UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government is doing to encourage supermarkets to act responsibly when sourcing and purchasing fish products.

    George Eustice

    Such matters fall primarily to the Non-Departmental Public Body Seafish, which is funded by an industry levy. Seafish has developed a ‘Risk Assessment for Sourcing Seafood’ (RASS), an online seafood sourcing tool, to help retailers assess the potential reputational risks of sourcing particular types of seafood. The primary objective is to support commercial seafood buyers by presenting up-to-date information on a comprehensive range of fisheries whose products are in the UK supply-chain, covering four components: stock, management, bycatch, and habitat. This year, RASS will be expanded through the addition of seafood social responsibility factors including crew welfare, human rights and slavery.

    Seafish has also developed, and recently launched at the Houses of Parliament, the Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS). The RFS is a voluntary vessel-based programme certifying high standards of crew welfare and responsible catching practices on fishing vessels. It is the only programme certifying crew welfare and responsible catching practices on vessels, and complements other fishery-based sustainability certifications. Such assurances are being increasingly sought by the UK market.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 33 of the Budget, how much of the £520 million estimated to be raised by the new sugar levy she expects to be allocated to sporting initiatives through her Department’s budget in each of the next four years.

    Edward Timpson

    As announced in Budget 2016, a new soft drinks industry levy is expected to raise £520 million in the first year.

    In England, revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the Physical Education (PE) and sport premium for primary schools from £160 million a year to £320 million from September 2017. Primary schools will be able to make further improvements to the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer, including introducing new activities, after school clubs and hiring specialist coaches to work alongside teachers.

    Revenue generated from the levy will also be used to provide up to £285 million a year to give 25% of secondary schools increased opportunity to extend their school day to offer a wider range of activities for pupils. This can include sports clubs.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-04-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the readiness of the financial services industry to provide lifetime ISAs.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The new Lifetime ISA will provide savers with the flexibility to save towards a first home and retirement at the same time.

    From April 2017, people aged 18 to 40 will be able to save up to £4,000 each year into a Lifetime ISA and receive a 25% bonus from the Government.

    The Government is engaging with the industry on the detail of implementation of the Lifetime ISA to ensure that it is delivered for April 2017.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to ask the government of Ethiopia to release Andy Tsege following his alleged torture and sentencing to death without a court hearing, and if not, why not.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government takes the detention and welfare of Mr Andargachew Tsege, who was transferred from Yemen and is imprisoned in Ethiopia, very seriously. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond), has raised Mr Tsege’s case with his Ethiopian counterpart over 20 times. The Minister for Africa, my Hon Friend, the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) has also raised the case, most recently on 8 January. Our focus has been on lobbying for Mr Tsege to have access to an independent lawyer who is able to advise him of his legal options. We believe that this is the best way to grant Mr Tsege the opportunity to resolve this case. Ministerial lobbying has already achieved the transfer of Mr Tsege to a normal federal prison and regular consular visits. We will continue to lobby the Ethiopian government until Mr Tsege is given access to a lawyer, and until our concerns about Mr Tsege’s case have been fully addressed.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what weight he plans to give to enabling the Government to meet its net migration target in his negotiation of a trade deal with the EU.

    Mr David Jones

    The Government is committed to bringing net migration down to sustainable levels. The Prime Minister has said that as we conduct our negotiations, it must be a priority to regain more control of the numbers of people who come here from Europe in future – but also to allow British companies to trade with the single market in goods and services.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effect of changing levels of funding for non-conflicting affected states on the level of stability in those countries.

    Rory Stewart

    DFID uses a range of criteria to determine allocations to countries, including the need of those countries for development assistance, how effective our assistance is likely to be in those countries, and the strategic fit with UK government priorities.

    The 50% commitment is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do for Britain’s national interest. The commitment ensures that we improve the lives of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world. Poverty is increasingly concentrated in fragile states and regions, and conflict is one of the major challenges to development. Over half of the world’s poor live in fragile states.

    Our work in fragile states and regions will help to build stability, prevent conflict and support economic growth in the world’s poorest countries and regions. Without stability, our gains on poverty reduction risk being reversed.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government plans to take to (a) tackle sexual abuse and sexual crime involving 16 and 17 year olds and (b) better educate young people about sexual abuse.

    Karen Bradley

    Tackling child sexual abuse and exploitation is a top priority for this Government. In March 2015 we launched the “Tackling CSE” report and prioritised child sexual abuse as a national threat in the Strategic Policing Requirement, setting a clear expectation on police forces to collaborate across force boundaries, to safeguard children, to share intelligence and to share best practice.

    Our “This is Abuse” campaign has sent clear messages to prevent young people becoming victims or perpetrators of sexual violence by helping teenagers to recognise and understand sexual abuse. It also signposts them to appropriate support including specialist services, counselling, Independent Sexual Violence Advisers, and helplines.

    The College of Policing and the National Policing lead have set the requirement on all forces to train all new and existing police staff including police officers, detectives and specialist investigators to respond to child sexual abuse. In addition, all police forces and the NCA are now connected to the Child Abuse Image Database (CAID). CAID is a national UK policing system that supports law enforcement in the pursuit of offenders involved in the sexual exploitation of children and in safeguarding the victims of this crime.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles were identified and impounded solely on the basis of non-payment of vehicle excise duty as part of the pilot enforcement action using automatic number plate recognition of illegal foreign-registered vehicles in the UK.

    Andrew Jones

    The pilot took place between 3 November 2014 and 8 February 2015. It was a joint initiative between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the Central Motorway Police Group and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The police forces involved were West Midlands, Staffordshire, West Mercia, Northamptonshire, Thames Valley and Hampshire.

    A total of 703 foreign registered vehicles were identified and impounded for non-payment of vehicle excise duty as part of the pilot.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many websites encouraging recruitment to Daesh or al Qaeda her Department has helped close down in the last six months.

    Mr John Hayes

    Extremist and terrorist organisations are exploiting the internet to disseminate propaganda and recruit individuals to their groups or to support their aims. Some vulnerable individuals, including young people are being misled by this damaging propaganda through its use of social media sites.

    Since 2010, over 130,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed by industry from various online platforms at the request of the dedicated police Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). Approximately 31,000 removals were made in the last 6 months alone. Removal requests are now at over 1,000 a week and approximately 70% of CTIRU’s caseload is Daesh related.

    The Counter Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, sets out further work to uplift efforts to outmatch the scale and pace of terrorist and extremist use of the internet. As part of this we are pressing industry to take a lead in tackling the abuse of their services by terrorist and extremist groups.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether UK-owned tour companies that operate in North Korea contribute financially to that country’s nuclear and missile programmes or to elements of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea government responsible for human rights violations.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are aware of UK tour companies who operate in the North Korea. Given the closed nature of the regime there is very limited financial information from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) government on how their nuclear and ballistic missile programme or elements of the regime responsible for human rights violations are funded.