Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the human rights conditions in prisons in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Iran does not allow British officials access to Iranian prisons and as such we are unable to make an assessment of their human rights conditions. The UK recently supported the renewed mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran and regularly calls on Iran to allow them access to the country to carry out their work. Iran has also been identified as a Human Rights Priority Country and the UK regularly calls on Iran to uphold its international human rights obligations.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2016 to Question 42399, what the equivalent data is for the most recent period for which such data exists, broken down by whether the application was made by (a) the police, (b) the National Crime Agency or (c) immigration officers.

    Sarah Newton

    Up to end March 2016: Sixteen Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders (STPOs) have been made on sentencing in the Crown Court under section 14 of the Modern Slavery Act, as decided by the Court. Data on the number of STPOs applied for on sentencing is not collated centrally.

    No STPOs have been applied for or made on application under section 15 of the Modern Slavery Act in the Magistrates’ Court.

    Nine Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders (STROs) have been applied for on application to the Magistrates’ Court, of which seven were applied for by the police and two by Immigration Enforcement.

    The two STROs applied for by Immigration Enforcement have been made. Of the seven STROs applied for by the police, one has been made. Of the remaining six, two were refused, one was withdrawn and three cases were adjourned.

    This data was run in July 2016 specifically to answer Question 42399 and is not verified to the same standard as Official Statistics.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the privatisation of Channel 4 on the independent production sector in the UK.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    No decisions have been made on the future of Channel 4. The Government is considering how best to ensure Channel 4’s future sustainability, while maintaining its ability to deliver against its remit. It will also be important to consider the impacts of any possible changes to Channel 4 on the independent UK production sector.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her French counterpart on securing a long-term solution to the situation in Calais.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office is in regular discussions with French counterparts at ministerial and official level on all aspects of the migrant situation in Calais. The French Government is responsible for the care of migrants in Calais, including support over the winter. However, both governments are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. One aspect of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August, committed the UK to providing a £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

    The UK and French Governments are unified in their response to the migratory phenomenon and both governments recognise the importance of close partnership and collaboration to reach a long-term solution. This is a global challenge, and we will also work together to ensure that other EU states, as well as source and transit countries outside Europe, are doing everything they ought to be to stop people making these dangerous journeys in the first place.

  • George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    George Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of China on its recent decision to land civilian planes on Fiery Cross reef in the disputed South China Sea.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) expressed our concerns about the situation in the South China Sea during his visit to Beijing on 5 January. He stressed the need to avoid raising tensions and underlined the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, what categories of security incident were classed as other security breach in that answer.

    Mark Lancaster

    Other security breaches include incidents which represented a failure of a control but did not result in the loss of any information. Such breaches would be the contravention of security policy, damage, denial of service, malicious software and personal security.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility with international law of the arrest and transfer of children from the Occupied Palestinian Territories to Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are clear that Israel has legal obligations as an Occupying Power with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories under the Fourth of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. This includes Article 49, which prohibits deportation of protected persons from the occupied territory and Article 76, providing that protected persons convicted of offenses shall be detained and serve their sentences within the occupied territory. We regularly talk to the Government of Israel with regard to the implementation of those obligations and raise our serious concerns, including about the treatment of Palestinian children that are arrested and detained in Israeli prisons. We have been clear with Israel that forcible transfer would be a breach of international humanitarian law and would have serious ramifications on Israel’s international standing.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, to which location he plans to relocate his Department’s functions out of London.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department has not yet made final decisions on its future estate. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise has already informed the House, the current plans for the Department’s future estate are for:

    • A combined HQ and policy centre in London
    • Business-facing centre, likely to be in South Wales
    • Institutional and Research funding centre, likely to be in Swindon, but may initially also include Bristol
    • Further education funding centre – location yet to be decided but may initially be in Coventry
    • Higher education student finance centre, initially in Glasgow and Darlington
    • A regulation centre likely to be in Birmingham
    • A combined regional footprint for where service delivery to local users need to happen on a local basis, comprising the BIS Local offices and local service delivery
  • Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they used in making the decision to move the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office from Sheffield to London, and how those criteria were decided.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Department has not yet made final decisions on its future estate or on the proposals for a combined BIS headquarters and policy centre in London. Our consultation on the proposals is still underway.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve awareness and education of cytomegalovirus among parents and children.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s Start4Life Information Service for Parents includes content on hygiene behaviours designed to help prevent the transmission of cytomegalovirus and links to further information on the condition. Advice includes how parents can keep their babies safe by following basic hygiene rules, with particular emphasis on handling nappies, and provides guidance on instilling hygiene behaviours in young children, for example by making hand washing part of their everyday routine.

    General information about the signs and symptoms of cytomegalovirus is also available on the NHS Choices website at:

    http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cytomegalovirus/Pages/Causes.aspx

    “