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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drones carrying contraband goods have been seized within prison grounds in each of the last three years.

    Andrew Selous

    There were no reported incidents of drones carrying contraband being seized within prisons in 2013; in 2014 there were two reported incidents; and between 1 January 2015 and 31 October 2015 there were eight reported incidents.

    This Government has made it a criminal offence under the Prison Act 1952 to throw, or otherwise project, any article of substance into prison without authorisation. This includes the use of a drone.

    These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

  • The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iraq regarding the National Identity Law and the right to freedom of religion or belief for all in Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are closely following the proposed National Identity Law in Iraq. Our Embassy in Baghdad has raised at the highest level our concern about the potential effect of the Law, particularly Article 26, on minority ethnic and religious communities of Iraq. We have called on the members of the Council of Representatives to reconsider Article 26 and either remove it, or amend it from the proposed law. We have asked that the determination of the child’s religion for purposes of personal status law should only be made once she or he turns 18 years of age. We welcome the resolution adopted by the majority of the Council of Representatives on 17 November declaring its intention to amend the law. We continue to encourage the Government of Iraq to recognise all religious groups and ensure freedom of religion or belief in Iraq.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding his Department has provided to the Hospitality Guild since its foundation.

    Nick Boles

    The ‘Centres of Excellence in Asian Cookery’ pilots were organised by People 1st, which was operating on behalf of the Hospitality Guild, which received funding from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) through their grant with BIS. People 1st reported that during the period of the pilot (October 2011 to September 2013), 79 people started training at the Centres of Excellence for Asian and Oriental cuisine, out of which 46 completed the pre-employment course, 22 completed work experience and 7 moved onto an apprenticeship.

    £205,961 was provided to fund the Asian Cookery campaign. In total, UKCES allocated £1,745,785 to create the Hospitality Guild and to promote skills training, apprenticeships and innovation in the hospitality industry through a range of measures. These included apprenticeships as chefs, baristas, bar staff and hotel management, training provider accreditation, work placements and launching the Hospitality Guild Portal where careers tools, an employer guide and a vacancy matching service can be accessed.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training is available for judges and barristers to assist them when questioning child witnesses in cases involving sexual offences.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Judicial training is a judicial matter and fulfilled by the Judicial College, which reports to the Lord Chief Justice. Training for barristers is a matter for their own professional bodies.

    The Judicial College have advised me that a workshop on the cross examination of vulnerable witnesses is incorporated into their Serious Sexual Offences Seminar. This is mandatory training for all judges who have been authorised to hear cases involving serious sexual offences.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the UK has received in grants and funding from the EU to fund research into cancer under (a) the EU’s 7th framework programme 2007-2013 and (b) the current Horizon 2020 programme.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not hold this information.

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how he plans that the section 31 grant to compensate councils for the extension of small business rate relief will be funded.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    By raising £8 billion through a package of measures to counter tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by multinational enterprises, Government has been able to announce in the Budget a £6.7 billion reduction in business rates. This is the biggest ever cut in business rates in England. The funding for these section 31 grants was provided for in Budget 2016 through the Budget scorecard (lines 15-17). This additional funding is included in the DCLG Local Government DEL budget figures on page 91 of the Budget Report.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria the UK Vaccines Research and Development Network will use to allocate funding.

    Jane Ellison

    The focus of the UK Vaccine Network is to bring together experts from industry, academia, philanthropy and government to make targeted investments in world-leading vaccine candidates, vaccine platform technology and vaccine manufacturing technology to combat diseases with epidemic potential in low and middle income countries, such as Ebola and Zika.

    The UK Vaccine Network will allocate funding to world leading science in the areas above, and funding awards will only be made following appropriate competitive processes, and rigorous, international expert peer review of all applications. The criteria used as part of individual funding decisions will be decided on a competition by competition basis, following international expert advice.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Europe on 8 June 2016, Official Report, column 137WH, when the UK last maintained cluster munitions held by Saudi Arabia.

    Michael Fallon

    The UK has never maintained cluster munitions held by Saudi Arabia.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    DELOITTE
    2013/14:£69,000
    2014/15:£33,000
    2015/16:£121,000

    ERNST & YOUNG
    2013/14:£480,000
    2014/15:£328,000
    2015/16:£181,000

    KPMG
    2013/14:£140,000
    2014/15:£116,000
    2015/16:£132,000

    PWC
    2013/14:£355,000
    2014/15:£377,000
    2015/16:£1,420,000

    Consultants
    2013/14:£1,500,000
    2014/15:£1,600,000
    2015/16:£1,100,000

    All applicable expenditure with these companies is published as part of HMG’s Transparency Agenda at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/foreign-office-spend-over-25000.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police have better training for people in custody suites suffering with mental health issues.

    Brandon Lewis

    It is the role of the College of Policing to set the standards for training and professional development for police forces in England and Wales. The College has recently published Authorised Professional Practice on mental health. This guidance will support all police officers, including custody staff, in responding effectively to people suffering with mental health issues. It is the responsibility of Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, to ensure officers and police staff receive appropriate training and that they have regard to this Authorised Professional Practice when discharging their responsibilities.