The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, of all the schools that have had their admission arrangements objected to in (1) 2014, and (2) 2015, what percentage were found not to have violated the School Admissions Code at least once.
Lord Nash
In 2013/14, the percentage of objections referred to the adjudicator which were not upheld was 14%. In 2014/15, the percentage was 20%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote the export of Scotch whisky.
George Eustice
We are committed to increasing and promoting sales of our excellent food and drink here and overseas. This is why we have launched the Great British Food Campaign, created a new Great British Food Unit and designated 2016 “The year of Great British Food.”
Scotch whisky is a phenomenal global success. In 2014 exports were worth £3.95 billion* representing 21% of total UK food and drink exports. We are working with the industry to boost exports by developing a new Exports Action Plan, taking every opportunity to promote our products overseas and working hard to secure a global liberalised market for all our spirit drinks.
*Source: Scotch Whisky Association
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures are in place to monitor the take-up of advice on NHS websites on prevention of spina bifida.
Jane Ellison
Information on the number of live births affected by congenital abnormalities including spina bifida, hydrocephalus and anencephaly has been collected by the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomaly Registers and is currently available for the years 2009–2012 at:
http://www.binocar.org/publications/reports
There are no current mechanisms in place for monitoring the take-up of advice given on the NHS Choices website about preventing spina bifida.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-05-18.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government in what ways they are targeting the entire population to encourage them to take up physical activity, and not just those who are overweight or obese.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
Government is determined to tackle physical inactivity. Around one in two women and a third of men in England may be damaging their health through a lack of physical activity. Ministers across government continue to work together to identify opportunities to get people active in a range of ways including active travel, health initiatives, planning and sport.
In December 2015 Government published ‘Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation’ – the first comprehensive government strategy for sport for 13 years – it sets out a new vision for a successful and active sporting nation. It has a strong focus on reaching inactive people and helping them to get moving in ways that suit them.
Sport England’s new strategy ‘Towards an Active Nation’, published on 19 May, states that tackling inactivity is a major priority for the organisation, it is tripling its current investment to over £250 million over 4 years, making it the largest single national investor in tackling inactivity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve access to the private rented sector for single people who are homeless.
Gavin Barwell
One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness.
Increasing access to the private rented sector is one of the many ways we are trying to achieve this. We have already made a significant investment of nearly £14 million for Crisis to develop a programme to help single homeless people access private rented sector accommodation. This has helped over 10,000 people, with over 90% maintaining tenancies for at least 6 months.
In Budget 2016, we also announced a £10 million fund to support and scale-up initiatives to prevent and reduce rough sleeping and a £10 million Social Impact Bond to support the most entrenched rough sleepers off the streets.
In addition, we are working to increase supply, and therefore affordability, in the private rented sector by accelerating the development of a new market for private renters, including our £1 billion build to rent fund and the £3.5 billion private rented sector debt guarantee scheme.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has received evidence that Russia has committed war crimes in Syria; under what international treaties or conventions any such crimes committed by that country fall to be (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted; and what discussions he has had with his European and other counterparts on such crimes.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has the jurisdiction to judge and prosecute war crimes. However, neither Russia nor Syria are state parties to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. The only way to secure an investigation by the ICC would be for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC. This would require a UNSC resolution. Russia and China vetoed a UNSC resolution which proposed referring all those responsible for war-crimes and crimes against humanity, regardless of affiliation, to the ICC in May 2014. We regularly raise allegations of atrocities being committed in Syria with international counterparts, most recently in the UN Security Council on Saturday 8 October, when Russia vetoed the proposed UNSC resolution calling for an end to the bombardment of Aleppo. Deliberate targeting of civilians or humanitarian personnel would be a war crime. The attack on a UN aid convoy near Aleppo on 19 September was a clear violation of the most basic of humanitarian principles. Russia appears to be partnering with the Syrian regime in the attacks on Aleppo which are causing large numbers of civilian casualties.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2015-11-17.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what systems they have in place to monitor the use of military equipment licensed for export to Saudi Arabia to establish whether or not that equipment has been used to violate international humanitarian law in Yemen.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The British Government monitors the situation in Yemen closely, including reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). We take these reports very seriously. We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities, who have provided assurances to us that they are complying with IHL. We continue to engage with them on those assurances, and we urge all sides to investigate such incidents fully. The Ministry of Defence continues to monitor alleged incidents internally, using available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. We are offering Saudi Arabia advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with International Humanitarian Law.
With respect to UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia, all applications for strategic export control licences for military and dual-use goods are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria (the Criteria), in a manner consistent with the UK’s international obligations. A licence will not be issued for export of items to any country if to do so would be inconsistent with any mandatory provision of the Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that the items might be used in the commission of a serious violation of IHL.
The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the Criteria. Our export licensing system allows us to respond to changed circumstances and new information as and when necessary. The principle of responsible export controls is fundamental for the Government.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2015-12-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of age assessments for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been completed within the new timetable for upon local authorities in each month since March 2015.
James Brokenshire
All unaccompanied asylum seeking children are referred to the Refugee Council’s panel of advisers.
Age-assessments of unaccompanied asylum seeking children are conducted by local authorities. The guidance to local authority practitioners states that most assessments should be completed within 28 days, however the timescale for assessment should be responsive to the needs of the child or young person. The Home Office does not collect statistics on how many and what proportion are carried out within this timescale.
Statistics on the number of age disputes raised and resolved for asylum applicants for each quarter from January 2010 to September 2015 are available on GOV.UK at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476915/asylum3-q3-2015-tabs.ods
The Home Office does not keep a record of the number of appeals against age assessments conducted by local authorities.
Home Office policy is not to return unaccompanied asylum seeking children whose claim has been refused unless there are safe and adequate reception arrangements in place. Statistics on the number of children removed from the UK in 2014 are available on Gov.UK at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476919/removals1-q3-2015-tabs.ods
However, these statistics include all nationalities and non-asylum cases.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dholakia on 2016-01-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what health and social support is in place upon their release for individuals who are diagnosed with blood-borne virus while in prison or a secure institution.
Lord Prior of Brampton
NHS England, Public Health England (PHE) and the National Offender Management Service in their National Partnership Agreement have committed to support continuity of care for patients on transfer from custody to the community. This includes people diagnosed with blood-borne viruses (BBVs). The needs of such individuals will vary depending on the infection and whether they are receiving or need to receive treatment as well as the nature of the treatment itself.
Ensuring patients leaving prison are registered with a general practitioner (GP) in the community is a key component of ensuring ongoing primary and specialist care. GPs are provided with a care summary record when the patient is discharged from prison. Patients are further supported by probation services, including Community Rehabilitation Companies who begin work ‘through the gate’ to support people leaving prisons in accessing accommodation, employment, welfare payments and education.
PHE, the National Offender Management Service and NHS England published their Second National Partnership Agreement published in 2015. The scope of work described in the agreement includes “continuity of care through the prison gate into the community". A copy of the report has been attached.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-02-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training is provided to staff in the UK Border Agency to help them deal with abuses of the Pet Travel Scheme by those involved in illegal puppy smuggling for commercial purposes.
Lord Bates
Core skills training provided to Border Force officers includes awareness training on controls on the movement of live animals into the UK. Specific guidance is also available to officers on the application of the Pet Travel Scheme. Border Force is also developing its targeting capability across all border related risks, including bio-security risks.
Border Force is working closely with the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the lead government department with responsibility for imports of live animals, to ensure the effective enforcement of legislation governing the import of animals.