Tag: Jim Fitzpatrick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Greyhound Forum has been consulted over the forthcoming review of the 2010 Greyhound Regulations.

George Eustice

Defra plans to consult on the initial findings of the Review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 this autumn. The Greyhound Forum and members of the Forum have contributed to the initial findings exercise and, as part of the initial stages of the Review.

Defra officials have also had discussions with UKAS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with UKAS on extending the current regulations on greyhounds to cover trainers’ kennels.

George Eustice

Defra plans to consult on the initial findings of the Review of the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010 this autumn. The Greyhound Forum and members of the Forum have contributed to the initial findings exercise and, as part of the initial stages of the Review.

Defra officials have also had discussions with UKAS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will implement the recommendations of the All-Party Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood on encouraging play in childhood development and learning in school.

Edward Timpson

We want all children to lead healthy active lifestyles. Physical activity and play are important throughout childhood and can contribute enormously to the healthy development of children. The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework emphasises this and makes clear that in their early years children learn through play. When inspecting childcare providers, including schools, Ofsted look at how staff are enabling children to play in ways that help them develop and learn. Ofsted’s recent report on Teaching and Play is available to view at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-and-play-in-the-early-years-a-balancing-act

The EYFS framework can be found here at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons ministerial returns for his Department for quarters two and three of 2014 have not yet been published.

Kris Hopkins

Updated detail of Ministerial hospitality, overseas travel and meetings with external organisations will be published in due course on the same day as other government departments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the reasons were for the change in his Department’s performance in meeting deadlines for responding to Freedom of Information requests between 2010 and quarter three of 2014.

Kris Hopkins

The Department for Communities and Local Government, recognise the value of the Freedom of Information Act and as part of our commitment to transparency we aim to respond to these requests as quickly as possible.

Freedom of Information Act requests by their nature can prove complex to answer and, notwithstanding the statutory guidance on the amount of time that must be spent in responding, we sometimes take longer to reply in order to gather the information requested.

The change has been driven at least in part by an increased complexity of requests and we have responded to this in recent months by increasing the resources we devote to this area. Early indications show a significant improvement in performance, which we expect will be reflected when figures for cases received after 1 January 2015 are released.

Ministry of Justice statistics are published on a quarterly basis, approximately three months in arrears, so the next figures to be published will refer to cases received in October to December 2014. The figures showing the improvements we have made will be visible in the following quarter when data for cases received in January to March 2015 are made available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the political situation in Bangladesh.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government is deeply concerned about the escalating violence and disruption in Bangladesh, which affects the daily lives of its citizens. All political parties must urge restraint, an end to violence and respect for the rule of law. We have called on Bangladesh’s political parties to work together through dialogue to find a long-term solution that breaks the cycle of violence and disruption.

The British High Commissioner to Bangladesh, along with other EU Ambassadors, met Bangladesh Foreign Minister Mahmood Ali on 14 January to express collective concerns at the ongoing violence in Bangladesh, in particular the shooting of former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman and an attack on a bus in Rangpur which killed four people, including a child. They asked that the Bangladesh government investigate these crimes promptly and in accordance with the law. Our High Commissioner echoed these concerns in his statement on 14 January. I also raised these issues with the Bangladesh Minster for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs in our meeting on Tuesday 20 January.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2015-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons spending data for his Department for most months of 2014 has been published later than such data for the previous three years.

Kris Hopkins

My Department is more transparent than other parts of Whitehall, as we publish all spending over £250 and every item spent on Government Procurement Cards. This can result in slightly longer lead times to check and publish the data compared to other departments, but we believe that this enhanced transparency is in the public interest.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-05-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what written correspondence he has had with (a) the Mayor of London and (b) officials from Transport for London within the last 24 months regarding proposed river crossings east of Tower Bridge that are included within the Mayoral Transport Strategy; and how they impact on the options for the proposed Lower Thames Crossing.

Stephen Hammond

The Secretary of State for Transport has regular meetings with the Mayor of London at which a range of London transport measures are discussed. Other Ministers also discuss various London transport issues and projects with senior officials from Transport for London.

The Mayor of London wrote to the then Secretary of State for Transport on 1 June 2012 to request the designation of the proposed Silvertown tunnel as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. The Secretary of State responded on 26 June 2012 outlining her agreement to grant the request.

On 16 July 2013, the Mayor of London wrote to me to respond to the Department’s consultation on the Lower Thames Crossing proposals.

The Department’s review of options for a new Lower Thames Crossing included a sensitivity test to assess whether the proposed Silvertown Crossing scheme would be likely to impact on the forecast flows for the existing Dartford crossing, and any potential new crossing.　The conclusion of that test was that the effect was likely to be negligible. The review findings were published in May 2013 as part of consultation on the options.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the UK’s relationship with Bangladesh of the activities in the UK of Tareque Rahman, Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Hugh Robertson

The UK enjoys a broad and wide ranging relationship with Bangladesh which is built on engagement with the government of Bangladesh and Bangladesh political parties, business and cultural exchanges between our people. We work on a range of bilateral and global issues that include Bangladesh’s recent endorsement of the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict. We are not aware of any activities by Mr Rahman that have had an impact on our bilateral relationship.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the immigration status is of Tareque Rahman, Vice Chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

James Brokenshire

For reasons of confidentiality, the Home Office does not routinely
comment on individual cases.