Tag: Parliamentary Question

Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44687, on trapping, which animal welfare experts were consulted on trap designs and the decision to delay implementation; and for what reason the DOC trap does not meet the Agreement on International Humane Trapping standards.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The Government uses the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Wildlife Management Centre for advice on trap humaneness.

Of the species currently covered by the Agreement on International Humane Trapping standards (AIHTS), the stoat is the only species regularly and widely trapped in the UK using spring-traps.

When we implement the AIHTS for stoat, the most widely used spring-trap (Fenn type) will no longer be approved for use against stoats. To address this issue, Defra aims to implement the AIHTS as soon as is practically possible, but to use a permitted transition provision to allow delayed implementation of the agreement for stoats whilst a suitable compliant design is identified.

The Fenn type trap is a run-through trap designed to trap animals as they travel through their usual pathways across the landscape.

The DOC trap meets the required standards but it is only permitted for use as a blind end baited trap. A significant disadvantage of baited traps, such as the DOC, is that stoats will avoid entering baited traps when there is an abundance of preferred food available. These conditions coincide with peak trapping effort to protect game birds and other ground nesting species.

This has led the Government to conclude that the DOC is not a suitable alternative to the Fenn type trap.

01/01/2023
Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) local authority, and (2) housing association, supported housing schemes there are in England, and how many residents participate in each type of scheme.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We do not hold this information. More information on the scale, shape and cost of the supported accommodation sector should be available through the evidence review jointly commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions. The review is due to report by April 2016.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce and treat irregular heartbeats in infants that can lead to premature death.

Ben Gummer

Sudden loss of life can occur through diagnosed and previously undiagnosed heart conditions in children of any age. This is a devastating event to the families involved and there is no simple solution to prevent every case.

A large part of the review of congenital heart services that reported in July 2015 focused on producing gold standards for the care of children and infants with heart problems. These standards have now been agreed and will be implemented in April 2016.

One of the key workstreams arising from the review is improvement in detection of heart disease early in life and there are increasing numbers of specialists involved in this area of cardiology. Research and development strives to improve identification of high risk cases and refine screening programs to aid in reducing these shocking events.

01/01/2023

Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many seafarer (a) cadets and (b) ratings were trained by shipping companies operating in the UK in each year since 2000-01.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not collate figures for seafarer cadets and ratings who have been trained by shipping companies operating in the UK.

However, the MCA does collate the number of new cadets, the number of cadets in training and the number of trainee watch ratings who start training each year and these can be found in the tables below.

The figures in Table 1 show the number of cadets supported by the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme who started training in each year since 2000-01.

Year	Officer cadets currently in training	Number of which are SMarT1 new entrants
2000/01	1020	470
2001/02	1010	450
2002/03	1000	560
2003/04	1030	660
2004/05	1050	560
2005/06	1110	570
2006/07	1430	690
2007/08	1700	850
2008/09	1800	930
2009/10	1830	750
2010/11	1840	850
2011/12	1900	900
2012/13	1990	780
2013/14	1940	790
2014/15	1920	820

Table 1: UK officer cadets under SMarT1 scheme (1999-2015)

These figures are derived from SMarT returns for SMarT1 training and may include a small number of EU trainees resident in the UK. Numbers are rounded to nearest 10.

The figures in Table 2 below show the number of watch rating trainees who have been supported by SMarT each year since 2011-12. The data held by the MCA for ratings training prior to 2011-12 includes concessionaire training and does not provide an accurate reflection of watch rating training.

Year	Watch Rating Trainees
2011/12	32
2012/13	13
2013/14	12
2014/15	4

01/01/2023

Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking in cooperation with his international counterparts to pursue criminal responsibility of the leadership of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Mr Hugo Swire

We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The British Government supports the principle that there must be no impunity for those accused of human rights violations and that crimes against humanity are appropriately investigated.

We will continue to work with members of the international community through multilateral fora, including the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council, to ensure the regime is held to account for its appalling human rights record.

01/01/2023
Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department has received from businesses on the inclusion of design technology within the EBacc qualification.

Nick Gibb

The consultation on implementing the EBacc closed on 29 January. We have received responses from a wide range of stakeholders, including businesses. The Government response, including a list of responding organisations, will be published in due course.

01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will support the draft UN resolution on protection of medical facilities in conflict and investigations into incidents when such facilities are attacked.

Mr Philip Hammond

Medical personnel and facilities are entitled to respect and protection under specific provisions in international humanitarian law. We are concerned at the growing number of attacks on medical personnel and facilities in conflict situations. The UK is working with other members of the Security Council on a draft resolution on this issue, and it hopes that a text emerges that all Council members can support. The UK would like the text to reinforce the need for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in the provision of humanitarian assistance to be respected.

01/01/2023
Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kinnock on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for failure by employers to pay the National Minimum Wage have been undertaken since the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 came into force; what plans they have to improve the legal enforcement of the National Minimum Wage; and when those improvements will come into effect.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) Act there have been 9 prosecutions for NMW offences.

However, prosecutions are not necessarily the best approach in most cases. Criminal sanctions against companies mean that employees – the ultimate beneficiaries of enforcing the NMW – end up waiting longer for their lost earnings to be paid back.

From April this year we increased the civil penalties incurred by non-compliant workers to 200% of the arrears owed to the worker, up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker – having recently increased the penalty cap from £5,000 per employer. We have also increased the enforcement budget for the National Minimum and Living Wage to £20 million for this year, up from £13.2 million in 2015/16. The additional funds will be used to bolster HMRC’s resources through an increase in the number of compliance officers available to investigate NMW abuses, as well as to conduct risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas where there is a higher risk of workers not being paid the legal minimum wage.

We will also continue to publically name and shame eligible employers in Government press notices. We expect this tobe a deterrent to employers who would otherwise be tempted not to pay the NMW, but also an incentive for all employers to make sure that they are consistent with the law.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) mechanisms and (b) timescales are for securing input into his Department’s work on negotiations for withdrawal from the EU from (i) non-governmental organisations and civil society, (ii) opposition political parties and (iii) other interest groups; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Davis

The Government is committed to listening to all those with a view on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union; Parliament, the devolved administrations, NGOs, and other groups will all have important ideas to contribute. The new Department for Exiting the European Union will lead this engagement.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the people responsible for the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in 1988 are brought to justice.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and takes any allegations of extrajudicial killings seriously. The Iranian Government has repeatedly denied that a mass execution took place, though we are aware that between July 1988 and January 1989 executions did take place. However, even with the recording and media reporting on the incident, we have no confirmation of the numbers involved. Although we have no plans to pursue this specific matter we will continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran, including ending the death penalty.

01/01/2023