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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to meet the United Nations Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide to discuss the situation of Christians and Yazidis in Syria and Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government has received a number of recent representations on these issues from Parliament and members of the public and is responding in writing.

    We condemn in the strongest possible terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yazidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality. The UK has led efforts within the UN to tackle and condemn Daesh and on the protection of civilians more widely. For example, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution mandating the UN to investigate and report on Daesh abuses.

    It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies.

    Ultimately, the only way to protect Christians, Yazidis and other minorities in the region from Daesh is by defeating this terrible organisation, which in turn requires, amongst other things, ending the conflict in Syria. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), set out the UK’s comprehensive strategy for defeating Daesh and finding a political settlement to the Syria conflict in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.

    The joint Office of the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect (the Office) are engaged with these issues and publish much of their activity online, including statements in relation to the situation of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq. Our officials maintain regular contact with officials from the Office to discuss issues related to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities. The Government provides funding for the Office, including for their work with religious leaders and faith based organisations in the Middle East and North Africa region, aimed at the prevention of incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 23948, what the names are of the seven community rehabilitation companies referred to.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested is commercially sensitive. It is normal Government practice not to release commercially sensitive information.

    The use of action plans is part of an ongoing standard contract management process used routinely with all 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to promptly and proactively address issues which have been identified.

    We have robust contract management in place to monitor these plans, including commercial and financial specialists to ensure that providers deliver effective services and value for money. Robust performance management systems and audit arrangements are in place to manage the contracts. This approach is in line with National Audit Office contract management standards.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate (a) public and (b) private sector involvement in developing ultra-fast FTTH broadband in 2014-15.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Virgin Media’s ultrafast network reaches around 45% of UK premises, whilst BT plan to make available ultrafast speeds to 10 million premises by 2020. Smaller providers, such as CityFibre, Gigaclear and Hyperoptic, are also investing to provide ultrafast services.

    The Government set up a UK Guarantee Scheme to support infrastructure projects, such as the £3 billion Virgin Media ultrafast broadband network expansion. In addition, the government is consulting on a new broadband investment fund, specifically to support the deployment of new broadband networks.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the Honeywell TCAS II collision warning system for use in Typhoon fighter aircraft.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 March 2016 to Question 30090.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the Fourth Report of the Home Affairs Committee, on Reform of the Police Funding Formula, HC 476.

    Mike Penning

    We will respond to the Home Affairs Select Committee’s report as soon as we are in a position to do so.

    We have noted the Committee’s recommendations and are taking them into account as we consider the options for how best to take forward the work on the police funding formula.

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the NHS England Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group plans to make an announcement on the recommendations of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group.

    George Freeman

    The Specialised Services Commissioning Committee is due to meet at the end of June 2016. The recommendations of the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group will be announced after that meeting.

  • Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the net pay deductions from the salaries of Ministry of Defence fire fighters and fire officers reflect the full difference in the value of pension benefits accrued compared with staff of similar grades working for local authorities.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Net Pay Deduction (NPD) for Fire Officer grades, or abatement in the case of Fire-fighters, is the adjustment to the salaries of Defence Fire and Rescue Service (DFRS) personnel to allow for the differences between their pension arrangements and those of Local Authority Fire and Rescue Service ("LAFRS") employees.

    For Fire-fighter grades the abatement figure is a comparison of member contribution rates between the Civil Service Pension Schemes and the Local Authority Fire Pension Schemes. The abatement calculation makes allowance for the impact on the value of pension benefits which arises because MOD Fire-fighters pensions are based on an abated salary. The calculation of the abatement ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes being compared.

    For Fire Officer Grades the NPD has been calculated primarily by considering the differences in member contribution rates between the different pension schemes.

    The current NPD is 5.9% of pre-tax basic pay. In practice, an adjusted NPD, equal to 3.54% of pre-tax pay, is applied to Fire Officer salaries; this does not reduce the tax payable by the officer. For Fire Officers the NPD does not affect the salary used for pension purposes, so both pension benefits and member contributions are calculated based on salary before application of the NPD. The current NPD rate was introduced in 1993 and according to available information the calculation of the NPD ignores differences in pension benefits accrued between the schemes but may have taken account of wider pay issues.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans the Government has to allow the road rescue industry to use red lights when recovering broken down vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    There are no plans currently to allow the road rescue industry to use red lights when recovering broken down vehicles. There are a range of existing measures available to make rescue vehicles visible and warn others of their presence such as the use of roof mounted amber beacons and retro-reflective material to the side and rear.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 22 September (HL1905), what is their latest assessment of the financial costs faced by Kent County Council in supporting asylum-seeking children, and what additional funding they are offering that council to help it to do so.

    Lord Bates

    The Government recognises the outstanding work of Kent County Council in caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC). Home Office officials have met Kent officers to understand the additional financial pressures they facing as a result of the high numbers of UASC in their care and we continue to work through the detail. The Immigration Minister has met the Leader of Kent County Council to discuss the situation.

    As well as working with Kent, we believe a national response is required. We are working closely with the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Children’s Services to finalise plans for a new scheme to disperse unaccompanied child asylum seekers to the care of other local authorities.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 40 of the North East Devolution Agreement, what progress he has made on developing an agreed implementation, monitoring and evaluation plan for evaluating the impact of north east devolution.

    James Wharton

    Implementation, monitoring, and evaluation are key parts of any Devolution Deal, and my officials are working closely with representatives of the North East Combined Authority to ensure that we have robust arrangements in place.