Tag: Ivan Lewis

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessments she has made of the potential effect of planned future budget reductions on the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority on its response to future flooding.

Mike Penning

The Government commissioned Sir Ken Knight to carry out an independent review of the scope for fire and rescue authorities across England to improve their efficiency. His report, Facing the Future, published in 2013, provided a wide-ranging analysis of costs and benchmarking between fire and rescue authorities on a range of measures of financial performance.

We have delivered a sustainable finance settlement and there is no question that fire and rescue authorities will continue to have the resources they need. The number of incidents attended by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority is 27 per cent lower than five years ago, and injuries requiring hospital treatment are 59 per cent lower.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the level of human trafficking and exploitation in the UK.

Karen Bradley

The Government is taking significant steps forward in tackling the abhorrent crime of modern slavery. We passed the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 which gives law enforcement agencies the tools they need to tackle human trafficking and modern slavery, places a duty on large businesses to report on the actions they are taking to prevent modern slavery in their global supply chains and ensures that perpetrators can receive suitably severe sentences of up to life imprisonment.

We have also enhanced support and protection for those victims of this crime. We have extended the definition for those who are entitled to support under the government-funded victim care contract and we are piloting a new model of the National Referral Mechanism to ensure we have the right processes in place for identifying and supporting victims.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-04-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of efforts by the Nigerian government to tackle Boko Haram.

James Duddridge

We welcome the successes achieved by the Nigerian armed forces against Boko Haram, which have resulted in the group being pushed out of key towns in North East Nigeria. However, Boko Haram continues to present a serious threat to security in North East Nigeria and the wider region.

The United Kingdom is providing a substantial and increasing package of military, intelligence, development and humanitarian support to help Nigeria and the region in the fight against Boko Haram. We support Nigeria’s plans to host a high-level Regional Security Summit in Abuja in May. This will bring together regional leaders and international partners, including the United Kingdom, to reaffirm their shared commitment to the fight against Boko Haram.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will estimate the maximum overall annual amount which could be raised if each local authority imposed the maximum social care levy.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department estimates that if all local authorities who deliver social care were to choose to use a two per cent precept this would total £393 million in 2016-17. If similar flexibilities were used in full in subsequent years, this would rise to around £1.8 billion in 2019-20. Local authorities will be required to provide confirmation that the additional revenue has been used for Adult Social Care in addition to confirming the amounts of expenditure in statistical returns. In addition, the Secretary of State will take account of local authorities’ actions when setting referendum principles in future years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Government plans to announce the outcome of proposals to assist unaccompanied refugee children from conflict regions.

James Brokenshire

As announced on 28th January, the Government is working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to lead a new initiative to scope the extent of the need to resettle in the UK unaccompanied refugee children in the exceptional cases where it is in the child’s best interests to do so. Discussions with UNHCR are ongoing. It is important that any proposal is considered carefully to ensure it is in the best interests of the children.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of gender segregation in some Muslim independent schools.

Nick Gibb

Independent schools have to meet the standards set in regulations. If segregation results in disadvantage for pupils of one gender, either directly or through inappropriate modelling of gender roles through staff segregation visible to pupils, then it is likely that the standards have not been met and regulatory action by this Department will follow. If there is a possibility that staff segregation disadvantages staff of one gender and there may be a direct breach of the Equality Act 2010, we will not hesitate to make a referral to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what input officials in his Department sought from their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive in preparation for the UK’s attendance at the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council held in Brussels on 20 and 21 May 2014.

Mr Edward Vaizey

DCMS officials seek to keep their counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive informed of relevant EU developments on an ongoing basis. There was no specific contact prior to the meeting of the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council on 20 and 21 May.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Ministers from the devolved administrations were invited to attend the Global Dementia Legacy Event in London in June 2014.

Norman Lamb

Senior officials from each of the devolved administrations are members of the Dementia Steering Group (International) and were involved and aware of plans for the UK Global Dementia Legacy event. They were also invited to attend the event. Ministers were not invited, senior officials were sent a formal invitation.

The Scottish Government hosted an international dementia event on 9 and 10 June, and officials from the Department attended.

Ministers from across the United Kingdom signed up to the Blackfriars Consensus to prevent and delay dementia, which was announced at the UK Global Dementia Legacy event.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with its counterparts in Northern Ireland ahead of the Global Dementia Legacy Event in London on 19 June 2014.

Norman Lamb

Senior officials from each of the devolved administrations are members of the Dementia Steering Group (International) and were involved and aware of plans for the UK Global Dementia Legacy event. They were also invited to attend the event. Ministers were not invited, senior officials were sent a formal invitation.

There were no discussions between my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his Ministerial counterparts. Senior officials in the Devolved Administrations were involved in discussions via their participation in the Dementia Steering Group (International).

Ministers from across the United Kingdom signed up to the Blackfriars Consensus to prevent and delay dementia, which was announced at the UK Global Legacy event.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications have been processed by the passport office in Belfast in each year since 2010.

James Brokenshire

The table below shows the number of passports processed by the Passport Office
in Belfast.