Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Chinese counterpart and (b) officials from Tibet on human rights in Tibet.

    Alok Sharma

    ​We do have concerns about human rights and freedoms in Tibet. I raised our concerns about the Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk and Tibetan Blogger Druklo (aka Shokjang) with the Chinese Ambassador, in writing, on 1 August 2016. In that letter I also pressed him to allow UK diplomats to visit the Tibetan Autonomous Region.

    Neither I, nor my officials, have been able to have recent discussions with officials from the Tibetan Autonomous Region. However my officials have had discussions with non-government organisations on the situation in Tibet.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to introduce a separate planning category for hostels.

    Brandon Lewis

    Hostels are considered to be a class of their own. It is for the local planning authority to consider the use of a particular property based on the specific details of the individual case.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the contribution of recreational spaces to local sporting and community life.

    Tracey Crouch

    The government is committed to supporting recreational spaces across the country. Our new sport and physical activity strategy recognises that these spaces can be crucial in getting people active and are an important part of the nation’s sporting infrastructure.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce a cap on the number of private hire vehicles operating in London.

    Andrew Jones

    This Government does not intend to amend primary legislation to allow the number of private hire vehicles licensed in London or elsewhere to be restricted.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage the teaching and examination of GCSE and A-level (a) Gujarati and (b) Hindi; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    Awarding organisations currently offer GCSEs and A levels in a range of languages, which includes Gujarati. Hindi is not currently offered. The Department is working with awarding organisations, and Ofqual, to consider how best to enable the current range of languages to be maintained at GCSE and A level in future years.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26859, if she will update her Department’s response to e-petition 104867, on legalisation of medicinal cannabis, in respect of the information on availability of the drug Sativex.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government’s position is unchanged. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has issued a marketing authorisation and the Home Office has amended the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 to enable Sativex to be available to patients via health care practitioners.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to halve the level of the Severn Bridge tolls inclusive or exclusive of VAT following the return of the Severn Bridge to public ownership.

    Andrew Jones

    After the end of the concession, the tolls will be 50% lower than the toll level when the concession comes to an end. This isn’t on top of the removal of VAT.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much support work by (a) value and (b) numbers of jobs has been undertaken by UK employees on UK Government defence contracts placed with US defence contractors in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not currently collate information on how much production or support work is undertaken in the UK or US on UK defence contracts, either by value or number of jobs. A comprehensive breakdown of which MOD contracts placed over the last five years are with UK or US suppliers is also not held centrally.

    The MOD routinely publishes statistics on contracts it places on gov.uk at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/defence-trade-and-industry-index. This includes an overall estimate of MOD expenditure for work undertaken in the UK and lists all organisations with which we have spent £5 million or more in the financial year. These statistics include expenditure with US companies.

    The MOD does not collate information centrally on the value of production work undertaken in the UK on contracts placed by the US Department of Defense.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Iranian counterpart on the protection of Iranian human rights activists in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We repeatedly call on the Iranian Government to guarantee the human rights of all Iranians and will continue to do so. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) most recently raised the issue with Foreign Minister Zarif when they met on 17 May.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35113, what powers his Department can exercise if the Social Housing Regulator is failing to protect tenants from serious detriment by registered providers.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Social Housing Regulator may use its enforcement powers if a Registered Provider of Social Housing has failed to meet a regulatory standard. This includes ensuring that thier stock is adequately maintained and there is no serious detriment to their tenants.

    However, if tenants of Registered Providers are not satisfied with the way the Regulator has handled their case, they will have to access the Regulator’s complaint process. This involves complaining directly to the Regulator, the Regulator will reply within 20 working days. If the tenants are unhappy with the way their complaint was handled at the first stage, they can escalate their complaint to the Regulator’s legal service team as an independent review of the original complaint. If they are still unhappy with the response, then they can refer their complaint to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, who will carry out an independent review.

    If following the Regulator’s complaint procedure they are still unhappy, they can ask their MP to take their complaints to the independent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to review the handling of their complaint. Full details of how to make a complaint against the Regulator can be found on the Homes and Communities Agency’s website.