Tag: Diana Johnson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many full-time equivalent staff his Department employs in the evidence gathering process of investigating acts of alleged genocide by Daesh in Iraq and Syria; and with which countries and international bodies such staff are liaising on that process.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff are not directly employed in the evidence gathering process. We support the activities of a range of actors, including non-governmental organisations, to gather and preserve evidence of alleged war crimes in Iraq and Syria. On 21 July, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) announced that the UK will work with our international partners to drive a global campaign to bring Daesh to justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to paragraph 1.10 of his Department’s paper, Inflected blood: Government Response to Consultation on Reform of Financial and Other Support, published in July 2016, whether survey respondents were asked whether they were infected with both HIV and hepatitis C.

Nicola Blackwood

Responses to the consultation were provided on a voluntary basis and none of the questions asked were compulsory. Consultation respondents were asked in separate questions to indicate if they had hepatitis C and/or HIV, from infected National Health Service supplied blood/blood products. Whilst respondents were not asked specifically whether they had stage 1 or stage 2 hepatitis C, many voluntarily offered this information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 404 of the Education Act 1996, what her Department’s policy is on the teaching of sex and relationships education in proposed new grammar schools.

Edward Timpson

Our plan is that the curriculum requirements that apply to existing grammar schools will apply to any proposed new grammar schools.

The requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996 for schools to have a statement of their policy on the provision of sex education applies to maintained schools, and the requirement to teach sex education (under section 80 of the Education Act 1996) applies to maintained secondary schools only. Grammar schools operating in the maintained sector are required to teach sex education and must adhere to the requirement under section 404 of the Education Act 1996.

Academies, including grammar schools which are academies, must teach a broad and balanced curriculum and in respect of sex education, they must – like maintained schools – have regard to the Secretary of State’s statutory Sex and Relationship Education guidance issued in 2000. The guidance stipulates that schools must have an up-to-date policy in relation to their sex and relationship education provision. The guidance can be access via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sex-and-relationship-education

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who passed through the National Referral Mechanism categorised as victims of modern slavery and trafficking had no legal right of residence in the UK at the time of their passage and were potentially subject to immigration enforcement action in the event that they had not received a Reasonable Grounds decision in each year since 2009-10.

Sarah Newton

The National Crime Agency regularly publishes National Referral Mechanism data but this data does not enable us to assess how many had no right of residence in the UK and/ or were potentially subject to immigration enforcement action.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his Written Ministerial Statement of 10 October 2016, HCWS174, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that relevant employment and support allowance claimants are not reassessed unnecessarily.

Penny Mordaunt

We will be working over the coming months with medical professionals and other stakeholders to develop a process and functional criteria that will help us identify those with the most severe health conditions or disabilities, for whom repeat work capability assessments can be stopped. This change will only apply to those placed in the Support Group and Universal Credit equivalent.

No proportion of Support Group claimants can be estimated until the criteria has been agreed. This change will come into effect by the end of 2017.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of applying country-of-origin checks to UK businesses in the event that the UK leaves the EU without joining the EU Customs Union.

Margot James

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is currently working closely with the Department for Exiting the European Union to understand the impacts of applying country-of-origin checks to UK businesses in the event that the UK leaves the EU without joining the EU Customs Union. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said we will work hard to get the best deal for Britain.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times (a) have EU member states notified the UK and (b) has the UK notified other EU member states of convictions of nationals of their respective countries via the European Criminal Records Information system in each year since 2012.

Brandon Lewis

The Home Office does not hold the information requested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to introduce a separate planning category for hostels.

Brandon Lewis

Hostels are considered to be a class of their own. It is for the local planning authority to consider the use of a particular property based on the specific details of the individual case.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure companies or individuals suspected of funding ISIL through oil trades do not operate or transfer money through the UK financial system; and what steps she has taken to assess whether such steps have been effective.

Mr John Hayes

International engagement is a key part of the UK’s strategy for countering the financing of terrorism and the UK is part of the Global Coalition working together to dismantle and destroy the threat from ISIL. Denying ISIL access to revenue and funding for its ambitions of statehood is a core part of the Global Coalition’s strategy to defeat ISIL.

The Government works closely with law enforcement and industry bodies such as the British Bankers’ Association. We also work bilaterally with international partners, and with multilateral institutions such as the Financial Action Task Force, to build international capacity the financing of terrorism.

The recent Home Office and HM Treasury National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing (published 15 October – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-national-risk-assessment-of-money-laundering-and-terrorist-financing) gave a clear and candid assessment of the current overall situation. It found that while the UK’s response to terrorist financing risks is well developed, more could be done to strengthen our regime. The Government will take forward comprehensive work to address these findings through a new cross-Government Action Plan.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding will be provided to local authorities for each Syrian refugee they resettle in the (a) first and (b) second year of resettlement.

Richard Harrington

Local authorities are required to provide refugees they resettle under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme with a 12 month support package which is being funded using the overseas aid budget. Many of the refugees have significant medical and social care needs, and the costs therefore vary according to their individual circumstances.

At the Spending Review, the Government committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years 2-5 of the scheme. This will be allocated on a tariff basis over four years, with £5,000 per refugee provided for their second year in the UK.