Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any future corporate services integration and innovation provider for Defence Business Services will be permitted to bid for contracts for direct service delivery within the future Defence Business Services contract.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options for the future of Defence Business Services (DBS) as part of the Future DBS Programme. No final decisions have been taken on whether any elements of DBS’ current operations will be outsourced. Decisions on whether any future Corporate Services Integration and Innovation Service supplier could bid for service delivery contracts in DBS would be made in line with the procurement legislation and regulations that applied at the time.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the extent to which UK universities are being excluded from joint funding applications to EU funding bodies by other EU universities.

    Joseph Johnson

    The European Commission has made it clear that while the UK remains a member of the EU, proposals from, or including, UK applicants must be treated in the same way as applications from other Member States including for collaborations under Horizon 2020 and Erasmus+.

    In addition, the HM Treasury announcement on 13th August brought clarity on continuity of research funding by stating that competitively bid for projects applied for before the UK departs the EU would be underwritten by the Treasury for the life of the project.

    The Government is vigilant and will continue to monitor any problems in this area. To aid this we have set up a mailbox where specific instances should be sent: research@beis.gov.uk.

  • Philippa Whitford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philippa Whitford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philippa Whitford on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much NHS England spent on agency nurses in each of the last three years.

    Alistair Burt

    The information that has been requested is not recorded centrally by the Department of Health or NHS England.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) enforce the European Commission Interpretative Notice, C2015 7834 final, on the indication of origin of goods from territories occupied by Israel since June 1967 and (b) ensure that penalties for mis-labeling of such products are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

    George Eustice

    The principal feature of the Interpretative Notice is a recommendation that goods imported into the EU which originate from Israeli settlements in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 should bear an indication which makes that provenance clear. That recommendation was included in technical advice to UK retailers and importers concerning labelling agricultural produce from the West Bank that was issued by Defra in 2009. We are currently in discussion with other Departments to consider whether revisions need to be made to the 2009 advice in the light of the Interpretative Notice. As regards sanctions and penalties for mis-labelling, these are dealt with in various pieces of legislation depending on the goods concerned.

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people of each gender work in her Department.

    Nick Gibb

    As at 31 December 2015, there were 1468 men and 2026 women working in the Department for Education.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made by her Department on developing a toolkit for effective and safe management of bats in churches as recommended in the University of Bristol report on Management of bats in churches, a pilot, published in January 2015.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government has invested significant resources into research and development to assess how we can reduce the impact caused by bats in churches. This has included a three year research project that concluded in 2013, as well as a pilot project led by Historic England that focused on churches with significant bat issues. Natural England is currently creating a licensing framework to provide the mechanism through which the impact of bats will be controlled in churches.

    A partnership of five organisations, including the Church of England and Natural England, is seeking Heritage Lottery Funding for a five year project to support the creation of a national support network for churches that have bat related issues. The outcome of the bid for funding will be known in March.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the value of railway stations owned by Network Rail.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail is exploring new models for the management and ownership of its 18 managed stations with the goal of bringing improvements for both passengers and the communities they serve. They have engaged Citigroup as advisors to consider a range of potential options. No decisions have yet been taken and no estimate of the potential value of these stations has been made as part of this work. Citigroup were appointed following a competitive tender process, and the details of their fee are commercially confidential.

    Network Rail expect that this work will be presented to their Board by the end of 2016.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for asylum from refugees in the Calais and Dunkirk camp they have accepted under the Dublin III Regulations.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    Whilst all asylum claims, including those accepted under Dublin III, are registered on the main immigration database the specifics of each case including the route of travel and possible stay in the camps in Calais and Dunkirk can only be ascertained by a manual check of the notes on the immigration database and a physical check of the paper file.

    It will therefore not be possible to answer this question for reasons of disproportionate cost.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much UK aid has been spent on programmes to support (a) children who have been conscripted as child soldiers by Daesh, (b) other children who have been held in captivity by Daesh and (c) women and girls who have been held in sexual slavery by Daesh.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    We are very concerned about appalling crimes committed by Daesh in Iraq and Syria, including against women and young children. We strongly condemn their use of sexual slavery, sexual violence, rape and kidnapping. Likewise, we have seen reports of children in Daesh-held areas being forced into military training after the militant group closed down their schools – leaving an estimated total of over 670,000 children without the opportunity of a proper education.

    In Syria and Iraq, DFID continues to work with the UN and the international community to ensure all civilians’ rights are protected. However, we do not earmark our aid as being solely for Daesh victims or victims of other groups. The UK is committed to supporting the most vulnerable people wherever they are, in accordance with international humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, independence and impartiality. Consequently all UK funded humanitarian assistance is distributed on the basis of need, and need alone, regardless of politics, religion, ethnicity or place of origin.

    The UK has pledged over £2.3 billion for the response to the Syria crisis. Some of this funding is enabling partner agencies to provide specialist assistance to those affected by sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including safe spaces, psychosocial support, cash assistance and reproductive healthcare. By June 2015, UK assistance had provided SGBV focussed interventions to over 197,000 individuals in Syria and the region. In addition, more than 673,000 children have been reached with child protection initiatives across Syria and the region.

    Ultimately, the best way of safeguarding these children is by defeating Daesh and establishing a lasting peace in both Syria and Iraq. The UK Government is committed to this aim: we have a comprehensive strategy for defeating Daesh and continue to work with our international partners and the UN towards a political settlement in Syria.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provision HM Prison Service makes to meet the spiritual needs of prisoners who speak Welsh in prisons in (a) Wales and (b) other parts of the UK.

    Andrew Selous

    The spiritual needs of Welsh speaking prisoners have been, and continue to be, provided by chaplains working in multi-faith teams. The framework for providing faith services in languages other than English is detailed in Prison Service Instruction 05/2016 Faith and Pastoral Care of Prisoners.

    This can be found on the Justice website at the following link:

    https://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis