UKPOL.CO.UK

Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many overseas visits he has made for the purpose of negotiating trade deals since his appointment as Secretary of State.

    Greg Hands

    As we leave the EU, Britain will seek to become the global leader in free trade. Ministers and officials in the Department for International Trade are making overseas visits to a wide range of markets, in order to promote the UK as a great place to do business and with which to trade. Through these discussions, we are working to ensure we take advantage of all the opportunities available to us, including through our future trading relationships.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141, what steps he is taking to implement the commitment to double the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education by 2020.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have already taken significant steps. In particular, from 2015/16, we have removed the cap on student numbers. Publicly funded institutions can now recruit as many students as they wish if they deem them to be suitable. We have also established a stronger framework with increased responsibility placed on providers to widen access. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

    The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 set out steps the Government plan to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education. Further progress will come from the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what processes are in place to ensure that all finances of both parties are disclosed when divorce proceedings are commenced.

    Caroline Dinenage

    In England and Wales, the division of property on divorce is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. A court will not make a financial order in a divorce case unless it is satisfied that each party has made a full and frank disclosure of their financial circumstances. Each party in a divorce is under a legal duty to make full and frank disclosure of all material facts to the other party and to the court and must sign a Statement of Truth to that effect.

    If the court is of the view that one party has deliberately failed or refused to make full and frank disclosure and has concealed his or her true financial circumstances from the other party, it can impose a costs penalty on the dishonest party. In more serious cases, individuals who fail to disclose the full extent of their assets could find themselves in contempt of court and be at risk of imprisonment. If, following a judgment, it is discovered that assets have not been properly disclosed and the judgment would have been different if there had been full disclosure it is possible to apply to the court to have the judgment set aside to be reconsidered.

    We recently reviewed Form E in light of an error being identified in the automatic calculations and we have amended the function of the form to ensure the calculation facility is now correct. The Ministry of Justice and the HM Courts and Tribunals Service have published advice regarding Form E at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/divorce-form-information

    “

  • Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the annual value is of exports from Scotland to the EU.

    David Mundell

    The latest annual National Statistics published by the Scottish Government on 26 January 2015 – Scotland’s Global Connection Survey (GCS) for 2013 – shows that Scotland exported a total of £27.9bn of international export in services and goods,of which £12.9bn went to the EU 28.

  • 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 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on potential links between prostate cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no such discussions.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government is providing for Yazidi women who have been enslaved by Daesh; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    To date, the UK has committed £79.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. This assistance is reaching hundreds of thousands of people across Iraq, including the most vulnerable groups, such as Yazidis. All UK-funded aid is distributed on the basis of need, regardless of race, religion and ethnicity.

    The UK is the largest donor to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund which, amongst other projects, has funded specialist protection and rehabilitation for escapees of Daesh terror in Iraq.

  • The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what conversations they have had with the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, General Kamalesh Sharma, about the role Commonwealth countries can play in supporting peace and development in Burundi, and what plans they have to raise that matter with the new Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Scotland of Asthal.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK recognises the important role Commonwealth countries can play in supporting peace and development in all countries, including Burundi. Commonwealth members Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya play a particularly important role in supporting peace and development in Burundi as part of the East African Community-led dialogue with Burundi. In December 2015, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), visited Uganda and Rwanda where he highlighted the deteriorating situation in Burundi and urged regional players to take concrete steps together to find a political solution. The Parliamentary Under Secretary for International Development, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Nick Hurd), discussed the situation in Burundi with the Tanzanian Foreign Minister on 29 January.

    The UK did not have any conversations specifically on peace and development in Burundi with former Commonwealth Secretary-General, General Kamalesh Sharma but we will look for opportunities to discuss Burundi with the new Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon the Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will publish the findings of the Ricardo Energy and Environment report into benchmarking for the Phase IV of the EU Emissions Trading System; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    In 2015, the Department of Energy & Climate Change commissioned Ricardo Energy and Environment and Vivid Economics to undertake a study into sectoral benchmarks used to determine levels of free allocation in the next phase of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The study is progressing and, once complete, we will use the findings to inform EU ETS reform negotiations as well as considering publication in due course.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on workforce numbers in the NHS of the UK withdrawing from the EU.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No immediate assessment has been made of the potential effect on workforce numbers in the National Health Service of the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union.

    As we plan a new relationship with the EU, this Government will continue to ensure the NHS is able to recruit and retain the workforce required to provide high quality care.

  • 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 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to work with other countries to seek the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of forced organ harvesting in China.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have no plans to seek the establishment of an International Commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of forced organ harvesting in China.