The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-03-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when the rent review will take place on 1 Victoria Street; and what plans he has to publish the results of that review.
Joseph Johnson
The due date for the rent review is 1st January 2016.
In line with standard commercial practice there are no specific plans to publish the results.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to (a) the Indian government and (b) other parties involved on the release to its owners of the vessel Seaman Guard Ohio.
Mr Hugo Swire
I have made no representations to the Indian Government or any other parties on the release of the vessel Seaman Guard Ohio.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Young of Cookham on 2016-06-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when local authorities have to make the first payment under section 69 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Before any determination is issued and any payments made under that determination, regulations on the definition of higher value assets must first be passed by both Houses of Parliament. We are currently working on the detail of the regulations.
We shall consult with local authorities and other stakeholders before issuing the determination.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-09-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that any future UK Bill of Rights covers all of the UK.
Sir Oliver Heald
We will set out our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Goudie on 2016-10-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to transfer to other government departments any of the staff currently working within the Department for Exiting the EU, and if so, what is their estimate of the proportion of staff who will be moved to (1) the Ministry of Defence, (2) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (3) the Cabinet Office, or (4) other government departments.
Lord Bridges of Headley
The department is permanently headquartered at 9 Downing Street. This will not change and Ministers will continue to operate from this building. Staff are also accommodated in 70 Whitehall.
We are working with the Government Property Unit as where to locate further staff on a more permanent basis.
DExEU staff will continue to be employed on the basis of being ‘on loan’ from a wide variety of departments and will not permanently transfer departments. No staff have been formally moved from DExEU to the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office, or other government departments.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2015-10-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what concerns he raised in his letter of 17 August 2015 to his Ethiopian counterpart on the release of videos of Andargachew Tsege in custody.
James Duddridge
The Government remains deeply concerned by the continued detention of Mr Andargachew Tsege. Extensive Ministerial lobbying resulted in Mr Tsege’s transfer to a normal federal prison in July. The Prime Minister wrote to the Ethiopian Prime Minister on 17 August welcoming this move, emphasising that this should allow regular consular access, and visits by Mr Tsege’s family. The release of video footage of Mr Tsege in July 2014 and January 2015 was not raised in the letter. We continue to press the Ethiopian government for regular consular access, for improvements to Mr Tsege’s welfare and to provide a legal process through which Mr Tsege can challenge his detention, including its consistency with domestic and international law. My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, has raised this case on 17 separate occasions with the Ethiopians.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 7.6 of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review 2015, how he plans to meet the £11 billion of efficiency savings; and what assumptions have been made when calculating that figure.
Michael Fallon
The Ministry of Defence plans to deliver £9.2 billion of savings through a number of measures as set out in para 2.4 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015. All of these savings will be directly reinvested to fund the Strategic Defence and Security Review commitments.
The balance of the £11 billion savings will be delivered by the security and intelligence agencies and from cross-Government counter-terrorism spending.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which departments have members on the cross-departmental Maritime Business Services working group; and how often he expects that group to meet.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth met for the first time on 30 November 2015. The government departments which attended that meeting were the Department for Transport, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport. Those Government departments with interests in future cross cutting discussions will be invited to further meetings.
The current expectation is that this group will meet twice in 2016 with a review at the end of the year to determine future needs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 27 January 2015 to Question 221410, when he expects the concept phase of the development of a collision warning system for the Typhoon aircraft to be complete; and when he expects an investment decision to be made.
Mr Philip Dunne
We remain committed to reducing the risk of aircraft-to-aircraft collision through exploiting technology and reviewing operating procedures on Typhoon aircraft.
Two possible equipment solutions have been demonstrated and will be part of formal assessment in the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF airstrikes have taken place against Daesh targets in (a) Iraq and (b) Syria since 2 December 2015.
Penny Mordaunt
From 2 December 2015 till 23 February 2016 there have been a total of 362 strikes against Daesh targets. Of these 319 have taken place in Iraq and 43 in Syria.