Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve police responses to sexual assaults and rapes at universities.

Karen Bradley

Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes which we remain committed to tackling. We expect every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

We continue to work with the police to look at ways to improve their response to rape and sexual assault. We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of this crime. The Rape Action Plan, led by the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Policing lead for rape, ensures that investigators and prosecutors have both the right tools for handling these cases, and referrals from the police to prosecutors are improved to increase successful prosecutions.

We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes to the police, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice, no matter where the offence takes place. Police recorded rape increased by 43% (to 31,621 offences) in the year ending June 2015 compared with the previous year. We do not hold figures on the number of rapes in England and Wales that took place in universities. This significant rise in the reporting of rape is the result of a renewed focus on the quality of crime recording and a greater willingness of victims to come forward. These can only be positive developments in our fight to end abuse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent people in other EU countries who have been convicted for murder, violent assault or rape from travelling to the UK.

James Brokenshire

The UK has always and will continue to operate our borders securely and enforce our immigration laws. This includes carrying out full checks on all arriving passengers in order to identify any criminal, security and immigration concerns. All passengers are checked against police, security and immigration watchlists and where we are aware of individuals who pose a risk, Border Force officers can, and do refuse them entry. However, that requires other countries to inform us of individual’s criminal histories.

This Government has also introduced a new power to enable the UK to require entry clearance applicants to provide an overseas criminal record certificate, helping to reduce overseas offenders gaining visas to enter the UK. From 1 September 2015, Tier 1 Investor and Tier 1 Entrepreneur entry clearance applicants and their adult dependents are now required to provide a criminal record certificate from the country/countries in which they have been living for the past ten years. This will be rolled out to other categories at a later stage on a phased basis.

The UK is leading calls in Europe to improve the sharing of criminal records information between Member States, allowing us better to identify criminals before they try and enter the UK. This includes accelerating work to develop a more comprehensive system for sharing information on non-EU nationals who receive criminal convictions within the EU. In the light of the unprecedented migratory flows into Europe, the UK is leading calls for systematic and complete identification, registration and fingerprinting of those entering the EU as well as greater sharing of information about those who pose a risk. The Home Office is also leading work to progress recommendations from a project to tackle serious offending by mobile EU criminals (SOMEC Project). This project examines the threat from offenders crossing internal EU borders who pose a risk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the negative interim NICE Appraisal Committee Decision on nivolumab for squamous non-small cell lung cancer on patients.

George Freeman

No such assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising nivolumab (Opdivo) for squamous non-small cell lung cancer and has not yet issued its final guidance.

In developing its technology appraisal guidance, NICE works closely with stakeholders, including manufacturers. NICE’s consultation on its draft guidance closed on 19 January 2016.

In the absence of NICE guidance, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on the available evidence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to help review and improve sea defences in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

Sea defences are a devolved matter in Northern Ireland.

On 9 December 2015, the Chancellor announced an additional £51 million to support households and businesses affected by floods, which includes an allocation of £1.3 million to Northern Ireland. It is up to the Executive how this money is spent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that harbours can accommodate any new vessels built for use by the Royal Navy.

Mr Philip Dunne

It is recognised that harbours in the UK and around the world vary in size, and that not all are able to accommodate all classes of ships due to constraints such as navigation channels, water depth, tidal movements, tug and pilotage arrangements, and berthing facilities. There are, however, a sufficient number of harbours and ports both at home and overseas that our ships can access, or could anchor in the vicinity of, to receive the necessary support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent extortion cases.

Mr John Hayes

We are clear that the police and other law enforcement agencies where appropriate, should take reports of extortion seriously and investigate them appropriately. Those who commit offences involving extortion should be taken through the courts and met with tough sentences.

The Anti-Kidnap and Extortion Unit in the National Crime Agency undertakes awareness raising to assist law enforcement agencies’ understanding of the threat.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with NATO on the emergency provision of troops to (a) Poland and (b) the Balkan states.

Mr Julian Brazier

The UK was one of the driving forces behind NATO’s Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the Wales Summit, which includes tripling the strength of the NATO Response Force (NRF); the creation of a Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) that is able to deploy at very short notice; and enhancing NATO’s Standing Naval Forces.

The UK is fully involved with NATO work to improve the movement of troops and logistic support to the enhanced NRF and VJTF although improvements to and development of road networks remain the responsibility of each member nation.

NATO Allies regularly discuss the progress of the RAP and the capabilities and deployability of our forces; we will do so again at the NATO Defence Ministerial meeting this month.

The UK will contribute to the VJTF in every year between now and 2021 including: a 1,000 strong battle group for the Spanish-led Land VJTF in 2016; we will act as the Land VJTF lead nation in 2017, with 3,000 UK personnel; and in 2020 we will provide a 1,000 battle group to the Polish-led VJTF

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the BBC and NATO on more effective use of the BBC World Service to counter inaccurate reporting from Russian media outlets.

Mr David Lidington

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is in consultation with partners and allies on how to achieve greater access to quality, independent BBC content in countries with significant Russian speaking populations.

The Government is investing additional funds in the BBC’s digital, TV and radio services around the world to build the global reach of the World Service and increase access to news and information, including additional programming for Russian speakers. It is for the BBC, as an independent broadcaster, to take its own decision about scheduling and programme control.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the implications for her policy on the solar power industry are of the recent European Court of Justice decision on levels of VAT.

Andrea Leadsom

HMRC has consulted on removing solar technologies from the list of measures that are currently eligible for the lower (5%) rate of VAT. They are currently considering the responses to the consultation, which closed on 3^rd February[1].

If it is decided that a change to VAT is appropriate, we will consider options on how to maintain a suitable rate-of-return for investors.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/vat-changes-to-the-reduced-rate-of-vat-for-the-installation-of-energy-saving-materials

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many convictions for drug smuggling have arisen from co-operation between UK and Spanish police in the last five years.

Karen Bradley

The UK works closely with the Spanish authorities on a range of organised crime issues, including drug trafficking. However, the Home Office does not hold information on how many drug trafficking convictions have arisen from co-operation between UK and Spanish police.