Tag: Emma Reynolds

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what system of monitoring is in place to ensure that local authorities meet their duty to commission open access, confidential services for sexually transmitted infections and contraception.

Jane Ellison

The Department’s Framework for Sexual Health Promotion in England (2013) sets out our ambitions and objectives to improve sexual health for all people. It takes account of the commissioning arrangements from 2013 including the new role for local authorities (LAs) as commissioners of most sexual health services. Later this month Public Health England (PHE) will undertake a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health. It has also produced sexual health and reproductive health profiles to help LAs and others monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their populations and the performance of local public health related systems.

It is for LAs to decide on what research and evidence they need to inform their tenders for sexual health and reproductive health services in line with procurement requirements and good practice. In 2014 PHE published Making it Work, a guide to commissioning for sexual health across the whole system, to improve the sexual health of both individuals and the wider public.

We have made no formal assessment of the effect on sexual health services of reductions in the Public Health Grant to LAs for 2015/16, although PHE continues to monitor relevant outcomes data for every LA in England. Decisions on local public health spending are a matter for LAs. They are mandated by legislation to commission open access sexual health services that meet the needs of their local population. Officials meet regularly with sexual health organisations who would raise any concerns if LAs were not meeting their mandatory requirements for sexual health services.

The Framework for Sexual Health Improvement includes as a priority reducing unwanted pregnancies and highlights the need to increase access to long acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods and emergency contraception for women of all ages. We have no plans to evaluate the effect on general practitioner surgeries of LA commissioning of LARCs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-03-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times the UK has requested information (a) under the Prüm convention DNA sharing, (b) relating to the European Arrest Warrant about criminal records, (c) from the EU Passenger Name Record sharing scheme, (d) from a Europol Joint Investigation Team, (e) under the Schengen Information System, (f) from Europol’s HAVEN project to combat sexual abuse and trafficking and (g) from other EU member states about stadium bans and previous offenders at football matches.

James Brokenshire

The United Kingdom is not yet connected to any other country for the sharing of DNA under the Prüm Council Decisions.

The UK shares criminal record information with Member States via the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS). In 2015, the UK made 105,164 requests for overseas criminal record checks to other EU Member States, compared to 8,536 in 2010, an increase of over 1100%.

European legislation is currently under consideration that would require EU Member States to process Passenger Name Records (PNR) on scheduled aviation flights. The proposed legislation would require the data to be analysed by a central Passenger Information Unit and all relevant and necessary PNR to be shared with the Passenger Information Units of other Member States in compliance with data protection obligations. Receiving PNR before travel allows law enforcement authorities to plan and respond proactively to threats. PNR plays a vital role in intelligence-led operations, post-incident investigations and judicial proceedings.

Joint investigation teams are Member State led processes. Europol staff may participate in a supporting capacity.

According to the EU’s Justice and Home Affairs IT Agency (eu-LISA), the UK had the following numbers of alerts active (that is, broadcast to Member States and not subsequently revoked) on 17 February 2014:

People wanted by the UK on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) 231

Missing adults 6,121

Missing children 2,589

Wanted for judicial purposes (e.g. Witnesses to be traced) 1,884

Discreet alerts 10,438 Discreet alerts (national security) 478

Europol’s Project HAVEN – Halting Europeans Abusing Victims in Every Nation- is part of Europol’s work under Focal Point Twins. The UK participates in and exchanges information under Europol’s Focal Point Twins and the aim is to support Member States and third countries to prevent or combat the activities of criminal networks involved in the sexual exploitation of children. Operations in the UK to counter organised crime relating to Child Sexual Exploitation have been supported by Europol, and the UK exchanges information on crimes of this nature with and through Europol via our Liaison Bureau, rather than through Project HAVEN.

Between April 2014 and the end of December 2015,UK Football Policing Unit within the Home Office, the national football information point, requested information from other EU member states about stadium bans on 101 occasions. No figures are held on individual offenders with football bans.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to the UK economy of (a) the absence of tariff barriers for intra-EU trade and (b) other aspects of the single market.

Anna Soubry

The EU provides the biggest single market in the world. EU countries trade twice as much with each other as they would without it. The absence of tariffs contributes to this. The single market also brings benefits for consumers. For example, between 2000 and 2006, the cost of making a 10-minute call in the EU fell by an average of 74%, and roaming charges will be abolished completely in 2017. As part of our agenda for EU reform, we want to go further and faster on economic competitiveness including liberalisation of the services sector, trade, and de-regulation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed in (a) the UK and (b) each region by companies (i) with headquarters in the EU and (ii) owned in the EU.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed by non-British EU companies in (a) the UK and (b) each region.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on foreign direct investment of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Gauke

As the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) has noted, the best outcome for the UK economy is that we achieve major economic reform of the EU. The Prime Minister is focused on success: he believes he can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU, and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis.

The Confederation of British Industry and British Chambers of Commerce have both come out to say they support the reform agenda the Prime Minister is seeking to deliver.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding the UK was allocated from the (a) European Regional Development Fund, (b) European Social Funds, (c) European Agricultural Fund of Guarantee, (d) European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, (e) European Territorial Cooperation, (f) Youth Employment Initiative and (g) European Maritime and Fisheries Fund in the period from 2010 to 2014.

Anna Soubry

The information requested for points a, b, d, e, f, and g is set out in the financing plans in the respective programmes for these funds which can be found on gov.uk, gov.scotland and gov.wales.

The information requested for point c can be found on the European Commission and Eur-lex websites.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefits to UK businesses in the (a) retail, (b) automobile, (c) construction, (d) ICT, (e) financial services and (f) defence sectors of reduced tariff barriers arising from UK membership of the World Trade Organisation.

Anna Soubry

The Government has not made a specific assessment of the benefits to UK businesses in these sectors as a result of the UK’s membership of the WTO. But the benefits will be substantial as over the 20 years of the WTO average applied tariffs have been cut in half from 15 per cent in 1995 to less than 8 per cent today. And there are now 161 WTO Members comprising 98% of world trade, with the new (post-1995) members contributing 21% of this total. Further benefits are likely from negotiations currently underway: for example the Information Technology Agreement 2 (ITA2) should liberalise tariffs that affect around £12 billion of UK exports and imports.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the benefit to the UK economy of the preferential trade agreements the EU has negotiated with countries outside the EU.

Anna Soubry

The cumulative impact of all concluded, on-going and potential trade negotiations currently being undertaken by the EU could boost UK GDP by over £ 20 billion in the long run.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to answer Question 217184, tabled on 4 December 2014 by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East.

Brandon Lewis

Question 217184 was answered today, 25 February 2015.