Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the security arrangements under the Common Travel Agreement in preventing illegal immigration into the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government is working with all members of the Common Travel Area (CTA) to prevent illegal immigration and maintain the security of the external CTA border. Home Office Ministers and Officials have regular contact with all CTA members and there continues to be excellent government and operational level co-operation on a joint programme of work which includes: investment in border procedures; increased data sharing to inform immigration and border security decisions; interoperable passenger data systems, including the collection and processing of Advance Passenger Information (API) on intra and extra CTA routes, and; harmonised visa policy and processes. In addition to this, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force conduct intelligence-led operations to identify and take action against individuals who are seeking to or have abused this travel arrangement.

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

    Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to make additional funds available to areas where specialist cerebral palsy facilities are not currently available.

    David Mowat

    Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning universal health services for their area that meet the needs of their local population. In doing so they should take account of best practice such as that set out in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. Funding for CCGs is allocated by NHS England using an agreed formula.

    Paediatric neurology services are provided in both out and in-patient settings. The majority of these are specialised services commissioned directly by NHS England. These specialised services are based in Neurosciences Centres which have the necessary infrastructure in terms of diagnostic services and other specialities. However, paediatric neurology provides out-patient services based in secondary care centres around the geographical region served. This allows specialist services to be provided as near to patients as is reasonably feasible

    When considering what services should be commissioned we expect commissioners to take account of best practice and guidance and, where appropriate, the local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which captures local need.

    The Department has asked NICE to develop guidance on cerebral palsy. The guideline, Cerebral palsy: diagnosis and management in children and young people under 25 is currently open for consultation and is expected to be published in January 2017. Guidance for adults is also being developed and is expected to be published in 2019.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the merits of increasing the capacity of the Moyle electricity interconnector between Northern Ireland and Scotland to improve electricity interconnection within the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government supports the development of new interconnection where it delivers benefits to the consumer, and our approach is designed to deliver those benefits in the most efficient way. We have a developer-led approach to interconnection where the market identifies the best projects and applies to Ofgem to assess their merits. In the 2016 Budget the Government said that it supports the increase of interconnection capacity to at least 9GW; if a developer was to propose additional capacity between Northern Ireland and the GB market, Ofgem would assess it on its merits.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made on establishing marine protection zones in British Overseas Territories; and whether each such zone will require the consent of that Territory’s national assembly prior to its creation.

    James Duddridge

    Overseas Territory Governments are constitutionally responsible for the management of their marine resources, therefore any additional marine protection will have to be agreed, and implemented, by the Territory. In addition to the existing Marine Protected Area designations around South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, the British Indian Ocean Territory and the British Antarctic Territory, we intend to designate the world’s largest contiguous no-take marine protection area around Pitcairn, and are working with Ascension Island to close at least 50 percent of their waters to fishing activities. For other Territories we are at an early stage of scoping whether further marine protection measures are desirable and scientifically justified.

  • would be identified as coasting on their (a) 2014 – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    would be identified as coasting on their (a) 2014 – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by would be identified as coasting on their (a) 2014 on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, on the current definition of coasting”

    Earl of Courtown

    No school can be defined as coasting under the government’s proposed coasting definition until after the 2016 results are available. The definition of coasting is determined by performance over a three year period.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase border security at ferry ports.

    James Brokenshire

    This Government has taken a number of steps to bolster the security of the border across different modes of transport, including ferry travel.

    Border Force carries out 100 percent checks of all passengers and drivers arriving at all ferry ports against police, security and immigration watchlists. It works closely with the police and other law enforcement organisations to deliver effective and intelligence-led responses to a range of security threats. Officers use hi-tech equipment and an array of search techniques to combat immigration crime and detect banned and restricted goods – including drugs, firearms and tobacco – that smugglers attempt to bring into the country. Border Force has started to roll out its Advanced Freight Targeting Capability to ferry traffic. This will equip Border Force’s intelligence to target suspicious freight consignments arriving into the UK via ferries in a more effective and efficient fashion.

    In 2015, Border Force connected to the European watch list system, SIS II. As a result of this step, Border Force has been able to access data pertaining to thousands of European Arrest Warrants, thus allowing more fugitives to be detained and arrested when they arrive at ferry ports and points of arrival in the UK.

    Exit Check data on those leaving the UK has been collected from passengers on scheduled commercial international air, sea and rail routes from 8 April 2015 and this is already providing the police and security services with more information on the movements of known or suspected criminals, supporting the wider work already taking place across government and law enforcement.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to monitor the disease status of badgers within cull areas.

    George Eustice

    Testing of badgers between 1998 and 2005 via the Randomised Badger Culling Trial and Road Traffic Accident surveys provided evidence of the typical prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high incidence of TB in cattle. TB was found in around one third of all badgers in these areas.

    We are considering the case for a cost-effective method of testing badgers within cull areas in order to assess the impact of the current policy on badger TB prevalence.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 28422, on terrorism: social networking, how many of the cases referred to in that Answer resulted in (a) prosecution and (b) conviction.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Home Office can only obtain the data requested at disproportionate cost.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she is permitted to consider a bid from a Combined Authority for a Police and Crime Commissioner elected in May 2016 to be subsumed by a Metro-Mayor.

    Mike Penning

    If a local area were to make the case to transfer Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) functions to an elected mayor, secondary legislation would set out the details of the transfer of powers and the relevant timescales based on discussions between the local area and central government.

    These powers are provided for in Section 107F of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (as amended by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016), which sets out the Secretary of State’s necessary order making powers to enable the transfer of PCC functions to an elected mayor.

    Local areas can put forward a proposal to transfer PCC functions at any time and, as stated in response to the honourable member’s earlier question on this issue [32271], any proposal submitted by a local area for an elected mayor to take on PCC functions would be considered on its merits, on a case-by-case basis. The timing of any transfer of powers would also form part of this consideration.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, at which stations Network Rail plans to defer Access to All works from Control Period 5 into Control Period 6.

    Claire Perry

    The Access for All programme was‎ reviewed as part of Sir Peter Hendy’s report into Network Rail’s investment programme for Control Period 5 (2014-2019).

    We are currently considering consultation responses to the report and working with Network Rail to decide which stations may be affected.