Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what analysis she plans to undertake of the data gathered from border exit checks; and whether those checks will provide accurate data on emigration disaggregated by route.

    James Brokenshire

    Exit checks were introduced in April 2015. They will, over a period of time, provide us with a range of insights into the behaviours of migrants and how they comply with restrictions placed upon their length of stay in the UK.

    Data collected from exit checks is a record of cross border movement. It may in the future help inform but will not in itself answer questions on emigration.

    The Home Office has announced that it is considering the use of exit checks data for statistical reporting and intends to publish an initial evaluation of the use of exit checks for this purpose. The evaluation will be a technical assessment of the analysis carried out thus far and of the further analysis necessary to better understand short, medium, and long term opportunities.

    The initial evaluation of the use of exit checks will be published on 25 August to coincide with the next quarterly immigration statistics release.

    Publication of the initial evaluation on the use of exit checks will be on the GOV.UK website

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress has been made on the establishment of an independent reporting commission under the Fresh Start Agreement.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    We are making significant progress in the arrangements to establish the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) by the end of this year. We are working with the Government of Ireland to finalise the detail of the international treaty which will establish the Commission and I propose to bring forward supporting regulations on the appropriate immunities and privileges as soon as possible after the Treaty is signed.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to continue to participate in the European Maritime Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government is considering carefully all the potential implications arising from the UK’s exit from the EU, including the implications for our future relationship with agencies such as the European Railways Agency and the European Maritime Safety Agency. Until we leave, EU law still applies, and current arrangements will continue.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords will seek advice from the clerks of both Houses on any changes to procedures for considering secondary legislation.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):

    Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.

    Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).

    The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.

    Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

    Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has been accompanied by special advisers on three overseas trips since May 2015.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of finance options available to doctors to cover their training costs; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department of Health have joint responsibility for the funding of students on medical courses. For the first four years of the five or six year undergraduate degree, medical students receive the same maintenance and tuition fee loans as mainstream students under the BIS Education (Student Support) Regulations.

    In the fifth year of study funding is provided by the National Health Service Bursary Scheme and eligible medical students can receive a means tested NHS Bursary and a non-means tested grant of £1,000. The NHS will also meet the cost of their tuition, so medical students do not have to pay tuition fees in the final years of their course.

    Health Education England (HEE) has responsibility for determining the amount of funding available to students via the NHS Bursary Scheme.

    HEE also support doctors in training by funding clinical placements for undergraduate students which is paid directly to the NHS providers at an agreed national tariff price, and postgraduate training at 50% of trainee salary and a placement fee of £12,400.

    Funding support is reviewed on an annual basis.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cancellations of tax credits by Concentrix have been reversed since that company’s contract with his Department commenced.

    Mr David Gauke

    Up to the end of January 2016, Concentrix have changed around 4800 out of around 419,000 decisions that they have taken since the start of the contract. These changed decisions are often as a result of new information provided by the claimant that had not been provided at the time of the original decision. The 4800 changed decisions includes some awards that were cancelled and others that were amended.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of UK withdrawal from the EU on each policy area and function of local authorities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    None.

  • Lord Watson of Richmond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Watson of Richmond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Richmond on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the concerns highlighted by Fellows of the Royal Society and Cambridge academics about the impact on science if the UK were to leave the EU.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of her Department’s full-time equivalent officials are seconded to (a) France, (b) Italy, (c) Greece and (d) any other EU country in order to identify and support Dublin III asylum transfer requests; and what plans her Department has to second further staff to identify and support such requests.

    James Brokenshire

    We continue to work with a number of EU Member States and the European Asylum Sup-port Office (EASO) to ensure Dublin works effectively. We are in ongoing discussions with France, Italy and Greece, as well as the UNHCR, to ensure that we continue to have the right processes in place and the resources to make them work effectively.

    We have recently deployed two UK experts to the Greek Dublin Unit. We are currently providing bilateral support to the Italian Dublin Unit through a long term secondment. We are also due to deploy an additional UK expert to the Italian Dublin Unit shortly.

    Our work with France including the permanent official contact group and a recently sec-onded senior UK official to the French Dublin Unit to assist with the identification and transfer of cases has shown results of our collaborative efforts.

    The Home Office has a unit processing Dublin III asylum transfer requests from and to the United Kingdom. This unit comprises 78.34 full time equivalent managers, caseworkers and support staff. Staffing levels will remain in line with anticipated volumes.

    As announced on 4 May we are now looking to transfer children who were already present in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal came into force on 20 March, where it is in their best interests. It is important that we ensure we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in UK, as well ensuring we have the right support for those who may be brought to the UK from Europe. We are working with the relevant Member States, the UNHCR and other Non-Governmental Organisations and local authorities to establish the best way to implement the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 for the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK.