Tag: Parliamentary Question

Michelle Thomson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Thomson on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average amount people spent on visa applications before being granted entry to the UK in the last year for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office does not analyse the average amount people spend on visa applications before being granted entry to the UK. The Home Office provides a wide range of visa products and services and takes into account a range of factors when setting fees, so there is no typical fee amount.

01/01/2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many health and safety near misses were reported by his Department in each of the last five years; and how many of those near misses involved the unplanned or faulty discharge of a weapon.

Mark Lancaster

We are investigating the compilation of the requested statistics and I will write to the hon. Member in due course.

01/01/2023
Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he has about the individual who currently holds the position of UN Special Advisor on Genocide; what recent representations to that individual about the killings by Daesh of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq; and what plans he has to meet the Special Advisor to discuss the crisis in those countries.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Adama Dieng was appointed UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on 17 July 2012. His role is to: raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide; to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide; and to advocate and mobilise for appropriate action. The Office of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect has made a number of statements in relation to the situation in Iraq and Syria. These statements can be found on the UN website, and cover a range of issues including: incitement to violence in Syria on religious grounds; expressing concern about the on-going threat to the safety of minority groups in Syria; and expressing alarm at reports of the abduction of 1,500 Yezidi, Christian and Shabak women and girls.

Any judgement on whether genocide has occurred is a matter for judicial decision, rather than for governments or non-judicial bodies. Our approach is to seek an end to all violations, and to prevent their further escalation, irrespective of whether these violations fit the definition of specific international crimes.

01/01/2023
Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the country of (a) origin and (b) destination was of each flight in a fixed wing aircraft or helicopter carrying or transporting Defence Nuclear Materials in the last five years.

Penny Mordaunt

In the last five years, 23 flights carrying Defence Nuclear Materials (DNM) were undertaken. All flights were between the UK and the United States on fixed wing aircraft under the control of UK Armed Forces. No such flights passed over Scotland, or involved the use of helicopters.

I am withholding details of the physical state, mass and radiological quantity of DNM transported as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice national security.

The transport of DNM is carried out to the highest standard in accordance with stringent safety regulations. In over 50 years of transporting DNM in the UK, there has never been an incident that has posed any radiation hazard to the public or to the environment.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what role Ministers played in the recruitment process for the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

Anna Soubry

The process was conducted in accordance with the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies.

Ministers at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills took active involvement in overseeing the recruitment process for the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

The Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise met the candidates judged by the panel as appointable. In accordance with the Code of Practice, a senior representative of OCPA was present at those meetings.

01/01/2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) accountability of internet service providers to their customers and (b) role of the regulator in upholding the rights of those customers.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Internet Service Providers are accountable to Ofcom – and in turn to their customers – through Ofcom’s ‘General Conditions (14)’. These conditions include ensuring that an effective complaint handling procedure is in place, and Ofcom can impose a penalty of up to 10% of turnover for failure to comply.

Ofcom, as the UK’s independent communications regulator, has a duty to secure alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes for domestic and small business customers to make sure their rights are upheld. Ofcom periodically reviews the two approved ADR schemes (Ombudsman Services: Communications and the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme) and monitors their ability to deal with complaints independently, transparently and effectively.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much Child Support Agency scheme arrears were being dealt with by the child maintenance service at 31 March 2016; and how many cases those arrears relate to.

Priti Patel

As at 31 March 2016 the total amount of 1993 and 2003 Child Support Agency scheme arrears held on the 2012 system and currently being handled by the Child Maintenance Service stood at £153.3 million. Figures for 31 March 2016 are draft and subject to audit.

Information on related case groups and break downs by scheme are not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

We have at our disposal a range of strong enforcement powers, intended to ensure as many parents as possible fulfil their financial responsibilities towards their children. We are using all of the powers available to us where it is appropriate to do so. These include deducting maintenance directly from earnings, deduction directly from bank accounts, instructing bailiffs to collect arrears or seize goods, forcing the sale of property, commitment to prison and disqualification from driving.

01/01/2023
Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to provide an integration support service for refugees to help those refugees who have recently arrived in the UK to integrate into local communities.

Mike Penning

We are working towards achieving more integrated communities and creating the conditions for everyone to live and work successfully alongside each other.

Those who are granted refugee status are given access to the labour market, mainstream benefits and housing assistance from their local authority. There are therefore no plans to allow refugees to stay in asylum support accommodation.

The Home Office offers integration loans to recognised refugees. The loan is designed to help refugees integrate into UK society by offering financial support towards housing costs, employment and training.

The Home Office also funds strategic migration partnerships which provide coordination and support services for those organisations working with migrants and refugees in local communities.

Earlier this year the Government announced that £20 million of additional funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses would be introduced in October 2016. This funding will reach the most isolated communities in the UK.

01/01/2023
Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish (a) the revised list of the membership of the Department’s Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment and (b) a revised register of interests of the Committee’s members.

George Eustice

The current membership of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) is:

Professor Rosemary Hails MBE (chair), Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Dr Kathy Bamford, Imperial College

Professor Michael Bonsall, University of Oxford

Dr Rosemary Collier, University of Warwick

Professor Ian Crute CBE, self-employed consultant

Dr Matthew Heard, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Professor David Hopkins, The Royal Agricultural University

Simon Kerr, National Institute of Agricultural Botany

Dr Peter Lund, University of Birmingham

Dr Ben Raymond, University of Exeter

Dr Andrew Wilcox, Harper Adams University

An updated register of the interests of the Committee members will be published as soon as possible on the ACRE pages of the GOV..UK website. (at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/advisory-committee-on-releases-to-the-environment).

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01/01/2023

Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many children have died in road accidents since 2010-11; and if he will estimate what proportion of those children were from households in the lowest income decile.

Andrew Jones

The table below gives the number of children (aged 0-15) killed in reported personal-injury road accidents in Great Britain for 2010 to 2014.

The Department does not collect any information on the household income of road causalities.

Table: Child (aged 0-15) fatalities in reported personal injury road accidents: GB, 2010-2014

	2005-2009 average	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Child deaths, England	107	47	47	55	38	46
Child deaths, Wales and Scotland		8	13	6	10	7
Total Child deaths, GB		55	60	61	48	53

01/01/2023