Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to prevent family and legal visits being cancelled in prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Selous

    Maintaining family ties, including through visits, plays a vital role in helping prisoners turn away from crime.

    All convicted prisoners are entitled to a minimum of two visits every 28 days and this has not changed since 1992. Extra visits can also be granted.

    The Public Sector Prisons benchmark provides prisons with a core day and staffing resource to deliver all required activities and services. Part of the benchmark provision is the delivery of social and legal visits and there is an expectation that these are critical activities which will not be cancelled.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment on projects which have received funding under the Connecting Europe Facility initiative.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Projects seeking funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) should show that they comply with EU Environmental Policy. The Department will undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment, where it is required to do so, in line with its legal obligations.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans there are for the future of the RMS St Helena when it ceases to provide a shipping service between St Helena and Cape Town; and what alternative arrangements are being made to supply St Helena with goods not suitable for air transport.

    Baroness Verma

    St Helena Line has appointed a ship broker to handle the sale of the RMS St Helena when she is withdrawn from service in July 2016.

    The St Helena Government has signed a contract with AW Ship Management Ltd to commence an unsubsidised freight service between Cape Town and St Helena in June 2016.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment of need for (a) additional school places, (b) a new academy or (c) a new free school she plans to carry out in connection with applications to dispose for development of the former Two Trees High School site in Denton.

    Edward Timpson

    The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new academy or free school.

    School playing fields are also protected by Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. Schools and local authorities must obtain the Secretary of State’s approval before they can dispose of their land. Applications to dispose of school playing fields are first considered by the school playing fields advisory panel, who make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, before she then makes her final decision.

    At this time I am not aware of an application by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council to seek approval to dispose of the former Two Trees Sports College, including the playing fields.

    Should an application be submitted, the Secretary of State would take into account any groups or organisations with permission to use the playing fields and what suitable alternative provision they may have been offered. Local schools, which are deficient in playing field land, should also be offered the opportunity to use the playing field before any application is presented. She will also take into account local school place needs and any academy requirement.

  • Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Scott Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in his talks with the German government on compensation for British citizens affected by Thalidomide.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The UK Government has not been involved in talks with the German Government on compensation for British survivors of Thalidomide. We have been assisting the Thalidomide Trust in making their own representations directly to the German Government.

    At the request of representatives of the Thalidomide Trust the then Minister for Europe (Rt Hon David Lidington MP) wrote on 4 February to the German Ambassador to London, setting out the Trust’s desire for further discussions with the German Government and requesting his support in raising the matter within Germany. The Ambassador passed this request to the German Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. The FCO received a response from the Families Ministry on 1 June. In this response the German Government sets out that UK survivors of Thalidomide are able to apply for compensation from the Contergan Foundation For Disabled People.

    The Contergan Foundation was established by the German Government to help disabled people whose deformities can be linked to their mothers taking medicinal products during pregnancy which contained thalidomide. While funded in part by the German Government, the Contergan Foundation is independent of the German Government who do not control or influence the awards made. As such the Families Ministry declined to meet the Thalidomide Trust for further discussions and reiterated their belief that British survivors should contact the Contergan Foundation.

    The UK Government remains in contact with the Thalidomide Trust to discuss all aspects of this case.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will estimate the total amount his Department has spent to date.

    Greg Hands

    The newly created Department for International Trade (DIT) has been forged out of the forerunner (non-ministerial) Departments UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export Finance (UKEF) and has assumed Trade Policy Unit responsibilities previously held by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

    Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Israeli government on the eviction of the Ghaith-Sub Laban family from their home in East Jerusalem.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned about the imminent threat of eviction to the Ghaith-Sub Laban family and about the forcible displacement of protected persons. An official from our Consulate General in Jerusalem attended the court hearing on 31 May. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October. Most recently our Consulate General in Jerusalem expressed our concern publicly on 18 November via Twitter, calling for the eviction to be halted.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the recommendations of the independent reviewer of the overseas domestic worker visa will be implemented.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is considering carefully the recommendations of James Ewins and will announce its response in due course.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with Eurostar about child trafficking.

    Lord Bates

    The UK Government takes child trafficking extremely seriously. All Border Force officers at the Eurostar ports in the UK France and Belgium have received training in keeping children safe and all operational processes involving children comply with requirements as set out in the Children and Young Persons Act. Border Force and Eurostar have daily contact on operational matters. When passengers are identified by Border Force officers as potential victims of trafficking, immediate action is taken to safeguard the individual by following Home Office guidance on the treatment of the victims of trafficking. Border Force collects data on these cases in order to notify the Human Trafficking Centre. Contact is also made with Camden Social Services Safeguarding Team as soon as possible in order to establish safe care of the child. Eurostar has its own policy on unaccompanied children travelling on its services which can be found on the internet at: http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/travel-info/travel-planning/accessibility#unaccompanied_children

    Border Force has not provided training to French border officials on UK child trafficking patterns. All cases of suspected trafficking detected by the French border officials at St Pancras are handed to the BTP to action. In France and Belgium any concerns Border Force officers have about vulnerable children attempting to travel to the UK would be referred to the French and Belgian frontier control authorities. The Home Office has not had any discussions with Patina Rail about a proposed new routing between St Pancras and Ashford.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will widen the Blue Badge criteria to allow for cognitive as well as physical disabilities.

    Andrew Jones

    The regulations governing the scheme already apply to any permanent and substantial disability which causes very considerable difficulty in walking. We have no plans to widen the scope beyond this.