Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people held in immigration detention are (a) foreign national offenders convicted of immigration related offences, (b) foreign national offenders convicted of other offences and (c) non-foreign nationals.

    James Brokenshire

    At the end of June 2015, the proportion of people held in immigration detention who were foreign national offenders was 25% (884).

    It is not possible to provide a break-down of foreign national offenders convicted of immigration offences and foreign national offenders convicted of non-immigration offences. Such data is not aggregated in national reporting systems, which would mean these questions could only be answered through a disproportionately expensive manual case search to collate the data.

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department has not conducted economic impact assessments on proposed by-law changes (a) in general and (b) regarding the Raasay ranges.

    Mark Lancaster

    Under the byelaws review process there is no specific requirement to carry out an economic impact assessment.

    Following input received as part of the recent byelaw consultation process and due to local concerns, an economic impact assessment is currently being undertaken regarding Raasay Ranges. Its scope will reflect the MOD policy for such reports.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to work with farmers and land owners in areas susceptable to flooding to encourage them to allow parts of their land to flood to avoid flooding elsewhere.

    Rory Stewart

    Temporarily storing flood water on agricultural land can be a cost effective way of reducing risks elsewhere in a catchment, and where such schemes are planned, farmers/landowners are paid to store flood water on their land in a managed way, with payments being made to offset the damages caused by additional deliberate flooding that forms a part of the flood management scheme.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many flights were undertaken in fixed wing aircraft or helicopters to transport or carry Defence Nuclear Materials in the last five years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In the last five years, 23 flights carrying Defence Nuclear Materials (DNM) were undertaken. All flights were between the UK and the United States on fixed wing aircraft under the control of UK Armed Forces. No such flights passed over Scotland, or involved the use of helicopters.

    I am withholding details of the physical state, mass and radiological quantity of DNM transported as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice national security.

    The transport of DNM is carried out to the highest standard in accordance with stringent safety regulations. In over 50 years of transporting DNM in the UK, there has never been an incident that has posed any radiation hazard to the public or to the environment.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations were (a) made by his Department to pub companies and (b) received from such companies on the recruitment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator.

    Anna Soubry

    No such representations were made or received.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the current level of housing provisions; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the most vulnerable have access to suitable housing.

    Brandon Lewis

    There was an estimated 23.4 million dwellings in England as of 31 March 2014, an increase of 137,000 dwellings on the previous year. This includes 4 million social and affordable rented dwellings (Private Registered Providers plus local authority tenures) (1).

    We are doubling the housing budget to deliver one million more homes, including spending £8 billion to build 400,000 new affordable housing starts by 2021, the biggest new affordable homes programme since the 1970s, and committing £2.3 billion towards delivering 200,000 new Starter Homes.

    (1) Source: DCLG Dwelling Stock Estimate, 2014, England
    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/423249/Dwelling_Stock_Estimates_2014_England.pdf

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has received on (a) noise and dust and (b) other disruptions affecting local residents caused by current major road works on the M6; and whether he has considered taking steps to reduce that disruption to those residents by those works.

    Andrew Jones

    Since work commenced on the smart motorway upgrade on the M6 between junctions 16 and 19 in December 2015, a total of 4 representations from local residents have been made to Highways England in regards to noise from the construction work. These representations were also made to Cheshire East County Council, who made Highways England aware of them.

    A further 4 representations have been made concerning an increase in traffic on the A50 to the east of the M6 due to vehicles choosing to divert on to the local road network to avoid the roadworks on the motorway. This concern was also raised with Highways England by Brereton Parish Council.

    A number of measures are in place to reduce the disruption to local people including the use of temporary noise screens to minimise noise from excavation works near homes and dust suppression measures. Highways England are in regular communication by letter, email and newsletter with local people to keep them informed about up-coming works.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a strategy for ensuring that classes in English are provided for refugees as soon as possible after refugee status has been granted.

    Mike Penning

    We are working towards achieving more integrated communities and creating the conditions for everyone to live and work successfully alongside each other.

    Those who are granted refugee status are given access to the labour market, mainstream benefits and housing assistance from their local authority. There are therefore no plans to allow refugees to stay in asylum support accommodation.

    The Home Office offers integration loans to recognised refugees. The loan is designed to help refugees integrate into UK society by offering financial support towards housing costs, employment and training.

    The Home Office also funds strategic migration partnerships which provide coordination and support services for those organisations working with migrants and refugees in local communities.

    Earlier this year the Government announced that £20 million of additional funding for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses would be introduced in October 2016. This funding will reach the most isolated communities in the UK.

  • John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to close the UK ivory market; and if she will make a statement.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government is deeply concerned by the continued poaching of elephants for their ivory, which is why we are committed to maintaining the current global ban on any international trade in new ivory. The UK has made no formal assessment of the impact of other countries’ additional measures to restrict trade in ivory. However, as a further step in delivering the Government’s manifesto commitment to press for a total ban on ivory sales, on 21 September the Secretary of State announced plans for a ban on sales of items containing ivory dated between 1947 and the present day, putting UK rules on ivory sales among the world’s toughest. We will consult on plans for the ban early next year. This will complement the existing UK approach not to permit the trade of raw ivory tusks.

    The Government also successfully lobbied for the EU-wide adoption of the existing UK ban on sales of raw ivory tusks, which was advocated through the EU Council Conclusions on an EU Action Plan on Wildlife Trafficking and adopted in June. This urged EU Member States not to issue export or re-export documents under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) for raw, pre-Convention ivory (pre-1990) and to consider further measures to put a halt to commercial trade in ivory from elephants.

    At the CITES Conference that took place from 24 September to 5 October the UK was involved in negotiations that successfully secured a strong agreement calling for the closure of domestic ivory markets where they contribute to poaching or illegal trade. This was agreed by all 183 Parties to CITES.

  • Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support refugees from Iran; and what recent assessment she has made of the safety of Iranian refuges in Iraq.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Since 2011, the UK has provided £163 million of core funding to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to deliver protection and assistance to refugees globally. The UK works with the Government of Iraq, Kurdish Regional Government, the UN and the international community to support the rights of all minorities and to ensure our aid reaches those in greatest need.