Tag: Julie Cooper

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) extent of protection of human rights and (b) operation of the democratic process in Bangladesh.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Government are concerned about protection for human rights in Bangladesh. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has named Bangladesh as one of its 30 Human Rights Priority Countries. Where credible allegations of abuses are made, we regularly raise them with the Government of Bangladesh. In particular we condemn all forms of violence and excessive use of force, including
extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and attacks against secularists and religious minorities. We make clear our opposition to the death penalty.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on his proposal in the Autumn Statement of 2014 to offer a student loan provision for postgraduate masters degrees.

Joseph Johnson

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and HM Treasury meet regularly to discuss policy.

The Government announced its proposals for a Master’s Loan at Autumn Statement and Spending Review 2015. Further information is available via the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/postgraduate-study-student-loans-and-other-support

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in Burnley receive working tax credit.

Damian Hinds

Information on the figures you have requested can be found in the latest publication, Child and Working Tax Credits statistics, Finalised annual awards – Geographical analysis, which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-tax-credits-finalised-award-statistics-geographical-statistics-2013-to-2014

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-18.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many high-frequency traders have been investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority for predatory practices.

Harriett Baldwin

It would not be appropriate for the Government to comment on any ongoing investigations. This is an operational matter for the FCA which is an independent regulator. I have transferred this question across to them and they will respond fully in due course.

The Government is clear that any attempted manipulation of any financial market is completely unacceptable. The integrity of the City matters to the economy of Britain, and that is why the Government is taking action at home, in Europe, and globally, to ensure that this behaviour is punished and that similar scandals cannot occur again.

The Government has taken a number of steps to strengthen financial regulation in the UK. These include introducing the Senior Managers and Certification Regime to provide for effective regulation of individual conduct and accountability in the banking sector. The Bank of England and Financial Services Bill, now before the House of Commons, will extend this regime to cover all authorised financial services firms, including dealers in securities and other non-banks which may engage in high-frequency trading (HFT).

The Government has supported the European Union (EU) Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2 (MiFID 2), which from 2017 will alter the regulatory landscape in relation to automated trading including HFT. As part of this, HFT firms will be required to disclose information concerning their trading activities to their regulator in order to increase the regulatory supervision of these markets.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the Afghan army have been trained by British servicemen since 2001.

Penny Mordaunt

Since 2001, alongside NATO partners, the UK has played an important role in developing the 350,000 strong Afghan National Security Forces through a range of training, mentoring and advisory activities.

During Operation HERRICK (2002-2014) UK Armed Forces personnel mentored and advised 3rd Brigade, 215 Corps of the Afghan National Army in Helmand. During this time, UK forces partnered Afghan personnel on operations, allowing them to learn from experience and enabling them, over time, to take the lead for operations themselves. The UK also supported the development of Afghan military instructors.

Since the end of 2014, as part of Operation TORAL, the UK has mentored and advised the Afghan instructors at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) in Kabul. Up to 1140 Afghan cadets can be enrolled at ANAOA each year.

At present as part of wider NATO activity, the UK also has a small team deployed to Helmand to further assist the development of 215 Corps.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much aid the UK gave to Afghanistan in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID’s bilateral aid expenditure in Afghanistan for 2010-11 was £99.3m and in 2011-12 was £153.9m.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2016 to Question 26169, on social security benefits: disqualification, what the established safeguards are which are in place to prevent the accrual of sanctions.

Priti Patel

The sanctions regime has a range of safeguards for claimants, including ensuring all requirements placed on claimants are reasonable, taking into account individual capability and circumstances, such as health conditions, disability and caring responsibilities.

A further safeguard exists so that sanctions at the same level do not increase in duration when the claimant accrues 2 or more within a two week period. This ensures claimants cannot accrue lengthy sanctions within a short period in between meetings with their work coach. We keep the sanctions process under constant review and use research analysis and insight to improve the clarity of all our products and policies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-03.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the use of money laundering services in the Maldives by UK citizens.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government believes that money laundering is a critical enabler of both terrorism and serious and organised crime. This is why the UK’s anti-money laundering regime contains controls and supervisory mechanisms which aim to make the UK financial system a hostile environment for illicit finances, whilst minimising the burden on legitimate businesses and reducing the overall burden of regulation.

The Government expects UK citizens to comply with anti-money laundering regulations both at home and abroad and strives, particularly through the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to improve global standards and combat money laundering.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has for supporting low-security patients at Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in reintegrating into the community if that facility is closed.

Alistair Burt

These are matters for the National Health Service.

It is for the local NHS, in conjunction with NHS England as specialised commissioners, to effect change.

We are advised by NHS England that following authorisation as a foundation trust, Mersey Care NHS Trust intends to acquire Calderstones.

We expect consideration of patients’ interests to be paramount. The re-provision of care will be considered on a case by case basis and we expect patients and their families to be supported throughout the transition process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make it its policy to allocate revenue raised from the soft drinks industry levy to maintain the grant for summer schools.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Government has no plans to use the soft drink levy to maintain the grant for pupil premium summer schools. The 2016 budget statement identified that the soft drinks industry levy would be used to double the amount of funding to £320m per annum that we dedicate to sport in every primary school and to make it easier for up to a quarter of secondary schools to extend their school day to include a wider range of activities, including extra sport.

The Government has protected the pupil premium at current per pupil rates for the rest of the Parliament, providing schools with around £2.5 billion per year of additional funding to support their disadvantaged pupils. Schools have the choice to continue running summer schools and can use their pupil premium allocation to fund places for their disadvantaged pupils.