Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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 people on removal flights from the UK in the last 12 months had (a) lived in the UK for over 20 years and (b) still had family in the UK when they were removed.

    James Brokenshire

    This information is not captured in our standard reports. To obtain this would require a manual search of the Home Office Case Information Database. The Information requested could therefore only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2015 to Question 43633, what the terms are of his Department’s emergency loan agreement for British nationals overseas who require assistance from public funds to pay for repatriation; and what provision his Department makes for people who cannot afford the repayment conditions.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    When a British national (BN) enters into an emergency loan agreement with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) they sign a form to declare that they have exhausted all other methods of helping themselves, and accept the sum of the debt in its entirety. By signing the form, the BN is acknowledging that if they do not repay the loan within 6 months, the remaining balance will be subject to a surcharge of 10%; and that the total amount loaned to them must be repaid within five years. Failure to repay the debt may result in legal proceedings to recover monies owed.

    In most cases, people are also required to agree to give up their passport. In all cases they must acknowledge that Her Majesty’s Passport Office will not process an application for a new passport until the debt is paid in full. They must also consent for the Department for Work and Pensions to release to the FCO such information as may be relevant in respect of any non-payment.

    We know that some individuals face difficulties in repaying their loan. When agreeing to the terms of the loan agreement we advise people to contact the FCO upon their return to the UK to discuss the options for loan repayment.

  • Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what representations she has made to energy companies to ensure they pass on reductions in the wholesale price of gas and electricity to the consumer.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC ministers and officials meet with energy companies on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.

    The government expects suppliers to make sure any reductions in the costs of supplying energy are passed to consumers.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of concerns about the increase in antibiotic resistance, what assessment they have made of the recent study by researchers at King’s College London, published in the British Journal of General Practice, reporting a link between patient satisfaction and the prescription of antibiotics, in particular given that patient satisfaction is a contributory factor to GPs’ performance-related pay.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government is aware of the research from King’s College, which shows the pressures that general practitioners face to prescribe antibiotics, even when they are not clinically appropriate.

    We have already taken steps to address this issue, in particular, through measures to educate the public on the value of antibiotics and when the use of these drugs is inappropriate. For example, the Public Health England (PHE) is undertaking work to reduce antibiotic prescribing in general practice through low cost and scalable interventions designed by behavioural scientists. In addition, PHE has developed the Antibiotic Guardian campaign to improve prescribing behaviours amongst healthcare professionals and to encourage the public to use antibiotics responsibly. Furthermore, all prescribers are encouraged to support antimicrobial stewardship by following guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence on antimicrobial stewardship, published in August 2015.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many inspections have been carried out into the quality of the food served to UK Armed Forces in each of the last five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    All food procured for Ministry of Defence (MOD) personnel must comply with MOD food quality standards. These standards comply with all UK and EU production standards, Farm Assurance or equivalent. The Defence Food Quality Standards (DFQS) establishes the minimum quality criteria that the Department requires a supplier to deliver. It sets the standard of what food and ingredients should be provided as part of the contracts to provide nutritious and balanced meals to Service Personnel. The DFQS publication is available online through the gov.uk website at:

    (www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479299/20151006-DFQS-V12-U.pdf).

    The MOD requires all of its food suppliers to comply with both EU and National legislation whilst operating to industry standards and monitors the suppliers’ compliance with the DFQS through a combination of product testing and conducting inspections of their premises/production facilities.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vessels (a) completed and (b) failed to complete the C1331 customs declaration form in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The table below outlines the number of completed C1331 customs declaration forms received by Border Force in each of the last 5 years. This data has been drawn from basic IT systems used for management information which are not subject to internal quality checks and may be subject to change.

    Year

    Number of completed C1331 Forms received by Border Force

    2011

    408

    2012

    331

    2013

    399

    2014

    391

    2015

    319

    There are no records held that could adequately answer the question of how many vessels failed to complete the C1331 form.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 4 March 2016, HCWS581, whether the gift of 40 Land Rovers to Bulgaria counts towards (a) the target two per cent of GDP on defence spending and (b) 0.7 per cent of GNI on Overseas Development Assistance.

    Michael Fallon

    No and no.

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will update national and planning policies to (a) account for shale operations and (b) introduce buffer zones between shale developments and local communities.

    James Wharton

    The National Planning Policy Framework and supporting guidance sets out a comprehensive approach to planning for shale gas extraction in England. Planning guidance includes the use of buffer zones in the determination of planning applications for hydrocarbon extraction, including from shale. This states that above ground separation distances are acceptable in specific circumstances where it is clear that, based on site specific assessments and other forms of mitigation measures (such as working scheme design and landscaping), a certain distance is required between the boundary of the minerals site and the adjacent development.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Financial Conduct Authority is taking to enforce rules which prevent misleading advertisement by credit brokers.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    This Government supports the system of co-regulation and self-regulation, overseen by the independent Advertising Standards Authority and underpinned by consumer protection legislation. This regulatory system is independent of the Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising, ensuring that all adverts, wherever they appear, are legal, decent, honest and truthful. The Government believes the system has worked well, suitably serving consumers and is sufficiently flexible to deal with both technological advances and new evidence.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether measures are in place to prevent people remanded in custody from distributing passwords for social media platforms for use by people not in custody.

    Andrew Selous

    An extensive programme of work is underway to prevent prisoners having access to mobile phones. As the Prime Minister said on 8 February 2016, we are working with the mobile network operators to challenge them to do more, including developing new technological solutions, so we can block mobile phones’ signals in prisons.

    Although there are no rules to prevent prisoners on remand from passing on passwords for social media platforms, prisoners, including those on remand in custody, are not allowed access to social media platforms either directly or via a third party.

    It is a criminal offence for a person to take or transmit any image or sound from within a prison and send it outside the prison and where a link between a prisoner and content posted on social media is identified, the case will be referred to the police. A sentence of up to two years can be given if those charged are found guilty. If the police decide not to pursue a criminal investigation, a prisoner can be punished under the prison disciplinary system, for example, by having privileges removed or additional days added to their time in prison.