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Tag: David Simpson

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We do have concerns about restrictions to civil and political freedoms in China, particularly around ethnic minority rights; the death penalty; and freedom of expression, association and assembly.

    The climate for human rights defenders and civil society is very difficult, and security in areas with ethnic minorities remains tight.

    Ministers regularly raise human rights issues with Chinese counterparts, and we highlight our concerns in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that convictions are brought for possession of large quantities of illegal drugs.

    Norman Baker

    Action to restrict drug supply, including the investigation of drug offences and enabling the prosecution of those responsible, is a priority for law enforcement and other regulatory agencies. It is important that the courts are able to consider all the circumstances of any offence and offender which is why law enforcement agencies work closely with their prosecutors to provide the courts with the best evidence of an offence, presented in the most effective way.

    In addition to prosecution, law enforcement agencies and the Criminal Justice System in the UK have at their discretion a number of disposals available to deal with drug-related offenders, including referral for drug treatment. This ensures that a robust and proportionate enforcement approach can be taken, which gives due regard to the public interest.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Syria.

    Justine Greening

    The humanitarian crisis in Syria has reached catastrophic proportions. The UN estimates that 9.3 million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid within Syria. At least 6.5 million people in Syria have been forced to flee their homes to other areas of the country and there are now over 2.8 million refugees in the region.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many racially aggravated attacks were recorded in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Norman Baker

    The police provide the Home Office with aggregated figures of the recorded number of racially or religiously aggravated assault with (a) and (b) without injury offences. It is not possible to separately identify the specific aggravating factor.

    In the year ending December 2013, the police recorded 2,473 racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury offences and 3,988 racially or religiously aggravated assault without injury offences.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he Department will review the length of sentencing given to those who kill by dangerous driving and speeding.

    Jeremy Wright

    Severe maximum penalties, of 14 years imprisonment, are available for those who cause death through dangerous driving or under the influence of drink or drugs and statistics show that the overwhelming majority of those convicted for these offences receive lengthy custodial sentences. The maximum penalty for causing death by careless driving is 5 years imprisonment and for causing death by disqualified, unlicensed or uninsured driving is two years imprisonment. We are keeping the law in this area under review. If any changes are needed, we will bring forward proposals.

    Guidance to the judiciary is produced independently of Government, by the Sentencing Council. This is in line with the principle that, whilst the Government decides what maximum penalties should be, the courts are responsible for deciding what sentence to impose within those limits.

    The sentencing guideline on Causing Death by Driving was published by the Sentencing Guidelines Council in 2008. It covers the offences of causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless driving as well as causing death by dangerous driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs and causing death by driving unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured. Last year, the Justice Secretary wrote to the Sentencing Council (as it now is) to ask them to review the death by driving guideline and they have agreed to include this in their programme of work.

  • David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Simpson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the savings to the public purse of reductions in carbon emissions leading to a low carbon economy.

    Gregory Barker

    I have been asked to reply.

    The Climate Change Act (2008) commits the UK to reducing emissions of GHGs and the accompanying Impact Assessment sets out that within the context of global efforts to limit climate change the benefits to the UK will be greater than the costs. However, the department has not made specific estimates of the savings to the public purse from a move to a low carbon economy as the precise fiscal impact of carbon emission reductions will depend on the mix of policies used.

    For this reason individual assessments of the fiscal impacts of policies have been made and published where appropriate. In addition, it is worth noting that in the Coalition Agreement, the Government committed to increase the proportion of tax revenue accounted for by environmental taxes.