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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of jobseeker’s allowance in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK have received a sanction of their benefit in each of the last five years.

    Priti Patel

    The latest available information on Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions, including the number of Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals, is published at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/:

    Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:

    https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started—SuperWEB2.html

    Please note Mandatory reconsiderations were introduced in 28th October 2013.

    Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development. Northern Ireland statistics can be found at:

    http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research/benefit_publications.htm

    “

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the UN stabilization meeting in Haiti in maintaining security in Haiti.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains close links with the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) through our Embassies in Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo, and our offices at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. MINUSTAH has made a significant contribution to Haiti’s stability and law and order. However the main focus now should be continuing to build the capacity of the justice sectors and Haitian National Police to allow the Haitian government to take responsibility for their own national security.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the reasons are for the time taken to supply the Kurdistan Regional Government with new rounds for British machine guns.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We have previously provided some 50 tonnes of non-lethal support, 40 heavy machine guns and nearly half a million rounds of ammunition to the Kurdish Peshmerga. The Kurdish Regional Government has made a number of recent requests to Her Majesty’s Government for further assistance, including for ammunition. These requests are currently under consideration to see whether we can assist, taking into account the UK’s own requirements and stocks, and notifying Parliament in the normal way on assistance provided.

  • Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultation or correspondence they had with companies offering employee share ownership schemes before announcing the withdrawal of HM Revenue and Custom’s valuation check service.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been consulting representative bodies through the Valuation Fiscal Forum over the last 18 months.

    HMRC has not withdrawn valuation services that are most relevant to employee share ownership schemes.

    These include:

    • Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI),

    • Company Share Option Plans (CSOP),

    • Save As You Earn share option schemes (SAYE),

    • Share Incentive Plans (SIP) and

    • Employee Shareholder Status (ESS).

      HMRC has, however, announced a review of the valuation services for those schemes and is consulting interested parties.

      HMRC has withdrawn valuation checks for income tax and PAYE that are not part of these recognised employee ownership schemes. Most people submitted acceptable valuations and therefore the valuation service offered was not seen as needed.

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2016 to Question 29547, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of steps taken to reach vulnerable Yazidis now located in Turkish camps to enable them to be resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement Programme; and if she will make a statement.

    Richard Harrington

    UNHCR identifies Syrian refugees for resettlement using their established vulnerability criteria. Membership of a minority religion is not in itself one of the vulnerability criteria but members of minority religious groups, such as Syrian Yazidis, may qualify under one of the criteria.

    The seven vulnerability criteria used by the UNHCR are Legal and or Physical Protection Needs; Survivors of Torture and/or Violence; Medical Needs; Women and Girls at Risk; Family Reunification; Children and Adolescents at Risk and Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions.

    We are providing support to UNHCR to strengthen their resettlement work with Syrian refugees and specifically to intensify their outreach to groups that might be reluctant to register for fear of stigma/discrimination, or who might be unaware of the safe space that UNHCR can provide and the options available to them. This includes all religious minorities, people with disabilities, and survivors of torture and sexual violence.

    On 21 April my Rt Hon. Friend James Brokenshire laid a Written Ministerial Statement launching a new resettlement scheme for ‘Children at Risk’ from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The scheme will not target unaccompanied children alone, but will be extended to all ‘Children at Risk’ as defined by the UNHCR. Through this category we will resettle the most vulnerable children accompanied by their families where the UNHCR deems resettlement is in the best interests of the child.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Eritrean nationals appealed against an initial asylum refusal in (1) 2013, (2) 2014, and (3) 2015.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In answer to Questions HL329 and HL331, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8090.

    In answer to Question HL330, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 04/05/2016 for Question HL8089.

    In answer to Question HL332 and HL333, I refer the noble Lady to my answer on 11/05/2016 for Questions HL8091 and HL9092.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional financial assistance is available to students whose maintenance loans do not fully cover the costs of accommodation; and what estimate she has made of the proportion of students who are so affected.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government’s policy is that maintenance support is provided to cover a range of student expenditure, and is only a contribution to students’ costs. Maintenance support is linked to parental income, to ensure that students from lower income backgrounds receive the highest rates of loan, and for new students beginning study this academic year, maintenance support has increased by up to 10.3% on the previous year.

    In addition to their maintenance support, students may be eligible for financial assistance from their university. In 2016/17, £745 million is expected to be spent by universities on measures to support the access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including through bursaries and fee waivers. Such assistance is over and above the other sources of income students may have such as their families or from paid work.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the proportion of households in Northern Ireland with access to superfast broadband.

    Matt Hancock

    At the end of Phase 1 (March 2016) 82% of premises in Northern Ireland had access to superfast broadband. This will increase to just under 87% following Phase 2 (December 2017). The Northern Ireland Broadband Improvement Project team is taking forward a contract change request to extend coverage further with £1.7 million of gainshare funding that has been returned by the supplier as a result of higher than expected take-up. There will be further gainshare funding over the seven year term of the contract which will become available to support further additional coverage. Furthermore, the UK Government is committed to a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, so every premise in the country will have access to broadband at a minimum speed, and our ambition is that this is 10Mbps.

  • Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Naseby – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Naseby on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the UN OISL report published in September, what action they intend to take to bring to justice those British citizens residing in the United Kingdom who are alleged to have committed war crimes or crimes against humanity whilst fighting for the Tamil Tigers.

    Lord Bates

    The investigation and prosecution of all criminal offences, including whether an offence has been committed, is an operational matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what forecast his Department has made of (a) the reduction in cases of and deaths from infection with meningococcal disease caused by groups A, C, W, and Y as a result of the introduction of the Men ACWY vaccine in 2015, (b) the number of Men ACWY vaccines which will be administered and (c) the cost of delivering that programme in each year of its operation.

    Jane Ellison

    The MenACWY programme was introduced in August 2015 as an emergency programme to control a national outbreak of meningococcal group W (MenW) disease.

    From August 2015 to the end of August 2017 the MenACWY programme will offer a single dose of vaccine to individuals born between 1 September 1996 and 31 August 2003 inclusive. In addition, vaccines will be offered to those entering university for the first time aged up to 25 years (excluding individuals in the previously mentioned birth cohort). The number of doses given will depend on uptake, i.e. the proportion of eligible individuals who receive the vaccine.

    Due to the emergency status and aims of this programme, a formal cost-effectiveness analysis was not performed, part of which would have been an estimation of the reduction in cases and deaths from invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). The MenACWY vaccine is currently replacing the MenC vaccine used in the existing adolescent and university freshers’ programmes.

    The forecast cost of delivering the MenACWY programme in each year.

    Year

    Estimated cost of delivering the MenACWY programme

    2015/16

    £35 million

    2016/17

    £30 million

    2017/18

    £20 million

    Note: These are the full programme costs (including cost of the vaccine) for England, inclusive of VAT.