Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the UK’s membership of the EU to the UK’s work in (a) preventing and (b) identifying and detaining terrorists.

    James Brokenshire

    Terrorism and serious organised crime are global threats that cross national borders. Our unique relationship with the EU gives UK law enforcement access to EU tools and instruments that help keep people safe and tackle serious and organised crime, but also mean we are not obliged to participate in new measures when we do not judge them to be in the national interest.

    The tools and instruments that the UK participates in include Europol, an EU agency which supports cross-border police operations and intelligence sharing, and can assist in the identification of terrorist threats; the European Arrest Warrant, which allows swift extradition between EU countries of individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence; and the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), which enables law enforcement agencies around the EU to share live alerts, for example, for missing people and stolen vehicles. The UK is also in the process of implementing Prum, which will give us access to fingerprint and DNA data from other member states.

    Since 2004, using the European Arrest Warrant, over 1,000 individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence have faced justice in UK courts and over 7,000 have been extradited from the UK.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Policing, Fire and Criminal Justice and Victims of 10 February 2016, Official Report, column 1594, on the Police Grant Report (England and Wales), how many operational on-duty frontline police officers there were in (a) the latest period for which figures are available and (b) 2010.

    Mike Penning

    The number and proportion of full time equivalent police officers employed in operational frontline roles as at 31 March 2015, the latest period for which figures are available, and 31 March 2010, are provided in the table.

    As HMIC has made clear, there is no simple link between police numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police in the community, or between numbers and the quality of service provided.

    Decisions on the size and composition of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities. What matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the aerial bombing of the Heiban locality in the South Khordofan and Blue Nile regions on 1 May, what assessment they have made of whether the government of Sudan is now in breach of international humanitarian law.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The reported aerial bombardment of civilians in the Heiban locality of South Kordofan is appalling. Targeting of civilians would be a clear breach of International Humanitarian Law. We continue to make clear to the Government of Sudan that they have a responsibility to protect citizens, distinguish between combatants and non-combatants and uphold International Humanitarian Law.

    We consistently raise the importance of ending the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile directly with both the Government of Sudan and the Opposition; most recently, the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan raised this issue during his visit to Khartoum earlier this month. We continue to call on all sides to end the violence and believe that the Roadmap proposed by the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel represents a viable way forward.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard the wellbeing of UK citizens engaged in UN operations in Juba, South Sudan.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK is a strong supporter of the UN in South Sudan and we are working in the UN Security Council to ensure their peacekeeping mission UNMISS has the equipment and access it needs for its staff to be able to do their jobs safely and effectively. The FCO provided a flight, in the absence of commercial options, for British Nationals, including those working in the UN, who wanted to leave South Sudan on 14 July 2016.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to undertake a formal evaluation of the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    Nicola Blackwood

    NHS England’s standard operating procedures for the appraisal and funding of cancer drugs from July 2016 (including the new Cancer Drugs Fund) state that NHS England will keep the operational mechanisms of the new arrangements under continuous review. In addition, NHS England will look to undertake a more formal evaluation of the overall operation of the scheme, no later than autumn 2017.

    The standard operating procedures are available at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cdf-sop.pdf

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent progress the Government has made on providing humanitarian assistance to Yemen.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    On 27 September 2015, the Secretary of State announced an additional £20 million for humanitarian assistance to Yemen, bringing our overall contribution for 2015-16 to £75 million and making the UK the 4th largest bilateral donor to Yemen crisis.

    UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, as well as supporting UN work to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what training his Department has provided to staff on the family test; what other steps he has taken to raise awareness of the family test among staff of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Family Test was announced by my Rt. hon Friend the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014.

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills welcomed the introduction of the Family Test and has taken steps to embed it by building it into the Department’s Public Sector Equality Duty commitments. This has included training officials on applying the test, disseminating learning materials and best practice.

    The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance, published by the Department for Work and Pensions.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Highways Act 1835 to allow for the use of self-balancing scooters, segways and z-boards on roads.

    Andrew Jones

    To maintain the UK’s position as a world-leading location to test, develop, and use connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies, the Department for Transport is planning a wider review of domestic regulations by Summer2017. The review is at an early stage.

    While the Highways Act 1835 will form part of the review, decisions have yet to be taken as to which regulatory changes will be necessary to support CAV technologies, or if the review will cover other forms of transport such as Segways, or so-called ‘hoverboards’, ‘balancing scooters’ and ‘z-boards’, all of which may already be used on private land.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department is having with (a) the Greater Manchester combined authority, (b) the metropolitan district councils of Greater Manchester, (c) Transport for Greater Manchester and (d) Highways England on the Greater Manchester Air Quality Action Plan.

    Rory Stewart

    Air quality control in the ten district councils of Greater Manchester is managed as a consortium led by the air quality and transport delivery arms of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), with input from Highways England. It is through this consortium that Defra engages on air quality matters.

    The latest Air Quality Action Plan progress report submitted by Greater Manchester GMCA was in March 2015. The next progress report is expected to be submitted to Defra for review early this month.

    Defra has regular discussions with Highways England to ensure that air quality outcomes are mainstreamed in their policy, and that adequate measures are put in place at strategic roads to address the impact of air pollution. Defra is also part of Highways England’s delivery programme board for the air quality element of the Road Investment Strategy.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 29 February 2016 to Question UIN 27946.