Tag: John Mann

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK aid is being provided in each region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Nick Hurd

The DRC is the largest country in Sub-Saharan Africa. Many of the provinces are bigger than other DFID focus countries and there is a huge difference between the mineral-rich plains of Katanga in the south and the tropical rainforests of Equateur in the north, between the conflict-affected east and the megacity of Kinshasa in the west.

Our current approach to working in provinces was shaped in 2012. At that time we decided to focus on six strategic partnership provinces – North Kivu, South Kivu, Kasai Occidental, Katanga, Equateur and Kinshasa. Of these, our greatest area of focus has been the conflict-affected east of the country, which receives one third of our budget and hosts our only sub-national office in Goma. DFID programme design also takes into account need, geographic and logistical constraints, conflict, political issues, and presence of other donors. Whilst we increasingly focussed on the six provinces, we deliberately preserved some flexibility. Some activities, for example addressing humanitarian crises, do not observe provincial borders.

The regional picture in the DRC became more complex in September 2015 as the country’s 11 provinces were divided into 26, in a process called decoupage. In response to this radical change in the country’s geography, DFID DRC is reappraising its provincial focus and calculating its contribution in each province. The new approach will be set out in DFID DRC’s refreshed country business plan in May 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when a Minister in his Department (a) last visited, (b) met the Governor of and (c) met the Independent Monitoring Board of HM Prison Ranby.

Andrew Selous

Available records show that no current Ministers for the Ministry of Justice have visited HMP Ranby, nor met the Governor or met with their Independent Monitoring Board.

The East Midlands Deputy Director with responsibility for HMP Ranby regularly visits the prison and meets with the Governor. Andrew Selous receives annual reports from the chair of the IMB at Ranby.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will now consider acknowledging mass atrocity prevention or the prevention of identity-based mass violence to be a matter of national interest and a national priority.

James Duddridge

The UK continues to be strongly committed to early and effective international action to prevent mass atrocities. The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 underlined the importance the Government attaches to upholding international humanitarian law and to the prevention of mass atrocities through effective implementation of the UN agreed principle of the Responsibility to Protect.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Eritrea on the increase in political asylum seekers from that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK participates in the EU/Africa Khartoum Process; the main regional mechanism for tackling human trafficking and people smuggling in the Horn of Africa most notably from Eritrea.

We are using our increased engagement with Eritrea to push for the tangible improvements in Eritrea’s human rights record, including: amending its national service system; fully implementing its own constitution; and cooperating with international human rights bodies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who is responsible for paying defendant costs orders; and which organisation receives payment if costs are awarded for a successful prosecution of a breach.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Defendant Costs Orders are awarded to a defendant when a prosecution is unsuccessful and the defendant is acquitted. The expenditure is called ‘Central Funds’ and are payable at legal aid rates. Central Funds fall under the financial responsibility of the Legal Aid Agency but are operationally administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

If costs are awarded in a successful prosecution of a breach of a Defendant Costs Order, then whoever the prosecutor is will be entitled to receive the costs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-06-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representation he has received from magistrates and the judiciary since 1 June 2014 on service delivery; and if he will seek feedback as part of Test Gate 4 on whether the sale of Community Rehabilitation Companies contracts is having a detrimental impact on sentencing and court processes.

Jeremy Wright

On 1 June, as part of our ongoing Transforming Rehabilitation Programme of reform, the new National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) formally commenced operation. My officials have been in regular contact with the judiciary and magistracy throughout the transition process, but we have had no specific representations from them concerning service delivery.

We have made it clear throughout this process that we will manage the reforms in a controlled way and we will not proceed to share sale until thorough testing is complete and we are satisfied that it is safe to do so.