Tag: Parliamentary Question

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 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they are making to press for the publication of the UN Security Council Sudan Panel of Experts’ most recent report, presented to the Sudan Sanctions Committee in December 2015, detailing the use of cluster munitions and gold smuggling in Darfur.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The UK fully supports the work of the UN Panel of Experts on Darfur. We are extremely concerned that last year’s report has not been published and have raised this issue with our UN Security Council partners.

01/01/2023
Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-06-20.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey about the banning of the Istanbul LGBT Pride march.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We have not discussed these specific cases with the Government of Turkey. We regularly underline the importance of all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government, including the freedom of assembly and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex persons. We did not fly the rainbow flag over our Embassy in Ankara over the weekend commencing 24 June. British Missions overseas fly the Diplomatic, Union or Consular flag throughout the year, the flags of the constituent countries of the UK on their respective national days and in certain countries the European flag. Missions do not fly any other flags.

01/01/2023
Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games on the success of the competitors at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Tracey Crouch

The London 2012 Olympic Games were a huge success with sold-out venues and the best British performance for over 100 years in winning 65 medals. The Games left a legacy of increased participation and world-class sporting venues which are now being used by our elite athletes as well as local communities.

The commitment from the Government immediately following the London 2012 Olympic Games to confirm and sustain Exchequer support for the UK Sport World Class Programme was a significant moment in underpinning the success of Rio, providing UK Sport, and the National Governing Bodies of sport, with the necessary financial support to invest in medal success across the Olympic and Paralympic sports.

I am confident that this success will continue at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, and through to Tokyo in 2020 and beyond. Since 2012, UK Sport funded athletes have given back over 18,000 days visiting schools and local projects as part of our commitment to inspire the next generation.

01/01/2023
Hugo Swire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have agreed to relocate refugees from the camp in Calais.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The EU’s Dublin Regulation clearly sets out the criteria for transferring asylum claims between Member States. The Government wishes to reaffirm that migrants in Calais have not yet been determined as refugees, and furthermore, the Dublin Regulation is the EU’s mechanism for transferring asylum claims, rather than a resettlement route. Section 67 of the Immigration Act sets out that ‘unaccompanied refugee children’ will be relocated to the UK. In respect of Calais, the Government has been clear that unaccompanied children will be prioritised if they meet the Dublin criteria.

We work closely with the French authorities and their partner agencies to ensure all those who come to the UK from the camps in Calais are eligible under the Dublin Regulation. All individuals are referred to the UK authorities by the NGO France Terre D’asile (FTDA) and are then interviewed by French and UK officials. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.

Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Where we believe someone is significantly over 18, they will be refused. The Home Office does not use dental x-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum as they have been described by the British Dental Association as inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical.

Since June the Home Office has been working closely with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships across the UK to ensure that we have the structures in place to support the transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children, both within the UK and from Europe.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his Department’s aims are for the visit of Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government was pleased to welcome Prime Minister Modi to the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Modi is the head of world’s largest democracy. The visit was a celebration of a rich, wide-ranging and mature relationship between our two countries, symbolised by 1.5 million Britons of Indian origin. We want to deepen our extensive trade and investment links further. We will also discuss how to enhance our defence and international security partnership to enable both our countries to address together the many common global threats we face.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Pakistan applied for asylum and requested certification under section (a) 94(1) and (b) 94(2) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire

The basis of an individual’s asylum claim is not recorded on Home Office systems. It is not therefore possible to differentiate Pakistani applicants claiming for reasons of religious persecution and discrimination from Pakistani applicants claiming for one or more other reasons in the Detained Fast Track (DFT) or the non-detained process.

Certification under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 is not requested by an applicant. It is applied by the Secretary of State in circumstances where the applicant’s claim is refused and considered to be so lacking in merit as to be clearly unfounded.

The number of initial certified refusals for Pakistan main asylum applicants, from year ending September 2013 to year ending September 2015, was 604. The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications and decisions on a quarterly and annual basis. The information supplied on certified refusals is based on initial decisions which do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.

No assessment has been made of any difference that might exist between grant rates in respect of Pakistani applicants in the DFT process when it operated, and cases entering the non-detained process at the same time. However, as the DFT process avoided claims involving particular complexity and/or vulnerability, and prioritised cases which appeared to be late or opportunistic, it is to be expected that the DFT would have fewer grants than the non-detained process.

01/01/2023
Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Whitty on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they removed the £1 billion funding of carbon capture and storage, as announced to the London Stock Exchange on 25 November 2015; and how they plan to ensure the advance of that technology in the future.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

The Government believes Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has the potential to play an important role in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK.

The Department’s Annual Report & Accounts for 2015-16 will be published in June 2016 and will review the work of the Department, including the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage in 2015-16. The Budget for the Office of Carbon Capture and Storage for 2015-16 is £41.3 million.

01/01/2023
Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contribution the armed forces are making to the international coalition to tackle Daesh.

Penny Mordaunt

Around 1,000 British personnel are directly contributing to the counter-Daesh coalition. RAF Tornado, Typhoon and Reaper aircraft are carrying out strike and reconnaissance missions against Daesh over Syria and Iraq, together with C130, Voyager and Sentinel aircraft. In Iraq, UK troops are also delivering counter-IED training to the Iraqi (including Kurdish) security forces together with other infantry skills, weapons maintenance and combat medical techniques as well as providing a key contribution at Coalition HQs throughout the region.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 17 December 2015 (HL4371), whether they are now able to publish implementation plans for the roll-out of the system of medical examiners.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We remain committed to the principle of medical examiners and will be setting out further information in due course.

01/01/2023

Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Ministry of Defence live ammunition ranges have safety wardens present on site.

Mr Julian Brazier

The following Ministry of Defence ranges have permanent dedicated wardens on site:

Otterburn Training Area	Northumberland.
Warcop Training Area	Cumbria.
Barry Buddon Training Centre	Angus, Fort George, Inverness, Hythe, Kent, Lydd, Kent.
Castlemartin Training Area	Pembrokeshire, Swynnerton, North Staffordshire, Lulworth, Dorset, Holbeach, Lincolnshire, Tain, Ross-Shire, Pembrey Sands, Carmarthenshire.
Kirkcudbright Training Centre	Kirkcudbrightshire.

The remainder of UK ranges are overseen by personnel who are responsible collectively for ensuring the ranges in a region are safe and fit for purpose. Irrespective of the presence of permanent wardens, each unit using a range is overseen by a qualified and experienced Range Conducting Officer, who ensures the safe operation for that exercise once the range has been handed over.

01/01/2023