Tag: Hugo Swire

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the age of young refugees from the camp in Calais received into the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The EU’s Dublin Regulation clearly sets out the criteria for transferring asylum claims between Member States. The Government wishes to reaffirm that migrants in Calais have not yet been determined as refugees, and furthermore, the Dublin Regulation is the EU’s mechanism for transferring asylum claims, rather than a resettlement route. Section 67 of the Immigration Act sets out that ‘unaccompanied refugee children’ will be relocated to the UK. In respect of Calais, the Government has been clear that unaccompanied children will be prioritised if they meet the Dublin criteria.

We work closely with the French authorities and their partner agencies to ensure all those who come to the UK from the camps in Calais are eligible under the Dublin Regulation. All individuals are referred to the UK authorities by the NGO France Terre D’asile (FTDA) and are then interviewed by French and UK officials. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.

Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Where we believe someone is significantly over 18, they will be refused. The Home Office does not use dental x-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum as they have been described by the British Dental Association as inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical.

Since June the Home Office has been working closely with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships across the UK to ensure that we have the structures in place to support the transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children, both within the UK and from Europe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what evidence his Department has received which shows that using a hands-free kit while driving is any less dangerous than using a hand-held phone.

Andrew Jones

The Highway Code makes it clear that drivers need to be in control of their vehicles at all times. That means that drivers need to ensure that they use any device in their vehicles in a safe way when driving.

Driving while using a hands-free kit is legal and previously published research estimated that whilst a hands-free kit is distracting, it is safer than using a hand-held device.

Many cars now have built in hands-free kits and we are working with the industry to ensure that safety and legislation keeps pace with new technology as it develops.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to pre-screen young refugees from the camp in Calais before they enter the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The EU’s Dublin Regulation clearly sets out the criteria for transferring asylum claims between Member States. The Government wishes to reaffirm that migrants in Calais have not yet been determined as refugees, and furthermore, the Dublin Regulation is the EU’s mechanism for transferring asylum claims, rather than a resettlement route. Section 67 of the Immigration Act sets out that ‘unaccompanied refugee children’ will be relocated to the UK. In respect of Calais, the Government has been clear that unaccompanied children will be prioritised if they meet the Dublin criteria.

We work closely with the French authorities and their partner agencies to ensure all those who come to the UK from the camps in Calais are eligible under the Dublin Regulation. All individuals are referred to the UK authorities by the NGO France Terre D’asile (FTDA) and are then interviewed by French and UK officials. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.

Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Where we believe someone is significantly over 18, they will be refused. The Home Office does not use dental x-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum as they have been described by the British Dental Association as inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical.

Since June the Home Office has been working closely with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships across the UK to ensure that we have the structures in place to support the transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children, both within the UK and from Europe.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the progress against its targets of BT’s commercial roll-out of superfast broadband in the Connecting Devon and Somerset area.

Matt Hancock

Broadband Delivery UK works closely with the Connecting Devon and Somerset team and BT to keep progress on the BT commercial roll-out under review. Responsibility for the commercial roll-out lies with BT.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to prohibit the use of hands-free kits by drivers of commercial coaches.

Andrew Jones

The Highway Code makes it clear that drivers need to be in control of their vehicles at all times. That means that drivers need to ensure that they use any device in their vehicles in a safe way when driving.

Driving while using a hands-free kit is legal and previously published research estimated that whilst a hands-free kit is distracting, it is safer than using a hand-held device.

Many cars now have built in hands-free kits and we are working with the industry to ensure that safety and legislation keeps pace with new technology as it develops.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with BT on the pace of its commercial roll-out.

Matt Hancock

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media & sport recently met the Chief Executive of BT to discuss a range of issues, including BT’s progress in improving broadband connectivity through its commercial investments. This issue will be one of the priorities in the Department’s regular discussions with BT.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the dangers of using a hands-free kit while driving.

Andrew Jones

The Highway Code makes it clear that drivers need to be in control of their vehicles at all times. That means that drivers need to ensure that they use any device in their vehicles in a safe way when driving.

Driving while using a hands-free kit is legal and previously published research estimated that whilst a hands-free kit is distracting, it is safer than using a hand-held device.

Many cars now have built in hands-free kits and we are working with the industry to ensure that safety and legislation keeps pace with new technology as it develops.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the average accident rate is higher on dual carriageways than on three lane roads.

Andrew Jones

The Department does not hold any information on the number of lanes in either the road accident data supplied by police forces or road traffic estimates. Therefore it is not possible to provide a comparison between dual carriageway roads and single carriage roads with three lanes.

However, the Department does record the number of carriageways at the scene of accidents as well as the length of ‘A’ roads by number of carriageways. As a guide, in 2015 for Great Britain there were 380 reported personal-injury accidents per billion vehicle miles on single carriageway ‘A’ roads and 140 accidents per billion vehicle miles on dual carriageway ‘A’ roads.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to discuss the situation in the Maldives with John Kerry.

Alok Sharma

The Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), has no plans to discuss the situation in the Maldives with John Kerry.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether dual carriageways are more expensive to build than three lane roads.

Mr John Hayes

Although a two lane dual carriageway might be expected to cost more to build than a three lane single carriageway, simply because it is wider, the costs involved in building new carriageways are influenced by a wide range of considerations specific to the particular location, such as topography, cost of acquiring land etc.