The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the changes to personal injury law and procedure announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Autumn Statement with the European Convention on Human Rights; and if he will make a statement.
Dominic Raab
The Government will be consulting on the detail of the proposals in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-03-23.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria he plans to use to ensure sales of Government shares in Royal Bank of Scotland maximise value for the public purse.
Harriett Baldwin
The first sale of Government shares in RBS was conducted in August 2015 and raised £2.1 billion for the taxpayer. This was an important first step in returning the bank to private ownership, which is the right thing to do for the taxpayer and for British businesses: it will promote financial stability, lead to a more competitive banking sector, and support the interests of the wider economy.
The government will conduct further sales of RBS shares subject to market conditions, and in doing so will maximise value for the taxpayer. The returns on the government’s interventions in RBS will be determined by the success of the whole of the selling programme, rather than the terms achieved on the first few disposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-05-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 27 April (HL7738), what assessment they have made of the impact of their representations on the government of Israel with regard to house demolitions, in the light of the number of deaths and injuries caused during such incidents in the first three months of 2016.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Government remains extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015. We are not aware of any deaths which have resulted from demolitions. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv continues to regularly raise our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities. As a result of these representations, the UK’s humanitarian and legal concerns on demolitions have been made clear.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-06-20.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 25 May (HL39), what discussions they have had with the National Trust about badger culls; what was the outcome of those discussions; and whether they will publish the results of those discussions.
Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra officials have regular conversations with the National Trust about the Government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate bovine tuberculosis (TB) in England. The National Trust has published its view on badgers and TB on its website.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Queen’s Speech 2016, if her Department will publish detailed plans to create the right for every household to access high speed broadband.
Matt Hancock
Following the Queen’s Speech, the Digital Economy Bill has been introduced which includes measures to enable the Government to implement and review a new broadband Universal Service Obligation. We have asked Ofcom to undertake a detailed technical analysis on a range of factors that will impact on the design of the USO. Once we have considered Ofcom’s report, we will consult on the detailed specifications for the USO which will be set in secondary legislation once the Bill has received Royal Assent.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugo Swire on 2016-10-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she is adopting to select refugees from the camp in Calais for resettlement.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The EU’s Dublin Regulation clearly sets out the criteria for transferring asylum claims between Member States. The Government wishes to reaffirm that migrants in Calais have not yet been determined as refugees, and furthermore, the Dublin Regulation is the EU’s mechanism for transferring asylum claims, rather than a resettlement route. Section 67 of the Immigration Act sets out that ‘unaccompanied refugee children’ will be relocated to the UK. In respect of Calais, the Government has been clear that unaccompanied children will be prioritised if they meet the Dublin criteria.
We work closely with the French authorities and their partner agencies to ensure all those who come to the UK from the camps in Calais are eligible under the Dublin Regulation. All individuals are referred to the UK authorities by the NGO France Terre D’asile (FTDA) and are then interviewed by French and UK officials. Basic security checks are conducted on all individuals prior to arrival, with further verification carried out once in the UK.
Where credible and clear documentary evidence of age is not available, criteria including physical appearance and demeanour are used as part of the interview process to assess age. Where we believe someone is significantly over 18, they will be refused. The Home Office does not use dental x-rays to confirm the ages of those seeking asylum as they have been described by the British Dental Association as inaccurate, inappropriate and unethical.
Since June the Home Office has been working closely with local authorities and Strategic Migration Partnerships across the UK to ensure that we have the structures in place to support the transfer of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children, both within the UK and from Europe.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord German on 2015-11-05.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current political situation in the Maldives.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), said in his press statement on 4 November, the British Government is deeply concerned by recent developments in the Maldives. We believe the State of Emergency declared on 4 November impinged on the basic human rights of the Maldivian people and further undermined confidence in the country’s democracy.
On 10 November the Maldivian government lifted the State of Emergency. As Mr Swire said in his tweet on 10 November, we welcome the lifting of the State of Emergency and look forward to further positive progress in the Maldives.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2015-12-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to publish statistics on sanctions imposed under the universal credit scheme during the course of its implementation.
Priti Patel
The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are quality assuring data for Universal Credit and formulating a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future.
These statistics will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Benyon on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to support the development of small-scale on-site renewable solutions in the agri-food sector, based on residues from food factories and farm slurries and crop residues.
George Eustice
Small scale on-site renewables are supported through the Feed-in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive schemes. Defra and Department of Energy and Climate Change officials are currently working together on a review of the support for renewable energy schemes through both Feed in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive. This includes the support for anaerobic digestion of residues, wastes and slurries. Consultations on the schemes will be published in the coming months.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which were the top 10 countries of origin of asylum seekers accommodated in (a) Wales and (b) the UK in each of the last six years.
James Brokenshire
The Home Office publishes regional data on asylum seekers in receipt of Section 95 Support (dispersed accommodation and subsistence only) by nationality in Table as_17q (Asylum data tables Volume 4) of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. The top ten nationalities of asylum seekers supported in Wales and the UK as a whole, in each of the last six years, are given in the attached tables.
A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics July – September 2015, is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release