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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department is offering to the non-ISIL Syrian opposition.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK has been a long standing supporter of the moderate opposition in Syria. We provide them with non-lethal equipment and political support. We have delivered over £4 million of life-saving equipment including communications, medical and logistics equipment. We have also provided equipment to protect against chemical weapons attacks – including 5,000 escape hoods, nerve agent pre-treatment tablets and CW detector papers.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of (a) religious and (b) hate crime were reported to the police in London in each of the last five years.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office has collected information from police forces in England and Wales on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police since 2011/12. Data for religious hate crime and total crime measured across the five monitored strands (religion, race, sexual orientation, disability and transgender) are given in the attached table.

    Data for 2015/16 are due to be published in October 2016.

    As stated by the Office for National Statistics, action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard has led to improved recording of crime over recent years, especially for violence against the person offences. Together with a greater awareness of hate crime, and improved willingness of victims to come forward, this is likely to be a factor in the increase in hate crimes recorded by the police shown in the table.

    This Government is committed to tackling hate crime. The UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to tackle hate crime. We are working across Government with police, (including National Community Tensions Team), the Crown Prosecution Service and community partners to send out a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who commit these crimes.

  • Lord Collins of Highbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Collins of Highbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding has been allocated from the Magna Carta fund for projects related to freedom of religion or belief.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In 2016/17, the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy is funding seven projects, with a total value of £670,037, that directly relate to strengthening freedom of religion or belief (FORB). This represents an 18% increase in funding from 2015/16, when the fund supported freedom of religion or belief projects worth £550,016. Freedom of religion or belief remains a core strand of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. Many of the Fund’s other projects also indirectly support the creation of more tolerant societies, through strengthening representation of minority groups, supporting freedom of expression and promoting just and fair rules-based systems of government.

    The seven FORB projects this year promote positive FORB outcomes through different methods and strategies, from attempting to working with NGOs to lobby for the removal of laws which discriminate on religious grounds, to more upstream interventions which seek to change public opinion and promote a culture which is more accepting of religious diversity. A good example of a hybrid of these methods is a project this year working with teachers across the MENA region to develop a school curriculum that supports freedom of religion and belief. This project promotes a more progressive education curriculum, and ensures the next generation of students have a greater awareness of the important right to freedom of religion or belief.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the procurement contract for the new Hitachi Intercity Express Programme specifies the internal layout and specification of rolling stock.

    Claire Perry

    The Intercity Express Programme (IEP) specification delivers the priorities of both train operators and passenger groups. The contract also makes provision for variation of the interior layout during the life of IEP to response to changes in passenger demand and priorities.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurses were employed in each NHS region in the latest month for which figures are available.

    Ben Gummer

    The following table shows the number of full time equivalent nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in each Health Education England region as at August 2015. The data is from the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s Hospital and Community Health Services monthly workforce statistics and does not include nurses working in general practice.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) UK embassies, and (2) UK consular offices, have been closed since 6 May 2010, and where those closures took place.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), has not closed any Embassies over this period. Operations were suspended in Tehran, Damascus, Tripoli and Sana’a for security reasons. Tehran re-opened in August 2015.

    The FCO currently has 268 posts (Embassies, Consulates-General, Consulates, Multilateral Missions and Trade and Investment Offices – Consular Offices are not classed as posts) worldwide. Since 2010 we have opened nine posts: in Juba (South Sudan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), San Salvador (El Salvador), Seattle (USA), Vientiane (Laos), Mogadishu (Somalia), Port au Prince (Haiti), Asuncion (Paraguay) and Wuhan (China). We have also upgraded eight posts: in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Antananarivo (Madagascar), Calgary (Canada), Monrovia (Liberia), Recife (Brazil), Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad (India).

    Since 2010, we have closed the following Consulates and Consular Offices in Europe and elsewhere:

    2010: One: Consulate-General Geneva, Switzerland

    2011: Three: Consulate-General Lille, France; Consulate-General Venice, Italy; Consulate Florence, Italy

    2012: Three: Consulate-General Basra, Iraq; Consulate Funchal, Portugal; Consular Office Oporto, Portugal

    2013: Four: Consulate Pattaya, Thailand; Consular Office, Thessaloniki, Greece; Consular Office, Andorra; Consular Office Willemstad, Curaçao

    2014: Two: Consular Offices in Cali and Cartagena, Colombia. The FCO also withdrew its Provincial Reconstruction Team from Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan

    2015: Two: Consulate Chiang Mai, Thailand; Consular Office Bodrum, Turkey.

    The FCO downgraded the following Consulates-General and Consulates to Trade and Investment Offices since 2010:

    2012: Two: Consulate-General Lyon, France; Consulate Naples, Italy

    2014: One: Consulate Bilbao, Spain.

    Since 2010, we have developed new technology and new ways of working that has enabled us to deliver services differently in some areas. We now have three Consular Contact Centres that take calls from all consular customers, and are able to support around 80 per cent of those calling without further escalation to post, helping to ensure that Consular staff in-country are able to focus their time on those most in need of help. Some services have also been centralised, with customers able to access them by post, and increasingly through digital channels.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making Disclosure and Barring Service certificates portable and valid from organisation to organisation by the person concerned.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) offers an Update Service which can deliver savings in both time and costs. With the certificate holder’s permission, a potential employer or another person with a legitimate interest can check via a DBS online portal whether any new information has been recorded since the certificate was issued. Only if there has been a change is there any need for the individual to obtain a new certificate. This enables portability of certificates between organisations. It is only applicable where the certificate holder is moving within the same workforce – such as work with children or work with vulnerable adults. Where the person is moving between workforces a new certificate will be required, as there may be different factors affecting decisions about whether information is appropriate for disclosure.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which licensed sponsors are eligible to sponsor a Tier 2 (Minister of Religion) visa.

    James Brokenshire

    I will arrange for the list of current Tier 2 (Minister of Religion) licensed sponsors and the number of certificates of sponsorship they have assigned to migrants for each of the last five years to be placed in the House Library. This includes certificates assigned to migrants who are within the UK as well as overseas.

    Each of the sponsors listed have had to provide mandatory documentation to demonstrate that they are bona fide religious organisations, trading lawfully within the UK. This information is assessed and used to validate an application prior to the issuance of a sponsor licence. Visits may also be conducted at the premises of prospective sponsors, to ensure that an organisation is eligible, suitable and genuine. Those who fail to meet UKVI’s requirements will have their application refused.

    In cases where an application has already been granted, UKVI continues to monitor their compliance against the published guidance. Those sponsors who fail to adhere to their duties will have action taken again them; this includes but is not limited to the revocation of their licence.

  • Baroness Greengross – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Greengross – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Greengross on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 21 March (HL7044), why the current section 7a public health functions agreement does not include key deliverables for the provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The 2016-17 Section 7A public health functions agreement specifies key deliverables in relation to new or changed programmes that are being introduced within 2016-17.

    The provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013, is reflected in the relevant service specification for the existing pneumococcal immunisation programme and within the document Immunisation against Infectious Diseases (‘the Green Book’). The Green Book is published on the GOV.UK website in an online only format.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are currently on the HM Passport Office stop file.

    James Brokenshire

    Entries are retained on the Her Majesty’s Passport Office Stop File for reasons of public protection and the prevention of crime.

    Given the nature of the data, it would be inappropriate to disclose the volume of entries.