Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance the Government has issued to local police forces in response to the recent increase in reported racist incidents.

    Karen Bradley

    We have been working with the police at national level to monitor the increase in reported hate crime over the past few weeks and to ensure that local forces have the necessary guidance and assistance to respond. Operational guidance on hate crime was issued by the College of Policing to all forces in 2014.

    Police forces are responding robustly to recent incidents, and victims can be reassured that their concerns about hate crime will be taken seriously by the police and courts. Any decisions regarding resourcing of front-line policing are a matter for chief constables in conjunction with their police and crime commissioner.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received from the Scottish Government since July concerning the new pilot study on post-study work visas.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We have been in contact with the Scottish Government concerning the Tier 4 visa pilot. There is no pilot study currently being conducted into post-study work visas.

    The Tier 4 visa pilot is part of the Home Office’s continued efforts to ensure that the UK maintains an excellent offer to attract the brightest and best to study at our world-leading institutions. The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with the institutions selected on the basis of their consistently low level of visa refusals. Its main aim is to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within Tier 4, whilst ensuring any changes do not undermine the robust application of immigration requirements.

    The pilot helps simplify the visa application process for international students looking to study on a Masters’ course, in the UK, of 13 months or less. Whilst it will also help to support students who wish to switch into a work route by extending the leave period following the end of their study to up to six months, it does not make any changes to the Tier 2 visa route and is not a return to the post-study work visa route.

    The four selected institutions were consulted regarding its implementation. Should the pilot be successful, the Home Office will consult key stakeholders about its possible expansion.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of the funding of £500 million for shared schooling in Northern Ireland is expected to come from her Department’s budget.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    In the ‘Stormont House Agreement’ signed on 23 December 2014, the UK Government agreed a contribution of up to £500m over 10 years of new capital funding to support shared and integrated education, subject to individual projects being agreed between the Executive and the UK Government.

    In the recent ‘A Fresh Start: the Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan’ the UK Government agreed a number of further flexibilities to the funding commitments contained in the ‘Stormont House Agreement’ including that capital funding for shared and integrated education can be used to support shared housing projects, with individual projects to be agreed by the UK Government.

    This funding to the Northern Ireland Executive will come from Her Majesty’s Treasury through the Northern Ireland Office.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory reporting of major vehicle malfunction incidents by the emergency services to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is not aware of any requirement for mandatory reporting of major vehicle malfunction incidents by the emergency services. There is a voluntary method by which emergency services can report to DVSA concerns of design or construction defects in automotive products. This has been in place for many years and is an efficient and effective method used by the emergency services.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that all residual legacy benefit caseloads will move onto universal credit by 2021 as forecast in the policy costings of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Priti Patel

    Testing of the migration of legacy claimants onto Universal Credit will take place during 2017. Following this national migration will commence in 2018 and by 2020/21 the move to Universal Credit will be complete.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to investigate and address the role of the Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in London in evading UN Security Council sanctions in respect of their submission of vessel registration changes to the International Maritime Organisation in 2014; and what assessment they have made of the involvement of embassies of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea worldwide in sanctions evasion.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Vessel registration is a matter for Flag state action. The UK is not a Flag state for any Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) vessels, so has not been involved in investigating this issue. We have processes in place to verify the provenance of any vessel registered under the British flag.

    There are documented links between the DPRK’s diplomatic missions and its proliferation activity which are in breach of sanctions. For example, the UN DPRK Panel of Experts reported that DPRK Embassy officials in Cuba were engaged in making arrangements for the 2013 Chong Chon Gang shipment of conventional arms and related materials in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. We have since worked with partners to encourage the need for vigilance over possible illicit activity taking place by DPRK diplomatic missions.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of engagement by the Disasters Emergency Committee, and other international donors, with representatives of Nepal’s civil society and charities such as Childreach Nepal.

    Baroness Verma

    The role of national Nepali civil society after the earthquake has been key to the emergency response, and will be important into the recovery and reconstruction phases. International humanitarian organisations who acted as part of the earthquake response, such as the UK Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) members, have partnered with Nepal civil society organisations to deliver assistance to those most in need. These partnerships have combined international funding flows with local knowledge and expertise.

    Over the course of the humanitarian response UK government representatives in Nepal have met regularly with DEC members and other international donors in order to share situation analysis and learning, as well as jointly advocate on collective issues. The UK has supported over 20 trusted partners as part of its own Nepal earthquake response, including the UN, INGOs and the Red Cross. All have worked in partnership with Nepali civil society organisations on the ground. We have conducted three rounds of field-based monitoring, meet regularly with our partners, and receive frequent reporting, which has enabled us to assess with confidence the effectiveness of our direct partners and their Nepali civil society partners.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether final clearance for any Government policy has been denied due to a failure to complete a Family Test assessment.

    Baroness Altmann

    DWP takes the process of monitoring the application of the Family Test very seriously and we have and will challenge the clearance of policies that haven’t considered the Family Test.

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

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total expenditure by the NHS on HIV drugs was in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The indicative spend for NHS England commissioned HIV services for 2014/15 is £539 million. This figure is for the total indicative spend on HIV not just drugs, as it is not possible to extract the spend on HIV drugs alone for 2014/15. Accurate data on spend on HIV drugs from previous years is not available.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-07-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, what measures they plan to take to ensure the UK’s continued participation in EU-wide data sharing initiatives for clinical trial development and condition-specific patient registries.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government recognises the importance of our research base, which is why we have protected the ring fenced science resource budget in real terms from its current level of £4.7bn for the rest of the parliament. Programmes such as the £1.5bn Global Challenges Research Fund and the £1bn Ross Fund will support the UK’s status as a global leader in medical research.

    The Global Challenges Research Fund will mobilise the UK’s world leading research base to address key challenges facing developing countries, including in health research. The Ross Fund will develop, test and deliver a range of new products (including vaccines, drugs and diagnostics) to help combat the world’s most serious diseases in developing countries.

    The referendum result has no immediate effect on the right of researchers to apply to or participate in EU research programmes. UK participants can continue to apply to the programmes in the usual way. The future of UK access to these programmes will be determined as part of a wider discussion with the EU.