Tag: Parliamentary Question

Ian C. Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what meetings he has had with Ministers from the Cabinet Office at which the privatisation of Channel 4 was discussed in August and September 2015.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Secretary of State meets regularly with Ministers from the Cabinet Office to discuss matters relating to DCMS policy. The government has made no decisions regarding reform of Channel 4. The government is considering a range of options as to how best to ensure Channel 4’s future sustainability while maintaining its ability to deliver against its remit, including options put forward by Channel 4.

January 1, 2023
Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assistance and advice her Department is providing to UK volunteers offering assistance to refugees in Calais.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office is in regular discussions with French counterparts at ministerial and official level on all aspects of the migrant situation in Calais. The French Government is responsible for the care of migrants in Calais, including support over the winter. However, both governments are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. One aspect of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August, committed the UK to providing a £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

The UK and French Governments are unified in their response to the migratory phenomenon and both governments recognise the importance of close partnership and collaboration to reach a long-term solution. This is a global challenge, and we will also work together to ensure that other EU states, as well as source and transit countries outside Europe, are doing everything they ought to be to stop people making these dangerous journeys in the first place.

January 1, 2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN and the International Criminal Court to ensure they take action in cases in which civilian populations are besieged and deprived of food and medicines as a method of waging war.

James Duddridge

The United Kingdom has co-sponsored resolutions at the United Nations Security Council that call for an end to indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including illegal siege tactics and obstructing the flow of humanitarian aid. The International Criminal Court can take action when a war crime or crime against humanity is suspected to have been committed in or by a country which is party to the Rome Statute, or when a situation is referred to them by the UN Security Council. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited in international and internal conflicts. We will continue to work with our international partners to look at every available option to ensure all State and non-state actors engaged in armed conflict respect International Humanitarian Law and act in accordance with their obligations there under.

January 1, 2023
Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of (a) unauthorised entries to military bases and (b) thefts or losses of classified material between 2014 and 2015.

Mark Lancaster

The apparent increase in incidents is attributed to security awareness programmes and a strengthened reporting regime. These have led to an increasing readiness to report even minor breaches and do not represent systematic failings in security protection.

January 1, 2023
Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) legal fees for employment tribunals for the last twelve months, where invoices have so far been received (January 2015 – December 2015), total £46,385.52. The FCO is in the process of recovering £3,000 of this following a Costs Order in our favour.

January 1, 2023
Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to promote the take-up of employee ownership schemes by small and medium-sized businesses in each nation of the UK.

Anna Soubry

In 2012, the previous Government asked Graeme Nuttall to advise on what more could be done to increase the number of businesses with employee ownership. The Nuttall Review identified 28 recommendations to address three main constraints: lack of awareness of the concept; lack of resources to support the model; and actual or perceived legal, tax and other regulatory barriers. The action taken to address the recommendations is explained in the ‘The Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership – One Year On’ report published in November 2013 and available on the gov.uk website.

The Government now expects the private sector to make the business case for this model through organisations such as the Employee Ownership Association – the representative body for employee-owned businesses.

Ongoing encouragement for employee ownership is provided through four approved share schemes which have tax-advantages for both employees and employers. These are the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP), Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), Save As You Earn (SAYE) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) which are administered by HMRC. In 2013-14 the total value of shares and options awarded under these schemes was around £3.45bn with over £1bn of income tax and national insurance relief given.

January 1, 2023
Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-04-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an equality assessment has been carried out regarding the move of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills office from Sheffield to London, and if so, what the findings were.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

An Equality Analysis on both the proposed move of all policy posts to London, and the proposed closure of the Sheffield office, has been carried out.

The Equality Analysis and findings have already been shared with the Departmental Trade Unions as part of the consultation.

January 1, 2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made on negotiations with the Libyan government on plans to tackle human trafficking and smuggling.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK, working with our international partners, is committed to working in partnership with the new Libyan government to take concrete action to tackle illegal migration through Libya. The Prime Minister has been clear on the need to do more to break the business model of the people smugglers. At the G7 Summit in Japan on 27 May, he announced that the UK will work to agree a plan to boost the capability of the Libyan coastguard to help stem the flow of illegal migration across the Mediterranean into Europe. Prime Minister Serraj wrote to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, on 21 May requesting cooperation with the EU on the training of the Libyan coastguard. Once a detailed plan has been agreed with the Libyan authorities, the UK will send a training team to assist in its implementation, and as soon as the relevant permissions and UN Security Council Resolution are in place, we will deploy a naval vessel to the South Central Mediterranean to combat arms trafficking in the region. Together these developments will help secure the coast of Libya, limit Daesh terrorists’ freedom of movement and help tackle the migrant crisis.

January 1, 2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many performance meetings the Departmental Board has held since his appointment; and how many of those meetings he has attended.

David Mowat

The frequency of performance meetings held by the Departmental Board and how many of these were attended by the Secretary of State for Health is published in the Annual Reports and Accounts which can be located via the following links to the Gov.UK website for each financial year of his term –

2012-13	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013
2013-14	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-of-health-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014
2014-15	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447002/DH_accounts_14-15_web.pdf
2015-16	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/539602/DH_Annual_Report_Web.pdf

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January 1, 2023

Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of projects that foster co-operation and co-existence have had on the prospects of securing lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Rory Stewart

Projects that foster cooperation and coexistence can help to build understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, and maintain a constituency of support for peace. The Secretary of State is currently assessing options for providing further support to coexistence programmes.

January 1, 2023