UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Baroness Uddin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Uddin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region to allow non-governmental organisations to provide non-formal education opportunities.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of more than £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The UK is funding Non-Formal Education via UNICEF in Jordan and Lebanon which is implemented by national non-governmental organisations.

    We helped launch and mobilise international support for the No Lost Generation Initiative. The aim of Initiative is to improve quality formal and non-formal learning opportunities for children that are out of school. As part of this support, the UK has allocated £115 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria and the region. As a result over 251,000 children have received formal and informal education inside Syria and in the region.

    At the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference in London on 4 February, leaders came together to pledge more than $11 billion, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. On education, leaders committed that by the end of the 2016/17 school year, 1.7 million children – all refugee children and vulnerable children in host communities – will be in quality education with equal access for girls and boys. This includes enrolment in either a formal school or a non-formal, informal or other alternative education programme that meets national or international standards.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    We do not have any information on civil law suits have been brought against the Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is taking to encourage people to join the merchant navy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has no direct control over recruitment into the merchant navy.

    The MCA works with strategic partners such as the Chamber of Shipping, Nautilus, the RMT and organisations such as the British Tugowners Association and National Workboat Association to encourage economic growth, including the employment of seafarers.

    The MCA also manages the Government’s Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme that subsidises seafarer training by £15M annually. More than 700 new officer trainees started last year. The MCA is also involved with industry in supporting the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills apprenticeships for seafarers.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Equality (Language Analysis – Palestinian, Syrian and Kuwaiti Testing) Authorisation (No. 2) 2013, whether the Government plans to revise the existing three exceptions.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government has no current plans to revise the existing Equality Act exemptions relating to language analysis testing.

    No further nationalities have been added to the Equality Act exemption authorisation since it was introduced in 2013.

    A review on language analysis use was undertaken in 2011 and published in 2012.

    (https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257177/language-analysis.pdf).

    No further such review is presently planned. However, we do monitor the use of language analysis regularly to ensure it is used as effectively as possible and to identify new trends in nationality swapping.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure emergency education, in particular for displaced children, is prioritised as part of the emergency response in Yemen; and whether education will be prioritised in her Department’s support for the recovery and reconstruction of Yemen.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    UK aid to Yemen is currently focused on the most urgent life-saving needs, in particular food, nutrition, health, water and sanitation. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict.

    DFID has supported education in Yemen through the Social Fund for Development (SFD). Since 2010, more than 240,000 children have attended schools supported by SFD. DFID is also supporting the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to rehabilitate schools which is helping 3,500 refugee children and Yemeni children from their host communities, to resume education.

    The UK is working closely with the Government of Yemen, Gulf countries, the World Bank, UN and other donors on planning for stabilisation and post-conflict recovery. Any future support will be based upon a comprehensive assessment of needs.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) support the provision of and (b) increase the uptake of weight-loss surgery.

    George Freeman

    It is for clinicians to decide when bariatric surgery is appropriate based on the need of the patient and in line with appropriate guidance, including that issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Bahraini government on the failure of the Bahrain Ombudsman to inform his Department that it had received a torture complaint regarding the case of Mohammad Ramadan; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The United Nations Convention Against Torture requires all states to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into allegations of torture within their jurisdiction. We therefore welcome the Ombudsman’s decision to conduct an investigation into the complaints regarding Mohammad Ramadan, and await the outcome of the investigation. Since the announcement of the Ombudsman’s investigation, we have received non-governmental organisation representations regarding these allegations, and are aware of similar representations made to the Ombudsman. We take all such allegations seriously. It is therefore important that investigations into allegations of torture are prompt and impartial, and we are encouraging the Ombudsman to carry out a swift investigation.

    The Bahraini Ombudsman is an independent oversight institution, and we will continue to follow and support its work. I raised the case of Mohammad Ramadan with the Bahraini Ambassador on 8 March, and our Embassy Manama officials have raised the progress of the investigation several times directly with the Ombudsman’s office, the most recent being 4 August.

  • Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have accessed the Government support package for people affected by the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar.

    Anna Soubry

    There are a number of different elements of support for people affected by the closure of the SSI steelworks in Redcar. These include:

    • Redundancy-related payments paid by the Redundancy Payments Service. 1988 payments are currently being or have been processed and the majority of payments made to individuals.

    • A Jobs Fair, which was attended by over 1800 people

    • A Jobcentre Plus helpline, which has dealt with around 4000 calls

    • A support Hub, which has provided a wide range of advice and guidance to over 2000 individuals

    The Government will not impose solutions from Whitehall and will continue to work closely with the local taskforce to deliver the proposals it has identified as having a real and lasting impact. This includes:

    – a £1.7m support fund to enable SSI’s 50 apprentices complete their training

    – a £16.5m Jobs and Skills Fund to help local firms employ former SSI workers or their spouses in full-time or part-time jobs for a minimum of three years

    – £16m support for firms in the SSI supply chain and wider Tees Valley impacted by the Redcar steelworks closure, to safeguard jobs, provide the stimulus to create new posts and provide expert assistance to help them expand their business

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make an assessment of the effect of replacing the UK’s existing coal fired power stations through a combination of energy conservation, demand side measures and renewable power instead of new gas fired power stations on (a) job creation, (b) carbon emissions, (c) household energy bills, (d) long-term energy security and (e) the UK’s global influence on securing international action on climate change; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department will be launching a consultation in the spring on the closure of unabated coal fired power stations. This will include an impact assessment, and I encourage the honourable lady to examine these documents when published next year

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to minimise the time taken for military aircraft parts to be delivered to his Department’s bases in Cyprus.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The supply chain to Cyprus is operating well in support of military aircraft based there with aircraft parts delivered in a timely fashion ensuring there are no disruptions to military operations.