Tag: Fiona Bruce

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what campaigns he plans to implement over the Christmas period in 2015 to draw public attention to the dangers of drinking and driving.

Andrew Jones

On 1^st December the Department for Transport’s THINK! campaign will launch a new Drink Drive campaign in England and Wales. The campaign will use paid-for advertising (including TV and radio) alongside social media and PR activities. We are also working with commercial partners including Coca-Cola, Johnnie Walker and Budweiser who provide incentives to help drivers make the right choice not to drink and drive.

Targeted at men aged 17-34, the campaign aims to contribute to a reduction in the number of people killed and seriously injured as a result of drink driving by highlighting the potential danger of driving after drinking lower levels of alcohol. The campaign also aims to maintain the social unacceptability of drink driving amongst a wider ‘all adult’ audience who will see some of the advertising.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many victims of human trafficking have been identified and their identities subsequently forwarded to the police as a result of people calling the NSPCC human trafficking and slavery helpline between July 2014 and June 2015.

Karen Bradley

I refer my Hon. Friend to my response of 11 November 2015 [14823]. Between 31 July 2014 and 31 July 2015 849 contacts were made to the NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline and of these 272 referrals were made to the police. The Home Office does not maintain a record of how many victims were identified as a result of these referrals.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with the EU the issue of (a) the dismissal by the General Court of the EU of first listing challenges brought by individuals on the EU’s targeted human rights sanctions list and (b) imposing such sanctions on North Korea’s suspected human rights violations.

Mr Hugo Swire

We welcome the EU General Court’s dismissal of challenges brought by individuals listed for violating human rights in Iran. The human rights situation in Iran remains a matter of serious concern. We are also deeply concerned by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) appalling human rights record. We will continue to consider a broad range of policy options whenever we discuss the DPRK with other EU member states. The EU already has autonomous measures against the DPRK in place which complement and enforce UN sanctions, targeting the nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Any new measures or sanctions regime introduced at the EU level must clearly improve the human rights situation. They must also satisfy our ability to defend the legality of the decision.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment the Regulatory Policy Committee has made of the devolution of Sunday trading rules.

Anna Soubry

The Government’s estimates of the economic impact will be independently scrutinised by the Regulatory Policy Committee and their assessment will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help create consensus at the UN Security Council for a referral to the International Criminal Court of the acts committed by Daesh in Iraq and Syria as genocide.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

It is not possible to refer Daesh itself to the ICC. Any referral would cover all potential crimes within a specified geographic area, rather than by a specified organisation or set of actors.

We judge that a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the UN Security Council is not practical at this time. When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China.

While we continue to draw the attention of the Security Council to the atrocities being committed in Iraq and Syria – on 4 May the Council held a session on the situation in Aleppo at the UK’s request – we expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked. Addition as per PQs 36262 and 35349.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-06.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much has been allocated in the current financial year to the married couples tax allowance; and how much he expects the Government to spend on that allowance in this financial year.

Mr David Gauke

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) revised the forecast for Marriage Allowance at Budget 2016. Details were published in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook in March 2016.

The Government remains committed to recognising marriage through the tax system. Marriage Allowance could benefit eligible couples by up to £432 this year if couples also backdate their claim to 2015-16. HM Revenue and Customs is continuing to look at ways to increase take-up of Marriage Allowance, including through further advertising, to ensure all eligible couples are able to take advantage of the allowance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to ensure that staff in her Department receive religious literacy training.

James Brokenshire

Civil Service Learning, the main training provider for the Home Office, has a broad range of diversity and inclusion learning opportunities which are available to all staff.

Horizon (the Home Office intranet) hosts an information portal with resources to develop staff’s religious literacy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will take steps at EU level to encourage better labelling of alcoholic drinks by providing (a) uniform information about strength and calorie content, (b) guidelines on safe drinking levels and (c) health warnings.

Jane Ellison

Current food labelling regulations, including those for alcoholic drinks, are set at a European level.

Alcoholic drinks are currently exempt under European law from needing to provide nutritional information and ingredients lists. However, there is a provision allowing the voluntary labelling of the energy content of alcoholic drinks.

We are not currently planning any national policies on nutrition labelling of alcohol. However, some businesses are choosing to label calories voluntarily on their alcoholic beverages.

Guidelines on safe drinking levels and health warnings are not being taken forward at EU level at this time. However, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is overseeing a UK-wide review of all alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives. Under the previous Government’s Responsibility Deal, independent monitoring has shown nearly 80% of bottles and cans on shelf now carry unit content, the CMO’s lower-risk guidelines and a warning about drinking when pregnant, fulfilling a Responsibility Deal pledge.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to protect the welfare of vulnerable older people in developing countries.

Mr Nick Hurd

Age features as part of our efforts to leave no one behind and in country level analyses as a key factor in understanding poverty.

Older people have been specifically included in the Sustainable Development Goals on ending hunger, creating sustainable cities and communities and the means of implementation. As well as this, the requirement to provide disaggregated data to evidence progress against the Sustainable Development Goals will ensure that governments and development agencies can identify those at risk of being left behind and design programmes to lift them out of poverty. The UK was a key player in achieving these goals.

Many DFID programmes reach and include older people, for example on health systems strengthening, eye care, or specific programmes for the poorest including supporting slum dwellers in Tanzania, or supporting widows resulting from the genocide in Rwanda. DFID has also supported Governments to establish social pensions for older people to ensure that they do not live in poverty.

Finally, DFID also continues to fund a number of age-specific development programmes which are delivered by Civil Society Organisations in some of the world’s poorest communities to ensure that older people are not left behind.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has formulated plans to assist a mass humanitarian emergency response if instability were to occur in North Korea.

Mr Hugo Swire

All humanitarian crises are assessed on a case by case basis, along with any potential role for UK intervention.