Tag: Gavin Shuker

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility with international law of the arrest and transfer of children from the Occupied Palestinian Territories to Israel.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are clear that Israel has legal obligations as an Occupying Power with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the Fourth of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. This includes Article 49, which prohibits deportation of protected persons from the occupied territory and Article 76, providing that protected persons convicted of offenses shall be detained and serve their sentences within the occupied territory. We regularly talk to the Government of Israel with regard to the implementation of those obligations and raise our serious concerns, including about the treatment of Palestinian children that are arrested and detained in Israeli prisons. We have been clear with Israel that forcible transfer would be a breach of international humanitarian law and would have serious ramifications on Israel’s international standing.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent reports he has received on the practice of restricting staff that have recently been on strike from working overtime on (a) Govia Thameslink Railway and (b) other rail franchises.

Claire Perry

Management of staff is a matter for the rail operators. I have been assured by the operator of the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise that they are not restricting the staff who have recently been on strike action from working overtime.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to improve the frequency of services to Luton Airport Parkway in the 2018 East Midlands franchise specification.

Claire Perry

Detailed work on the 2018 East Midlands franchise specification will begin in the Spring, and as with all franchise competitions, a public consultation exercise will take place later this year to help inform the specification for the next long-term franchise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to further and higher education for young Muslims.

Joseph Johnson

We have recently introduced the Higher Education and Research Bill which, subject to the will of Parliament, will permit the introduction of a non-interest bearing alternative to student loans. This would be available to students of all faiths and none and will result in no financial advantage or disadvantage relative to the equivalent loan.

The Government is committed to increasing the number of BME students in higher education by 20% by 2020 and the proportion of apprenticeship starts by people from BME backgrounds by 20% by 2020.

We have also recently announced our intention to introduce a Transparency Duty on higher education institutions to publish more statistical information on the number of students who apply for places, receive offers and drop out from higher education institutions by ethnicity, gender and social background.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many of her Department’s staff of each grade attended the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2016.

Justine Greening

The DFID staffing requirements for this event are yet to be confirmed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Pakistan on increasing trade between the UK and (a) Pakistan and (b) Azad Kashmir.

Anna Soubry

I have held no discussions with the Federal Minister for Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan, about increasing trade between the UK and Pakistan or Pakistan Administered Kashmir.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much was spent on each media type for 2016 Step Up to the Living Wage campaign.

Nick Boles

The total budget allocated for the National Living Wage advertising campaign is £4.95 million. The campaign will run until the end of April and we expect to come in under budget.

A breakdown of anticipated costs for the National Living Wage campaign can be found in the table below:

Advertising design and planning	£497,571
Poster advertising	£751,612.69
TV and video on demand(VOD)	£1,730,387.70
Social media advertising (combined budget)	£354,000
Digital display advertising and pay per click (PPC)	£520,000
Newspaper/magazine advertising	£250,000
National Living Wage website	£21,860
Other elements of the campaign (please specify)	Radio: £299,826 Evaluation £250,000

The Government’s new National Living Wage is a step up for working people, so it is important workers know their rights and that employers pay the new £7.20 from April 1 this year. Britain deserves a pay rise and as a One Nation Government we are making sure it gets one. The campaign will tell people about their entitlements and is targeted at employers, and workers currently earning the National Minimum Wage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the establishment of co-operative schools.

Nick Gibb

The Government’s ambition is to provide an excellent education for all, through an autonomous, self-improving system. Good co-operative schools with strong governance are and will continue to be a part of this system.

As increasing numbers of schools are opting to become academies, we have worked with the Society for Co-operative Schools (SCS) to update our model articles of association for co-operative trusts. This will ensure that co-operative schools are able to convert to academy status and form multi-academy trusts (MATs) using a model based on robust governance structures that also reflects co-operative principles.

The new co-operative model articles will be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions (a) she and (b) officials of her Department had with the National Police Chiefs’ Council on its revised prostitution strategy.

Karen Bradley

Within the structure of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), chief officers are elected by their peers and take the lead on specific issues from a national operational perspective. It is for the national leads to establish working groups to support them in their role. The Home Office is in regular dialogue with on the NPCC Lead for Prostitution’s office, and as such discussed and commented on the current revision of the strategy.

Prostitution is a complex issue, which can impact on individuals and communities in many different ways, and we are therefore clear that local areas and police forces are in the best position to identify and respond to issues around prostitution in their area. Police forces are assisted in doing so by the National Policing Lead’s refreshed Policing Sex Work Strategy, which stresses the priority of the public protection duty that the police services have in relation to the safety of those involved in prostitution.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what resources his Department allocates to promoting and upholding freedom of religion or belief within the countries with which it works.

Mr David Lidington

Human Rights are part of the everyday work of all British diplomats. We work intensively on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) through the UN, the EU and the OSCE; and in individual countries, prioritising what works in local circumstances. In many parts of the world, we have supported projects through the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. In the current financial year, we have allocated almost £900,000 to projects in this area.