Tag: Parliamentary Question

Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to raise with the Prime Minister of India during his forthcoming visit the recent death of Sikh protestors in the Punjab following the desecration of the Sikh holy book.

Mr Hugo Swire

We are aware of reports that the Sikh holy book has been desecrated in several temples in Punjab. We regret these incidents, and the disturbances that followed, including the deaths of two protestors. We note that the Indian police are investigating and we hope this process will be completed in due course and that the police will investigate fully. Relations between the Sikhs in India and the Indian government are an internal matter, although we of course encourage both parties to resolve their differences through dialogue.

01/01/2023
Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2015 to Question 18222, if her Department will put procedures in place to ensure that family members who are not resettled together when they arrive in the UK under the vulnerable persons programme are able to maintain contact with each other.

Richard Harrington

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for potential resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme using their vulnerability criteria, and submits cases for Home Office consideration. The UNHCR links family groups so we can seek to allocate them to the same local authority. We also try and place them close to any family members already residing in the UK.

01/01/2023
Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 13 January (HL4703 and HL4704), whether the decisions not to transfer records to the National Archive were in each case in accordance with the advice given by the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives, and in each case what that advice was.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Yes, all decisions were made in accordance with the advice by the Advisory Council.

01/01/2023

Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) rural and (b) urban public libraries have closed in (i) Wiltshire and (ii) England in each year since 2000.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Department does not commission information relating to the closure of rural and urban libraries. Data relating to public libraries is collected and published annually by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. My Rt Hon Friend will note that the number of library service points in the Wilshire Library Authority has increased from 34 in 2000, to 36 in 2015. Meanwhile, in Labour-run Wales, the number of library service points in the same period dropped from 321 to 274.

31 March	Total service points open ten hours or more per week, including mobile libraries, in England	Total service points open ten hours or more per week, including mobile libraries, in Wiltshire Library Authority
2000	3,501	34
2001	3,497	34
2002	3,504	34
2003	3,510	35
2004	3,524	35
2005	3,474	35
2006	3,500	36
2007	3,494	36
2008	3,469	37
2009	3,451	37
2010	3,428	37
2011	3,393	37
2012	3,243	37
2013	3,181	36
2014	3,142	36
2015	3,076	36

01/01/2023

Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many years’ worth in sentences have been handed out to offenders brought back to the UK from Spain under a European Arrest Warrant under Operation Captura.

Lord Faulks

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on the operation of the European Arrest Warrant. These can be found on their website.

01/01/2023
Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to ensure that no bank accounts of military personnel are closed as a result of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive while they are on active service; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster

There is no reason why the bank accounts of any military personnel would be closed as a result of the Fourth Money Laundering Directive, whether or not they were on active service, unless financial institutions suspected individuals of fraudulent activity.

01/01/2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the costs will be of the proposed conversion of all non-academies to academy schools.

Lord Nash

Taking the Spending Review and the Budget together, we have set aside the funding to support a high quality school system where all schools are academies.

Through the Budget and the Department for Education’s settlement in the Spending Review there are sufficient resources available to take advantage of the opportunities presented by all schools becoming academies. The Government has allocated £300 million that will be available to support schools to convert and, in particular, support sponsors to turn around failing schools. A further £300 million will be available to support strong and effective multi-academy trusts to grow and improve.

The Department will be issuing further detail on how funding will support the conversion of all schools to academy status in due course.

01/01/2023
Baroness Wolf of Dulwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wolf of Dulwich on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 9 May (HL7498), whether the recent inquiry and report by the Quality Assurance Agency on West London Vocational Training has led them to reconsider or amend current measures relating to alternative providers; and if not, why not.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

The Government has revoked West London Vocational Training College’s designation for student support funding for Higher Education (HE) courses in England with effect from 3 June. Affected students will be supported so they can continue their studies with as limited disruption as possible. The cross-agency action in this case demonstrates the Government’s continuing strong focus on improving quality and value for money across the Alternative Provider (AP) sector.

Since the 2012-13 academic year the Government has progressively strengthened systems to oversee the specific course designation of APs to secure improved quality and standards, including the introduction of a more rigorous, risk-based approach to quality assurance and annual provider re-designation.

Further reforms announced in the May 2016 HE White Paper will create a level playing field for all HE providers, supporting greater diversity, innovation and choice for students, whilst preserving quality and value for money.

01/01/2023
Jeffrey M. Donaldson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeffrey M. Donaldson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the (a) criteria by which applicants are selected and (b) names of applicants who applied to host Armed Forces Day in 2017.

Mike Penning

Guidance on applying to host the Armed Forces Day National Event is available from the Ministry of Defence’s Ceremonial Events and Commemorations Team whose contact details are on the Armed Forces Day Website: www.armedforcesday.org.uk.

Applications typically take the form of a letter from the Local Authority Leader /Chief Executive, to the Defence Minister in the House of Lords (Earl Howe). This letter is assessed to gauge the strength of the applicant’s argument as to why they should be selected, and the quality of their proposals for the event. In addition, the following aspects are considered:

Proximity to previous national events – there would be an aspiration to stage the event in a different region of the country to previous events, in order to capture a fresh local audience.

Maturity of any existing annual event hosted by the applicant.

Availability of a suitable venue and infrastructure within the applicant’s jurisdiction.

Support of local populace for the Armed Forces.

The applicant’s capacity to administer an event of equivalent scale and significance.

Financial resource available, and plans to secure adequate sponsorship.

While it would be inappropriate to name the authorities that lost out to Liverpool City Council in the process of selecting the hosts for the National Armed Forces Day event in 2017, we can confirm that no formal bid was received from any local authority in Ulster.

01/01/2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 22 September 2016 to Question HL1788, how many outstanding family reunion applications there are for unaccompanied children from France; what steps are being taken to ensure those applications are processed quickly; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the UK remains in contact with children with outstanding applications in the event that they are moved away from Calais.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Home Office teams have been deployed to France to work with the French Authorities to speed up the identification and transfer of eligible cases under both the Dublin Regulation and Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016.

More children are arriving to join their family in the UK each day. It is therefore not possible to provide an exact number of outstanding family reunion applications.

The UK has made clear that the remaining children, including those who do not qualify for family reunion must be looked after in safe facilities. The UK Government is ready to help fund such facilities and provide resources to aid the decision-making.

01/01/2023