Tag: Gareth Thomas

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much funding her Department plans to spend through multilateral development banks in the next three years; how much her Department spent through such banks in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The table below shows DFID’s spend on core contributions to multilateral development banks in the last five financial years.

(£ Thousands)

2010/11	2011/12	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
1,128,200	1,295,600	1,280,100	1,473,100	1,689,200

Spending plans for the next five years will be determined following the outcome of the Spending Review allocation to DFID and the subsequent business planning exercise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many serious fraud cases are under investigation by Merseyside Police Force; and if she will make a statement.

Mike Penning

This information is not held centrally. Information about the number of cases under investigation may be obtainable from the individual force.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Burundian counterparts on its government (a) halting violence involving its security forces, (b) engaging in dialogue with opponents and (c) accepting the presence of 5,000 African Union peacekeepers within its borders; and if he will make a statement.

James Duddridge

The UK is playing a lead role in building a single, consistent international response to the crisis in Burundi. In mid-December, I visited Burundi and urged the Burundian Government in the strongest terms to take steps to end the violence that has gripped the country. I stressed that only an inclusive dialogue would foster the conditions for the people of Burundi to be able to live their lives in safety and security. On 5 January I wrote to the Minister of External Relations and International Cooperation, Alain Nyamitwe, urging him to do everything in his power to ensure that his government attends, without preconditions, the next round of the Inter Burundi Dialogue in Arusha. At the African Union Summit this week I will urge the Burundian Government to accept the deployment of troops being offered by the African Union to protect civilians, re-establish security and create the conditions on the ground for reconciliation to take place. I also regularly raise the issue of Burundi with Foreign Ministers and Envoys in the region, to encourage a regional response to the crisis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the RAF has spent on the marketing of RAF Northolt for civilian flights in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

The RAF has spent £3,600 on marketing for this purpose over the last five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department last reviewed the arrangements at RAF Northolt on the safety of residents living under the flight path and nearby vicinity; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

Military safety regulations mandate that a continual assessment of air safety risks are carried out. This provides not only internal assurance of operating procedures and air safety standards, but considers wider safety aspects such as the risks to individuals’ off-station.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) actively manages air safety via this system, across all of its aerodromes, publishing any mitigated or permitted deviations via the individual stations’ Defence Aerodrome Manual.

For MOD aerodromes that accept commercial/civilian flying activity, these processes have additional Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) oversight and assurance. Commercial operators are required to have similar safety management systems by the CAA, including those operating into RAF Northolt. The MOD and the CAA requires commercial operators to satisfy themselves that RAF Northolt is suitable for the safe operation of their particular aircraft.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to encourage (a) the Royal Academy, the National Portrait Gallery and the Tate and (b) other national art galleries to loan works from their collections to art galleries in (i) Harrow and (ii) other parts of outer London; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The National Portrait Gallery, Tate and other national museums and galleries currently loan works from their collections to other museums and galleries across the UK – and we are keen to see this increase. This Government is committed to ensuring great art is enjoyed by audiences right across the country, which is why at Budget 2016 we announced a new tax relief from 1 April 2017 to encourage museums and galleries to develop creative new touring exhibitions.

In 2014/15 the national museums and galleries, who have responsibility for their specific loan arrangements, collectively lent art and cultural objects to 1,629 UK venues. Information on loaning items can be seen on the websites of national museums and galleries. The Royal Academy is an independent charity, with responsibility for its own loan arrangements.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many overstayers have (a) been removed and (b) voluntarily deported as a result of action taken by Capita in each month since October 2012; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire

Capita do not remove individuals from the UK. The scope of the contract is one of contact management, where Capita encourage individuals to depart voluntarily and in compliance with the immigration rules.

Since the beginning of the contract in 2012 to Quarter 1 2016, Capita has recorded 143,400 departures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of visa applicants to each visa application centre were fingerprinted before they travelled to the UK in each of the last seven years.

James Brokenshire

All visa applicants are required to provide biometric information, including fingerprints, as part of the visa application process.

Exceptions to this requirement are limited to individuals defined as exempt from immigration control; members of diplomatic missions based overseas travelling to the UK on an official visit; children under the age of five; and those who are physically unable to provide fingerprints (e.g. those who do not have fingers).

The Home Office is unable to provide the specific information in the format requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations in the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines report, published in September 2016, on stimulating research and development in underfunded areas and improving access to medicines; whether he has plans to take those recommendations forward; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat

The Department for International Development leads on this area and the Department of Health has not made an assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what loans have been issued for what purposes to Business Improvement Districts in each (a) region of the UK and (b) local authority area in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Percy

The Government is committed to Business Improvement Districts and the impact they have on their local areas.

We are keen to see the setting up of more Business Improvement Districts and we recognise that their development requires up front expenditure. In October 2013 we launched a £500,000 recyclable loan fund and have supported 20 areas with loans totalling £658,555. In the last two years the following loans have been issued to areas requesting support in setting up a Business Improvement District:

Area	Amount	Region	Local Authority
Cheltenham	£35,000	South West	Cheltenham Borough Council
Eastbourne	£41,000	South East	Eastbourne Borough Council
Hastings	£31,400	South East	Hastings Borough Council
Hexham	£40,000	North East	Northumberland County Council
Leicester	£50,000	East Midlands	Leicester City Cuncil
Lichfield	£20,000	West Midlands	Lichfield District Council
Milton Keynes	£35,000	South East	Milton Keynes Council
Oxted	£30,000	South East	Tandridge District Council
Poole	£42,000	South West	Poole Borough Council
Purley	£10,000	Greater London	London Borough of Croydon
Runcorn	£27,000	North West	Halton Borough Council
Watford	£49,822	East of England	Hertfordshire Borough Council
York	£30,000	Yorkshire and Humber	York City Council