The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a lie detector test has been used for serious sex offenders as part of their licence conditions, upon completion of their custodial sentence, since August 2014.
Andrew Selous
Since August 2014 there have been 820 polygraph examinations conducted on sex offenders on licence in the community.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Trees on 2016-05-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to require all abattoirs to have CCTV recordings of the slaughter process in the interests of animal welfare, and to require storage of such recordings and access to them by third parties.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The primary responsibility for protecting animal welfare in slaughterhouses rests with business operators, who must have operating procedures in place to prevent animals suffering avoidable pain, suffering and distress. Business operators must also have appropriate monitoring procedures in place.
The vast majority of animals are slaughtered in slaughterhouses which have CCTV present, so the Government is not currently persuaded of the case for introducing regulation which would require all abattoirs to have CCTV, but we are keeping the issue under review.
In their report last year, the Farm Animal Welfare Committee recommended that CCTV should be retained, by the slaughterhouse, for a period of at least three months and the Government supports that recommendation. Official Veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency are present in all approved slaughterhouses to monitor and ensure operators comply with strict animal welfare regulations and have the power to seize CCTV footage if they suspect a breach of welfare standards.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-07-13.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they have made to include disabled cyclists within the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The Government will work to increase awareness of both the use of cycles as a mobility aid and the need for discretion when implementing ‘cyclist dismount’ regulations in public areas, including stations.
We recently consulted on the draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and as part of the consultation sought views on how to increase cycling and walking in typically under-represented groups, including disabled people. The Government is in the process of analysing responses to the consultation and will publish a Government Response later this summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-09-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people the Government sought to deport from the UK in 2015-16 where the immigration status application had not been finally determined.
Mr Robert Goodwill
All removals adhere to existing legislative requirements contained within the Home Office Enforcement Instructions and Guidance, available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chapters-46-to-62-detention-and-removals
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what non-disclosure agreements the Department for Constitutional Affairs made in 2003–04, and on what date each agreement was made.
Lord Faulks
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Ministry of Justice is the successor department to the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Searches have been conducted for the information requested. These searches have revealed no trace of any records that relate to such non-disclosure agreements, nor any references to records that were held previously and destroyed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will exempt adults with disabilities whose partner is unable to share the same bedroom due to that disability from the under-occupancy penalty.
Justin Tomlinson
The Courts recently accepted that disability in itself does not mean that couples are unable to share a bedroom and administering an exemption would be extremely challenging.
Instead, to help people with difficult situations, the Government has provided additional Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding. Since the introduction of this policy DHP funding has been as follows:
The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what working definition of imminence his Department uses in the application of article 51 of the UN Charter.
Penny Mordaunt
It has long been the position of successive UK Governments that "the inherent right of self-defence", as recognised in Article 51 of the UN Charter, does not require a State to wait until an armed attack is actually under way before it can lawfully use force to alleviate the threat. A State may use force in anticipation of an armed attack where such an attack is imminent, provided that such force is both necessary and proportionate to averting the threat. The assessments would depend on the facts of each case, with consideration likely to include issues such as the nature and immediacy of the threat, the probability of an attack, its scale and effects and whether it can be prevented without force.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-02-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he will issue the draft environmental statement on Phase 2 of High Speed Two (Fradley to Crewe).
Mr Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd is already undertaking environmental surveys, meeting communities and carrying out ground investigation works on the planned line of route as part of its preparation for a Phase 2a hybrid Bill.
This early investigation and engagement will inform a draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, which we expect to publish for consultation in autumn 2016. The draft report will show the potential environmental impacts of the scheme and indicative steps to mitigate them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dholakia on 2016-03-14.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations regarding Tier 2 visas meet the letter and spirit of the Joint Statement on the UK-India Summit of November 2015.
Lord Bates
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.
Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.
The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria will be used to decide what material will be redacted from the Iraq Inquiry report during the national security checking process.
Matthew Hancock
The following Departments will be involved in National Security checking: Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence and the Intelligence Agencies.
National Security checking will ensure that the Government meets its obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights so that on publication the lives or safety of individuals are not put at risk. It will also ensure that publication of the report will not compromise national security.