Tag: Dawn Butler

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make it illegal to disable a diesel particulate filter.

Mr John Hayes

It is an offence under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations (Regulation 61a(3)) to use on a road a vehicle which has been modified in such a way that it no longer complies with the air pollutant emissions standards it was designed to meet. Removal of a diesel particulate filter (DPF), from a vehicle used on the road, will invariably result in a contravention of the Regulations (making the vehicle unlawful to use on the road). The potential penalties are £1,000 for a car and £2,500 for a van, lorry or bus.

Under section 75 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, it is an offence to alter a vehicle in such a way that the use of the vehicle on a road would be unlawful. Thus both the vehicle user and the person disabling the DPF (if they knew or believed that the vehicle would be used on the road) could be found guilty of an offence under the Act.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish as soon as possible a full analysis of responses to his Department’s recent consultation on the deregulation of Sunday trading.

Brandon Lewis

The Government published its response to the consultation on 9 February.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Equality (Language Analysis – Palestinian, Syrian and Kuwaiti Testing) Authorisation (No. 2) 2013, whether any further nationalities have been added to the list of exceptions.

James Brokenshire

The Government has no current plans to revise the existing Equality Act exemptions relating to language analysis testing.

No further nationalities have been added to the Equality Act exemption authorisation since it was introduced in 2013.

A review on language analysis use was undertaken in 2011 and published in 2012.

(https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257177/language-analysis.pdf).

No further such review is presently planned. However, we do monitor the use of language analysis regularly to ensure it is used as effectively as possible and to identify new trends in nationality swapping.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will initiate a resolution of the UN Security Council related to whether genocide is being committed against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq.

James Duddridge

As the Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (David Cameron) has said, there is a very strong case for saying that the atrocities committed by Daesh amount to genocide, but recognition of genocide should be a matter for international courts, not political bodies.

When an attempt was made in 2014 to have the UN Security Council refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We have no reason to believe another referral would deliver a different outcome.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend or repeal the Hunting Act 2004 during this Parliament.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The Government stands by its manifesto commitment to give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a Government Bill in Government time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 14463, what the timetable for the equality impact assessment referred to will be.

Ben Gummer

The Government and NHS Employers have made clear that an Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside the new national contract, 90% of which was agreed with the British Medical Association in talks up to 10 February 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March to Question 31122, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the (a) decrease in the number of women and (b) increase in the number of men bringing equal pay tribunal cases against their employers.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The apparent increase in the number of complaints to the Employment Tribunals of equal pay made by men in 2015 was principally due to two large multiple claims issued during the year, involving mainly male claimants. Multiple claims are inherently more variable than single claims and comparisons which include multiple claims can be misleading about the trends in Tribunal caseloads.

We are undertaking a review of the impact of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals. This will include an assessment of the impact of fees on the volumes of Employment Tribunal claims including in relation to gender and other protected characteristics.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote religious freedom in Saudi Arabia; and what recent representations the Government has made to Saudi Arabia on that matter.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We strongly support the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia, reflecting views which are widely held in Saudi society. The authorities are encouraging reforms at a pace that is acceptable to Saudi society. This includes allowing foreign workers in Saudi Arabia to practice religions other than Islam in private.

We regularly raise human rights issues, including in relation to the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, with the Saudi Arabian authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what operational orders are given to the armed forces serving in Yemen on the protection of cultural property.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and British military personnel are not directly involved in the Saudi led Coalition’s operations. We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the Government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-10-27.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the average annual amount by which working families affected by changes to tax credits will be compensated by the increase in the level of the minimum wage.

Damian Hinds

This Government is committed to moving from a high welfare, high tax, low wage economy to a lower welfare, lower tax, higher wage society. As the Chancellor made clear on [Monday / 26 October], the Government will set out at Autumn Statement how we plan to achieve the same goal of reforming tax credits, saving the money we need to save to secure our economy, while at the same time helping in the transition.

The Summer Budget offered a new deal for working people. A new National Living Wage for workers aged 25 and above, initially set at £7.20 per hour from April 2016, will directly benefit 2.7 million low wage workers, and up to 6 million could see a pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the earnings distribution. The new National Living Wage will boost pay for those currently earning the National Minimum Wage by £4,800 a year by 2020 when the National Living Wage is expected to rise to over £9 per hour.

To help working families keep more of what they earn, the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17 and £11,200 in 2017-18. The government has committed to increase the personal allowance to £12,500 by 2020 which will mean that a typical basic rate taxpayer will see their income tax cut by £1,205 a year compared to 2010.

The government set out its assessment of the impacts of the Summer Budget policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July 2015.