrote to a wide range of relevant non-Governmental organisations and offered them the opportunity to discuss it. Subsequently, Home Office officials have held meetings with a number of interested organisations, and the views of these organisations have been taken into account as the policy has been developed further.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many responses his Department received from (a) convenience stores, (b) shop workers and (c) faith groups to the consultation on Sunday trading devolution.

Anna Soubry

The Department does not hold full data from this consultation broken down by specific question as a large portion of respondents chose to respond in their own words rather than addressing the consultation questions directly, and/or did not indicate the type of organisation they represented.