Tag: Diana Johnson

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 May 2016 to Question 35819, on Islamic State, how much funding the Government provided to (a) each of those projects listed in that Answer and (b) other projects to support survivors of sexual violence in each year since the conflicts in Syria and Iraq began.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

In the 2015/16 financial year, we provided £198,000 through the Human Rights and Democracy Fund for the project referenced in the answer to PQ 35819. Since June 2014 we have provided over £1.3million for projects that support gender equality and work to combat sexual violence. This includes funding this year to promote the use of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict and to combat the stigma associated with sexual violence. The Department for International Development also funded two experts to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to improve coordination and information management of the gender based violence response. We continue to work to mainstream gender sensitivity effectively into all of our programmes in Iraq. Under the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, its predecessor the Conflict Pool, and the Magna Carta Fund, the Government has provided £7 million in direct support to gender related projects in Syria since the start of the crisis. For financial year 2016/17, we are spending a further £1.9 million. And across the 2016 programme, all projects are gender sensitive and taking action to raise awareness of gender equality issues, promote the empowerment of women, and gather evidence and accountability for sexual and gender-based violence. The conflicts in Syria and Iraq have placed many women and girls at risk of violence, exploitation and insecurity. The UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the Syria crisis and since June 2014, has committed £129.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. UK support is enabling INGOs and UN agencies to provide specialist assistance to those affected by sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). This includes clinical care, case management and counselling, reproductive healthcare and cash assistance to particularly vulnerable households. We are working to ensure all humanitarian programmes follow good practice and are sensitive to SGBV, child protection and the importance of women’s participation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 13604, what proportion of the deposits handed back in each of the schemes and for each of the years listed in the Table of Adjudications were subject to adjudication by their respective deposit protection scheme.

Gavin Barwell

The three Government approved Tenancy Deposit Schemes in England help ensure that tenants are treated fairly at the end of their tenancy through protecting deposits.

A deposit can be protected in a custodial scheme where the deposit is paid (submitted) and held by the scheme until the end of the tenancy. The scheme will pay the deposit back (return) to the tenant if they have fulfilled all their obligations at the end of the tenancy. A deposit can also be protected in an insured scheme, where the landlord or agent holds the deposit and pays it back to the tenant at the end of the tenancy. The deposit is not submitted to or returned by the scheme.

The figures available for the number of deposits protected for tenants in Greater London since 2011, are set out in Table 1, and for deposits submitted and returned in Table 2.

Table 1 – tenant’s deposits protected in Greater London

Year	Total number of deposits protected
2011-12	434,031
2012-13	398,635
2013-14	453,200
2014-15	499,098
2015-16	545,937

Table 2 – tenant’s deposits submitted and returned in Greater London

Year	Number of deposits submitted	Number of deposits returned
2011-12	74,202	55,550
2012-13	77,709	62,341
2013-14	82,613	67,583
2014-15	88,465	70,105
2015-16	90,849	76,305

The differences between the number of deposits submitted and returned are due to different lengths of tenancies, cases going through the dispute resolution process, and the protection of more deposits as the private rental market continues to grow.

Overall, 98 per cent of all deposits protected in England since the launch of the tenancy deposit scheme in 2007, are returned to the tenant at the end of their tenancy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the proportion of companies which have published details of the measures they are taking to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains.

Sarah Newton

The Government has not estimated what proportion of businesses have reported so far.

We published guidance in October 2015 advising that businesses should report as soon as reasonably practicable after their financial year end, which in practice should mean within six months of an organisation’s financial year end.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the immigration status of European Economic Area citizens with permanent residence status in the UK will be affected by the renegotiation of the UK’s membership with the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Under EU law, European Economic Area (EEA) nationals qualify for a right of permanent residence in the UK provided that certain conditions are met. The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living in the UK, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible are if British citizens’ rights in other EU Member States were not protected in return in the course of agreement with the EU.

For those EEA nationals who are in the UK and have a right of permanent residence, it is not mandatory to apply for documentation confirming that right. Statistics of decisions and grants of permanent residence documentation issued to EEA nationals are published quarterly in table ee_02_q of Immigration Statistics. The most recent edition is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2016/list-of-tables#european-economic-area-eea

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, with reference to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46333, how much has been spent on the functions of the Department for International Trade; and what estimate he has made of how much will be spent on those functions by the end of the current fiscal year.

Mark Garnier

Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes. The transfer of functions order (No 2016/ 992) laid on 19 October 2016 will come into effect on 9 November 2016.

DIT is a new Department and is in the process of establishing a separate and distinct budget for its operating costs. This will be shared with Parliament through the Autumn Statement and Supplementary Estimates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-10-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the 2013 Lough Erne G8 Leaders’ Communiqué, published on 18 June 2013, what progress has been made on implementing the commitments in paragraph (a) 5, (b) 6 and (c) 7 of that document; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Lidington

