Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, were the UK to leave the EU, they would be obliged to consider the case of an applicant for asylum who was known to have arrived directly from a safe country; and if so, as a result of which treaty or instrument.

    Lord Bates

    EU negotiations are ongoing and the UK is engaging with European partners to reach a positive outcome.

    The Government firmly supports the well-established principle that those seeking international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, a principle reflected within the Dublin Regulation.

    We are cooperating fully with the EU Commission’s review of the Dublin Regulation and will continue to make the case that its long – established principles should continue to be the basis for any future regulation.

  • Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Faulks on 2 March (HL Deb, col 928), whether they now plan to make an estimate of the likely impact on migration from the rest of the EU of the restrictions to in-work benefits that were agreed in the decision of the European Council concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU.

    Lord Bates

    The Decision of the European Council concerning a new settlement for the UK recognises, for the first time, that different social security systems across Member States can attract EU workers. Government figures show that around 40 per cent of recent EEA migrants are in households supported by the benefit system. On average, families with a recent EEA migrant claim almost £6,000 per year in tax credits, and of these, around 8,000 families receive more than £10,000.

    We remain committed to reforms across the whole of Government to reduce net migration to sustainable levels and to reform the immigration system so that it works in the best interests of our country. We will continue to restore a sense of fairness and to reduce the current very high level of population flows into the UK – now and in the future.

  • Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people of each nationality are awaiting deportation.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not disclose country specific information regarding deportation of foreign national offenders in any public material, including Freedom of Information Requests, as its disclosure could prejudice relations between the UK and foreign governments. Parliamentary Questions are approached in the same way.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 26065, on mental illness: employment, whether the guidance for businesses on addressing mental health issues has been published.

    Alistair Burt

    Public Health England and Business in the Community (BITC) have produced a Mental Health Workplace digital toolkit for employers to address mental health issues at work. The toolkit builds on the existing best practice and considers the transferable learning between business sectors and businesses of different sizes. The toolkit will be published on BITC’s website on 16 May 2016 to coincide with the start of 2016 Mental Health Awareness Week.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information the Government holds on stockpiles of cluster munitions in countries other than the UK.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    At least 108 nations are signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold information on whether non-signatories possess cluster munitions and their stockpiles.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average annual spend per pupil in secondary modern schools was in 2015-16 in (a) England and (b) each region.

    Nick Gibb

    Schools self-select their own admissions category on Edubase. 120 schools are identified as ‘secondary modern’.

    The Department does not yet hold the income and expenditure data from 2015-16. The data will be available for those which are maintained by the local authority in December 2016, and for those which are academies in the summer of 2017.

    The overall expenditure per pupil in secondary modern schools by each region for 2014-15 is listed in the following table:

    Region

    Number of secondary modern schools

    Expenditure per pupil (£)

    East Midlands

    13

    6,388

    East of England

    1

    5,738

    London

    13

    6,228

    North West

    15

    6,416

    South East

    54

    5,703

    South West

    7

    5,928

    West Midlands

    11

    5,547

    Yorkshire and the Humber

    3

    6,729

    England Total

    117*

    5,921

    *Note: There are 3 secondary modern schools for which we do not have comparable financial data for them for this period. One of these converted to an academy during 2014-15, and one was reported as part of a federation with another school. The remaining school did not submit data to the Department. The expenditure per pupil takes into account expenditure from all income sources, including self-generated income.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the property and mortgage industries and (b) local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values.

    Rory Stewart

    As it is not for the Government to intervene in the lending decisions of mortgage lenders or the type or degree of risks they are prepared to take, there have been no recent discussions between the Department and the property and mortgage industries.

    There have been no discussions with local authorities on the effect of Japanese knotweed on property values. However, Cornwall Council has produced information on Japanese knotweed to help mortgage lenders make loan decisions when a property may have a Japanese knotweed problem.

    Nevertheless, the Department takes the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed seriously and for a number of years has provided funding for local action groups to reduce or eradicate Japanese knotweed, and for research into a suitable biocontrol agent.

  • FALSE – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    FALSE – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 9 March (HL5261), whether they have identified a threshold level of private-sector or financial corporation debt that might threaten financial stability”

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As mentioned in the answer of 9 March, the Government does not set a specific target for private sector debt. However, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC), established as a policy committee of the Bank of England, is empowered to identify, assess, monitor and take action in relation to risks across the UK financial system. This includes risks which arise from beyond the core banking sector (such as private sector debt). The FPC actively monitors developments in the aggregate level of credit extended to UK households and private non-financial corporations, and has the macroprudential policy tools required to address any risk it identifies.

    For example, the countercyclical buffer is a macroprudential instrument which is designed to protect the banking sector from periods of excess aggregate credit growth that can contribute to system-wide risk. The countercyclical buffer rate in the UK is currently set at 0%, and is reviewed on a quarterly basis.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Questions 22594 and 22595, whether it is her Department’s policy that an applicant for international protection who enters the UK from France clandestinely but had not made an application for international protection in France should be returned to France in accordance with the Dublin Regulation.

    James Brokenshire

    In order for the Dublin Regulation to apply an application for international protection must be lodged in one of the participating States.

    A person who has arrived in the UK clandestinely from France who then claims asylum in the UK can be returned to France under the terms of the Dublin Regulation even if they have not claimed asylum in France as long as the criteria in the Regulation demonstrate that France is the responsible state. For example, asylum seekers can be returned if they have close family members in France, a visa or residence permit has been issued to them by the French authorities or if they have been in France illegally for a period of 5 months or more.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding the continued detention of Mohammed al-Qeeq, currently on hunger strike, without charge or trial.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made any representations on this specific case, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this case and those of the other hunger strikers closely and have spoken to Amnesty International about them. Officials from our Consulate General in Jerusalem maintain a dialogue with the relevant Palestinian organisations about the condition of the hunger strikers. The EU in Jerusalem recently issued a local statement on administrative detentions, including the case of Mr Al Qeeq. We have been informed that Mr al-Qeeq is in a stable condition and has not been forced-fed as alleged.

    We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice, and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure.