Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of reports by the Chief of Staff of Europol that 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees may have disappeared in Europe in 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    Unaccompanied children in other EU countries should be able to access the support needed in those countries. The European countries in which they arrive have international obligations and a duty to provide adequate protection and support to refugees within their territory.

    We are working closely with UN agencies, NGOs and the Member States involved to ensure that protection is provided. We will provide further resources to the European Asylum Support Office to help in border “hotspots” in Greece and Italy to help identify and register children at risk on first arrival in the EU.

    The Government remains concerned about the needs of vulnerable children on the move in Europe and the Balkans, and the needs of those who become stranded along the route. The UK has therefore increased its aid to refugees and migrants, including children, in Europe and the Balkans to £46 million, divided among the most affected countries and including specific support of £2.75 million to UNICEF, which will benefit 27,000 children. In addition, the Department for International Development (DFID) is creating a new fund of up to £10 million to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children in Europe, the Refugee Children Fund for Europe.

    This will include targeted support to meet the specific needs of unaccompanied and separated children who face additional risks. The support will be delivered through a range of UN agencies and NGOs. Unaccompanied children that have a close family link to the UK and claim asylum in another EU country may be entitled to be transferred to the UK under the family unity provisions of the Dublin Regulation. We want to ensure we reunite children with any close family in the UK as quickly and as safely as possible, and we work closely with EU partners on this issue.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

    David Mundell

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30444, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Government’s proposal for every school to become an academy on the responsibility of local authorities to provide sufficient school places.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities (LAs) have a legal obligation to ensure that there are sufficient local schools to provide a primary and secondary place for all children needing one. Supporting LAs to do this continues to be one of the Government’s top priorities. That is why we have committed to spending £7 billion on school places up to 2021, which, alongside investment in the free schools programme, we expect to create 600,000 new places.

    LAs have always relied on their strong relationships with local schools to deliver the places needed and this will remain the case in a fully academised system. LAs will continue to be advocates for their electorate, challenging school providers to deliver high educational standards and better outcomes for all children.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions she has had with the French government and EDF on whether there will be changes to the timetable for the development of Hinkley Point C.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are in close contact with EDF and the French Government regarding the Hinkley Point C project. EDF are confident that the plant will begin generating electricity in 2025.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the contribution of the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 374, how many (a) cases of offshore tax evasion were investigated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and (b) individuals were subject to criminal investigation for offshore tax evasion by HMRC in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) undertakes a broad range of civil compliance activity to tackle offshore tax evasion. No definitive year by year assessment of the total number of HMRC investigations applying civil sanctions is recorded. Over 1,100 cases of offshore evasion are currently under investigation, with more than 90 individuals currently being investigated for offshore offences.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many flights for the purposes of deporting people whose asylum or human rights claims were refused were chartered by the Government in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office charter flights are used to remove individuals who have been refused asylum in the UK, but also individuals who have committed other immigration and criminal offences. Home Office records indicate that there were 45 charters in 2012, 48 in 2013, 46 in 2014, 38 in 2015 and 18 to date in 2016.

    In addition to charter flights the Home Office also removes people via scheduled commercial services.

    This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his assessment is of the adequacy of the availability of talking therapies to young people.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Future in Mind report published in March 2015 which followed the work of the Taskforce into Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing recognised the lack of access to treatment for children and young people with mental health difficulties. This suggested that less than 25% – 35% of children and young people with a diagnosable mental health condition, based on epidemiological data from 2005, accessed support. In response to this, the Government committed to realising the vision set out in Future in Mind to deliver a major, system-wide transformation in children and young people’s mental health services. This aims to improve access to services and make evidence-based psychological therapies, also known as talking therapies, more widely available across the country for those children and young people who need them.

    To support this transformation, an additional £1.4 billion funding has been made available over the course of this Parliament for spending on children and young people’s mental health. This will be used to improve community-based services so that young people are helped earlier and are less likely to need to go into hospital. It will also enable the expansion and extension of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme so that children and young people are able to access high quality and evidence-based interventions wherever they live.

    All clinical commissioning groups have been asked to work with their partners to develop Local Transformation Plans to transform their local offer to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. These Plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues; from prevention and improving access to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problem to ensuring that inpatient services are available for those who need them.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of suicides by men aged 18 to 45.

    Alistair Burt

    We know that men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. The highest United Kingdom suicide rate in 2013 by broad age group was among men aged 45 to 59. We also know that suicide is the leading cause of death in England and Wales for men aged between 20 and 34 years of age.

    In September 2012, the Department launched ‘Preventing Suicide in England: a cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives’. This strategy aims to reduce the suicide rate and improve support for those affected by suicide and was informed by an earlier consultation on preventing suicide in England. The strategy outlines six areas for action including, reducing the risk of suicide in key high-risk groups, including men aged under 50, reducing access to the means of suicide and supporting research, data collection and monitoring.

    We provide financial support for the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and work with a range of experts and partner organisations to deliver suicide prevention activities across all age groups. I will be meeting experts again shortly to advance the strategy.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons the projected in-service date for the first of the Successor class submarines has been delayed by two years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Designing and building submarines is one of the largest programmes and one of the most complex activities that the Ministry of Defence and UK Industry has ever undertaken. It is the purpose of a design phase to improve our understanding of costs and timescales, which we have now done. The current estimates reflect what we have learned since the design phase began.

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2015 (Cm9161), our latest estimate of the total cost to manufacture the four Successor submarines reflects greater maturity of the design and understanding of the supply chain, amounts to £31 billion; we will also set a contingency of £10 billion. This level of contingency represents about 35% of the costs to completion and is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20190, if he will make it his policy to collect centrally the number of (a) young carers accessing Children and Adolescene Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and (b) children provided with young carers assessments following contact with CAMHS.

    Alistair Burt

    This Government has no plans to collect this data centrally. The Government’s focus remains on promoting and supporting proper and effective multi-agency working and whole family approaches to assessment and support.

    This Government is committed to delivering the vision set out in Future in mind and is driving forward the transformation of children and young people’s mental health services to improve access and make services more widely available across the country so that, where possible, children can access high-quality support locally including vulnerable children which includes young carers.