ISIL now poses a significant threat to regional and international peace and security. The UK continues to work closely with our G7 partners, including as part of the Global Counterterrorism Forum and Counter-ISIL coalition; with governments across the Middle East and North Africa, building their ability to counter radicalisation, tackle terrorist threats and reduce the number of individuals seeking to join terrorist groups in Syria, Libya and elsewhere; and at the UN, where we have co-sponsored a number of important Security Council Resolutions. On kidnap for ransom there has been significant progress: in January 2014, the UK sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2133, which built on the Lough Erne Leaders’ Communiqué and reinforced the international consensus not to make concessions to terrorist kidnappers. Since the resolution was adopted, we have continued to encourage other states to abide by this international commitment. We have also continued to strengthen our own domestic legislation in line with the Lough Erne commitments. On Syria, the UK continues, with G7 partners, to support efforts to resume political talks, based on the implementation of the 2012 Geneva Communiqué. To address the significant humanitarian crisis, the UK has supported the adoption of UN Security Council Resolutions 2139, 2165 and 2191 (which call for the protection of civilians and unhindered delivery of aid to those most in need) and has now pledged over £1.1 billion in support. In Libya, the UK has continued to support UN efforts to reach a lasting political agreement. The UK Special Envoy to the Libyan Political Transition, Jonathan Powell, and the UK diplomatic network are working hard with key Libyan interlocutors and international partners. Most recently, the UK co-hosted a meeting with the UN in London on 19 October, to discuss how the international community will support a new unity government in Libya.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-09.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 14136, what work the Government has undertaken to implement the commitments made in paragraphs (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, (d) 8 and (e) 10 of the 2013 Lough Erne G8 Leaders’ Communiqué since January 2014; and what assessment he has made of the level of progress against those commitments.

Mr David Gauke

Since January 2014 the Prime Minister has updated the house on 11 June 2014 and 10 June 2015 following the G7 Summits. The UK presidency focused on 3 Ts: tax, transparency and trade.

On tax there has been significant progress on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) the major international agreement to realign taxation with economic activities and value creation. In October 2015 the OECD issued the final BEPS outputs, which were endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers. The UK has made significant progress including: consulting on implementing rules to address hybrid mismatches arrangements and issuing draft secondary legislation to implement Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting, a template for multinational companies to report profit and tax information to tax authorities, in the UK in line with the internationally agreed timetable. In addition, in February 2014 G20 Finance Ministers endorsed the OECD’s new global standard for Automatic Exchange of Information of tax. All G20 Finance Ministers committed to first exchange by end-2018 in September, with 10 G20 countries including the UK committing to begin exchange in 2017.

With regards to transparency, in March 2015 the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act received Royal Assent, establishing a public registry of company beneficial ownership that will show who ultimately owns and controls in-scope UK companies. The register will be operational from June 2016 and the UK is undertaking a wider review of corporate transparency.

On trade, the Government has furthered international free trade agreements (FTA), with negotiations on an EU-Canada FTA finalised in August 2014. The EU and Japan held a constructive round of Free Trade Agreements negotiations in October 2015. The EU-US FTA 11th Round of negotiations took place in Miami 19-23 October 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much (a) capital funding and (b) funding in total has been allocated by (i) his Department and (ii) bodies funded by his Department to support Hull City of Culture 2017.

Mr Edward Vaizey

DCMS is investing £1.5 million in the Ferens Gallery to help them host the Turner Prize; plus £0.5 million to help create a lasting cultural legacy for Hull. The Gallery will receive a further £0.5m from ACE for refurbishment. My department is also providing £3.1 million to three ACE-funded organisations -Artlink, Freedom Festival and Hull Truck Theatre – who will play a key role in the 2017 events. Hull Museums, now among ACE’s Major Partner Museums, have been awarded £2.5m between now and 2018; and an additional £3 million from ACE will help raise the profile of culture in the city and promote new partnerships throughout 2017. This amounts to over £11 million and does not include additional investment that might come from other bodies such as the BBC.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have agreed to take refugees under the Syrian Refugee resettlement scheme.

Richard Harrington

Over 50 local authorities from across the UK have offered places to resettle refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) scheme. It is at the discretion of local authorities to disclose whether or not they are involved with the VPR scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) the office of Rail and Road, (b) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (c) the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, (d) the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, (e) the Vehicle Certification Agency, (f) the British Transport Police Authority, (g) Directly Operated Railways limited, (h) High Speed 2 Ltd; (i) Highways England, (j) Northern Lighthouse Board, (k) Transport Focus, (l) Trinity House, (m) Civil Aviation Authority and (n) the Airports Commission; how many of those employees are paid more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Some of the information requested for the 14 organisations listed is not held by the Department and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

However, the number of press and public relations staff currently employed by the Department’s executive agencies is provided in the table below. None of the press and PR staff have a full-time equivalent salary exceeding £50,000.

Press and public relations staff (full-time equivalent )	1 December 2015
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency	4
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency	4
Maritime and Coastguard Agency	3.2
Vehicle Certification Agency	Nil
Total	11.2

The total of 11.2 full-time equivalent staff compares to an equivalent figure for these four executive agencies in 2009/10 (with DVSA previously being DSA and VOSA) of 15.5 full-time equivalent staff.

Information on non-pay expenditure on press and public relations services held by the Department for the most recent financial year available is provided in the table below.

Non-pay expenditure on press and public relations services	2014-15 £000s
Office of Rail and Road	108
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency	9
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency	42
Highways Agency	383
Maritime and Coastguard Agency	169
Vehicle Certification Agency	0
British Transport Police Authority	48
High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd	167
Transport Focus	47
Airport Commission	54

Overall communications expenditure by the Department’s executive agencies in 2014-15 (including salaries) was £19 million lower than in 2009-10. Across Government the government communications profession reduced communications spending by a total of £1 billion during the last Parliament.