Tag: Graham Allen

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Wilson Doctrine has been consistently applied to the communications of the hon. Member for Nottingham North; and whether that hon. Member has been subject to surveillance.

Mr John Hayes

The Government’s position on the Wilson Doctrine was set out by the Prime Minister in a written ministerial statement made on 4 November 2015.

As the Prime Minister made clear, the Wilson Doctrine has never been an absolute bar to the targeted interception of the communications of Members of Parliament or an exemption from the legal regime governing interception. The Doctrine recognised that there could be instances where interception might be necessary.

The Prime Minister announced that as matter of policy the PM will be consulted should there ever be a proposal to target any UK Parliamentarian’s communications under a warrant issued by a Secretary of State. This applies to Members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly and UK members of the European Parliament. It applies to all activity authorised by a warrant issued by a Secretary of State: any instance of targeted interception and, electronic surveillance and equipment interference, when undertaken by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. This is in addition to the rigorous safeguards already in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and the Code of Practice issued under it which set out a series of robust safeguards for any instance of interception.

It is long standing policy of successive Governments neither to confirm nor deny any specific activity by the Security and Intelligence Agencies. Under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 it is an offence for anyone to identify an individual interception warrant or an individual interception that takes place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to confirm and add attainers and young voters to the electoral register before December 2015.

John Penrose

Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are currently conducting the first full canvass of households under Individual Electoral Registration (IER). This will help to identify new attainers with Household Enquiry Forms specifically asking for the names of all residents who are over the age of 16.

The Government has funded youth organisations, including Active Citizens FE, Bite the Ballot and UK Youth, for activities that engage attainers and young people in the democratic process. Cabinet Office has also developed free resources, including Rock Enrol!, for use in schools, colleges and youth groups to encourage people to participate in democracy and register to vote.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will extend the successful Schools Initiative in Northern Ireland established to increase voter registration among 16 to 18 year olds to other parts of the UK before the next 2015 deadline for electoral registration.

John Penrose

The most recent report by the Electoral Commission (November 2012) on completeness and accuracy of the register in Northern Ireland showed that 51% of 18 – 19 year olds were registered to vote compared to 76% in Great Britain. The Government has no current plans to extend the Northern Ireland Schools Initiative to the rest of the United Kingdom.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of lessons learned from the successful Schools Initiative in Northern Ireland established to increase voter registration among attainers and young voters.

John Penrose

The most recent report by the Electoral Commission (November 2012) on completeness and accuracy of the register in Northern Ireland showed that 51% of 18 – 19 year olds were registered to vote compared to 76% in Great Britain. The Government has no current plans to extend the Northern Ireland Schools Initiative to the rest of the United Kingdom.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2015-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people presented at A&E who were subsequently diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer in (a) the Nottingham area and (b) the UK in the last 12 months.

Jane Ellison

The information is not available in the format requested. However, the National Cancer Intelligence Network produces estimates of emergency cancer admissions broken down by cancer type and clinical commissioning group which is available at:

http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v107/n8/full/bjc2012408a.html

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