Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will allow the completed High Speed 2 railway line to be open access as opposed to restricted by franchise.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government is considering how best HS2 services should be provided both when operating on the new High Speed and conventional rail networks. This includes consideration of franchising options but does not rule out alternative routes for service delivery, to ensure that services deliver the Government objectives for HS2, and optimum use is made of total capacity across the entire network to maximise the benefits for passengers and secure a return for taxpayers on the significant investment Government is making in HS2. No final decision has been taken.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he or Ministers in his Department will attend the heats and further stages of the Bar National Mock Trials Competition.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    I am aware of this valuable initiative for school students organised by the Citizenship Foundation and funded by the Bar. While Ministers have no current plans to attend any of the stages, I wish this competition continuing success.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Upper Tribunal’s decision in MSM (journalists; political opinion; risk) Somalia [2015] UKUT 00413 (IAC), what plans they have immediately to revise their country-specific bulletins, and how they will now apply their discretion to asylum and immigration cases.

    Lord Bates

    We do not believe our country specific bulletins are at odds with the Upper Tribunal’s decision in MSM (Somalia) such that they require urgent revision. However, we are constantly reviewing our country information and guidance to ensure we reflect the most up-to-date situation and caselaw.

    A fundamental principle of the 1951 Refugee Convention is that each case is considered on its own merits. That is the approach taken by the Home Office.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many IT contractors were employed by HM Revenue and Customs on a self-employed basis in 2015.

    Mr David Gauke

    There were no IT contractors employed on a self-employed basis in 2015.

  • Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kinnock on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 30 December 2015 (HL4654), what (1) in-work, and (2) out-of-work, benefits were paid to recent EU migrants in households supported by the benefits system as at March 2013.

    Lord Freud

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for Employment (Ms. Esther McVey) in the House of Commons on 20 November 2014 to Question number 211618 as below:

    While the Government checks the immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud, traditionally that information has not been collected as part of the payment administrative systems.

    However, the Government is looking at ways to reform the current administrative system under Universal Credit so that it will systematically record nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim.

    The Government has made a radical series of changes over the last year to restrict the access by non-UK citizens from the European Economic Area to UK benefits and tax credits. This is in order to protect the UK’s benefit system and discourage people who have no established connection with the UK from moving here, unless they have a job or a genuine prospect of work, or have savings to support themselves until they do.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, 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.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office does not hold the information that has been requested as separate data for cases based wholly or partially on the Human Rights Act 1998 are not recorded.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the salary levels of elected mayors of each of the combined authorities; and if he will make a statement.

    James Wharton

    The Department holds no information about the salary levels of elected mayors of combined authorities.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 2.28 of the White Paper, Educational excellence everywhere, published in March 2016, by what criteria her Department will assess which higher education institutions are assessed as the best universities for education and teacher training.

    Nick Gibb

    Our recent White Paper made a commitment to raising the quality of initial teacher training so that teaching continues to be a profession that attracts the brightest and the best. We want to ensure that training places are allocated to providers – both schools and universities – with a proven track record of effectively recruiting high-quality trainees, delivering high-quality programmes of training, and securing the best possible outcomes for trainees.

    We will be setting out further detail of our plans to implement these reforms shortly. This will include confirming details of the quality criteria that we intend to use to inform the allocation of places to universities and schools for the training year 2017/18. We are currently holding discussions with stakeholders, including ITT providers and their representative bodies, to inform the development of appropriate criteria.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what technical assistance her Department has offered to the government of the Pitcairn Islands to help ensure that its draft biosecurity legislation meets best practice.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK Government is committed to assisting our Overseas Territories (OTs) in protecting their biodiversity. Territory Governments are constitutionally responsible for the conservation of their natural environments and we work in partnership with them to provide support, including through access to technical advice, expertise and training and through the Overseas Territories Climate and Environment Programme (Darwin Plus).

    Preventing the establishment of invasive alien species and eradicating or controlling invasive species is one of our priorities in supporting biodiversity conservation in the OTs. Defra has funded various projects on biosecurity, bio-control and the spread of non-native species in the OTs, including an RSPB-led Darwin Plus project which included work to improve Pitcairn’s biosecurity legislation. Defra officials stand ready to consider any requests from Pitcairn’s Government for technical assistance, advice or expertise on biosecurity matters or in respect of Pitcairn’s biosecurity legislation.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to create more cohesive societies in areas with dispersal centres for asylum seekers.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office funds strategic migration partnerships which are local authority-led partnerships designed to provide structures and support services for those organisations working with migrants and refugees in local communities.

    The Home Office also provides a dedicated integration loan directly to recognised refugees. The loan is designed to help refugees integrate into UK society by offering financial support towards housing costs, employment and training.