Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Chidgey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government in which countries local FM radio stations broadcasting BBC World Service programmes in-country have been closed down by the authorities in each year from 1999 to 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The BBC World Service has advised that they experienced closures to their service in the following countries: 2006 – Tajikistan 2008 – Oman 2009 –Azerbaijan 2010 – Somalia 2010 – Sudan 2008 to 2011– Israel 2014 – Rwanda

  • Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Steel of Aikwood on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries they include in their Global Mine Action Programme, and whether they will consider adding Angola to that list.

    Earl of Courtown

    The Global Mine Action Programme which runs from 2014 to 2017 funds mine action projects in Mozambique, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Further work in Burma, Somalia, South Sudan and Zimbabwe is currently being procured. The countries were selected following an inclusive consultation which took into account factors such as other donor funding and where the impact would be the greatest. In addition, DFID took the decision to shift the UK’s mine action funding to more fragile and conflict affected countries and where DFID could align mine action work with other DFID country programmes to maximise the impact. All funds have already been allocated under this programme therefore there is no scope for Angola to be included. This year DFID will reconsider the list of countries for future mine action programmes.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effects of the demolition of structures in the South Hebron Hills on 2 February 2016 on (a) future compliance with UN resolutions and (b) the peace process; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK position on demolitions is clear: demolitions cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; are harmful to the peace process; and are, in all but the most exceptional of cases, contrary to international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention is clear that the destruction of any real or personal property in Occupied Territory is not justified unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.

  • Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to regulate the activities of individuals who offer support services to victims of crime.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) currently funds a range of support services for victims of crime.

    Where appropriate, grant agreements require organisations to adhere to the Victims’ Code and the EU Victims’ Directive when providing services for victims and MoJ has the right to terminate grant funding to those who do not comply with these, or other relevant requirements of the grant agreement .

    Where organisations funded either by MoJ or PCCs are registered charities, they will also be subject to regulation by the Charity Commission.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US and Russian counterparts on ensuring the Syrian High Negotiations Committee is involved in drafting Syria’s new constitution.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has frequent discussions with his US counterpart about all aspects of the Syrian conflict including the involvement of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) in the political process. Most recently they spoke at the G7 meeting in Hiroshima on 10-11 April. The UK also continues to engage with Russia, including through visits of senior officials to Moscow. These countries are active members of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) which is committed to achieving a Syrian-led political solution to the conflict. Working alongside ISSG counterparts, we are supporting the UN-facilitated intra-Syrian negotiations currently underway in Geneva, where the HNC is representing the Opposition in negotiations on a political settlement. Discussions on a new Syrian constitution will need to take place in this forum.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect of the European Court of Justice’s ruling on VAT on energy-saving materials of 4 June 2015, on achievement of the UK’s annual carbon emissions target.

    Amber Rudd

    We have made no such estimate of the effect of the ECJ ruling on VAT, since there has been no decision to amend VAT since the ECJ ruling. The reduced rate on 11 different types of energy saving materials remains in place and remains unchanged.

    The Government is still considering the responses to the consultation on VAT on energy saving materials and will issue a response to that consultation in due course.

  • Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to raise awareness among public authorities of their statutory duty to notify her where they have reasonable grounds to believe that a person may be a victim of slavery or human trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Sarah Newton

    We published guidance on the Modern Slavery Act on GOV.UK and a circular was sent to all bodies who are subject to the duty. We will publish data on notifications received and carry out further awareness-raising activity later this year.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department takes to ensure that government projects are delivered on time and within budget.

    Ben Gummer

    All projects are ultimately the responsibility of individual government departments. However, with £400 billion in the Infrastructure Pipeline and £400 billion in the Major Projects Portfolio, the Cabinet Office has a central team, the Infrastructure Projects Authority (IPA), to support departments to deliver on time and within budget. The IPA provides expertise and practical help, a supportive environment to enable major projects to succeed, and manages an independent assurance process to ensure projects are delivered to time and within budget.

    • IPA deploys expert commercial, financial and delivery support
    • IPA delivers independent high quality assurance and oversight
    • IPA develops standards, insights and tools, developing the project leadership and project finance professions
    • IPA delivers key finance schemes (PF2 & guarantees) to enable key projects to proceed

    The IPA works with all partners in infrastructure and major projects – government departments, project teams, HMT, Cabinet Office, and the private sector – to do this. The IPA reports jointly to HMT and Cabinet Office Ministers.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to continue with the visa scheme which allows Filipino nurses to come to the UK to work on its current basis; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    Tier 2 of the Points Based System for immigration – the skilled work route – allows non-EEA workers to fill graduate level occupations, and is the main route used by Filipino nurses wishing to work in the UK.

    In June 2015, the Government commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to advise on restricting Tier 2 to genuine skills shortages and jobs which require highly-specialised experts, but with sufficient flexibility to include high value roles and key public service workers. The MAC has now reported and the Government is currently considering the MAC’s advice.

    In October 2015, the Home Secretary agreed, exceptionally, to place nurses on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) as an interim measure, pending a full review of the evidence by the MAC. The MAC will advise separately on whether nurses should remain on the SOL by 15 February and we await their recommendation with interest. Skilled jobs which are not on the SOL may still qualify for Tier 2, provided the sponsoring employer has carried out a Resident Labour Market Test.

  • Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Fearn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Fearn on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what control there is over the flight of drones in the United Kingdom.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Article 166 of the UK Air Navigation order (ANO) 2009 requires operators of RPAS to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purposes of avoiding collisions. It also states that an operator may only fly the aircraft if they are reasonably satisfied that the flight can safely be made.

    In addition, Article 138 of the ANO 2009, which also applies to RPAS, states that “a person must not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property.” This includes persons within another aircraft, and of course the aircraft that those persons are within. The government expects users to understand and comply with this type of regulation which has been made in place for many years, albeit covering the flight of the more traditional model aircraft.

    Safety and Security must always be the overriding priority and both commercial and leisure operators most operate drones responsibly and within the rules. I am able to confirm that with regards to the policing and monitoring of such vehicles the Police has provided initial guidance to constabularies across the UK.

    Operators of RPAS that collect personal data must comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) unless a relevant exemption applies. The requirements of the DPA are regulated by the independent Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).