The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2016 to Question 28048, when the Equality Impact Assessment will be published.
Ben Gummer
We expect to publish the Equality Impact Assessment shortly after Easter.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received from professional linguists on the effectiveness of language analysis testing.
James Brokenshire
Language analysis assists us in determining whether asylum seekers are of the nationality or national origin they claim. It is one of the tools used by asylum decision makers to help resolve fairly issues of doubtful nationality or national origin and to ensure that those claiming asylum in a false identity are detected quickly. It does not replace the requirement during substantive interview to fully probe and investigate doubted nationality/national origin cases.
Professional linguists have communicated with the Home Office regarding their particular preference for the different models available for language analysis testing. As part of the contract competition undertaken in 2014, language analysis companies provided strong evidence of the quality of the services offered. There are dedicated formal arrangements in place to monitor our suppliers’ compliance with the contract terms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government is providing to micro-insurance schemes in developing countries for the protection of livelihoods from the effects of climate change.
Rory Stewart
DFID’s work on climate resilience includes a number of weather-related microinsurance initiatives and a major research programme on scaling up microinsurance in the agricultural sector.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-24.
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2016 to Question 48607, on equality impact assessments, if her Department will publish the Public Sector Equality Duty guidance circulated across Whitehall.
Caroline Dinenage
The Government Equalities Office issues from time to time guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty to Whitehall Departments. This is circulated with a view to enabling them to add any supporting documentation about their own processes before publishing the material on their intranets.
The guidance was last issued in September 2014. The Department will publish that guidance in updated form on GOV.UK in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government will publish its equality impact assessment of the Immigration Bill.
James Brokenshire
The Government has already published a number of equality impact assessments relating to the Immigration Bill covering residential tenancies, driving, banks, appeals and support. They can be found online:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-bill-2015-16
Further equality statements in relation to labour market enforcement and the English language requirement in the public sector will be published in the New Year together with the Government’s responses to the recent public consultations on these subjects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-03-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to further regulate the use of fireworks.
Anna Soubry
I am aware of recent concerns about the use of fireworks in some parts of the country. However, I believe that the majority of people enjoy fireworks sensibly, responsibly and in accordance with the current restrictions on their use and I therefore have no immediate plans to review the legislation already in place.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures and checks her Department has put in place to ensure that the new supplier of language analysis testing are fully qualified to conduct those tests.
James Brokenshire
Language analysis assists us in determining whether asylum seekers are of the nationality or national origin they claim. It is one of the tools used by asylum decision makers to help resolve fairly issues of doubtful nationality or national origin and to ensure that those claiming asylum in a false identity are detected quickly. It does not replace the requirement during substantive interview to fully probe and investigate doubted nationality/national origin cases.
Professional linguists have communicated with the Home Office regarding their particular preference for the different models available for language analysis testing. As part of the contract competition undertaken in 2014, language analysis companies provided strong evidence of the quality of the services offered. There are dedicated formal arrangements in place to monitor our suppliers’ compliance with the contract terms.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department has taken to support the G7 Initiative on Climate Risk Insurance; and what assessment her Department has made of progress towards the target of expanding insurance coverage to 400 million people by 2020.
Rory Stewart
DFID has a large and growing disaster risk finance and insurance portfolio, with up to £136m approved or invested to date. This includes our £100 million contribution to the Africa Risk Capacity, which aims to reach 150 million people by 2020. The G7 are setting up an expert group to develop indicators to measure progress against the ‘Insuresilience’ target, against which all G7 members, including the UK, will report progress.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 21876, what progress her Department has made on its review of the effect of the introduction of tribunal fees; and if she will issue a fixed date for the publication of that review.
Sir Oliver Heald
The review is making good progress and I expect to announce its conclusions in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of allegations of electoral fraud in the recent legislative and presidential elections in Haiti.
Mr Hugo Swire
Our (non-resident) Ambassador to Haiti and (resident) Chargé d’affaires regularly meet the European Observer Mission (EOM) to the recent Haitian elections, as well as observer teams from the Organization of American States (OAS) and ParlAmerica. While irregularities did take place, and are being investigated, none of the official observer groups has substantiated specific claims of fraud, or called the results of the election into question. The UK shares this assessment.