Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Vietnamese government on human rights abuses and persecution of Christians.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Government is committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief around the world, and to being a strong voice internationally in defence of this fundamental right. We raise these and other human rights issues with the Vietnamese government regularly and at all levels. We also work with non-government organisations and likeminded embassies on human rights issues in Vietnam. I raised concerns about the general human rights situation in Vietnam with the Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister during the UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue in London in March 2016. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed human rights with the Vietnamese Prime Minister during his visit to Vietnam in April 2016. We will continue to raise these issues with the Vietnamese authorities, including a concerning report from Amnesty International which has just issued on the treatment of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which EU Commissioners he has met with since taking office; and when and where such meetings took place.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Prime Minister has been clear we will not give a running commentary on Brexit negotiations. We will ensure that we engage closely with all relevant interlocutors.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the length of time was that each person who successfully appealed against their deportation under the deport first, appeal later measures spent outside the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    Pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11080, that there had been 13 successful appeals, the additional data requested is not available. 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.

  • Teresa Pearce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Teresa Pearce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when the ministerial working group on preventing and tackling homelessness will next meet; and what the membership of that group is.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Ministerial Working Group on Homelessness will meet in the New Year. The group consists of Ministers from ten Departments – Ministry of Justice, Department for Education, Department of Health, Department for Work and Pensions, Cabinet Office, Ministry of Defence, Home Office, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Government Equalities Office, and Department for Communities and Local Government.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implementation to date of the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action on the Iranian nuclear programme.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Following Adoption Day in October, Iran has been undertaking the nuclear actions required under the Joint Comprehensive Plan for Action, including recently shipping 12.5 tonnes of enriched uranium to Russia. Iran has almost completed removing the necessary 13,000 centrifuges and put plans in place to remove the core of the Arak plutonium reactor. The International Atomic Energy Agency will verify that Iran has undertaken all of the necessary steps to trigger Implementation Day.

  • 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 steps the Government is taking to assist unaccompanied child refugees in Europe.

    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 Northern Ireland Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

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

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

    Mr Ben Wallace

    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.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to replace the fleet of mine countermeasure vessels after 2020.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence is currently undertaking a lengthy assessment phase for a replacement Mine Countermeasures and Hydrographic capability through multi-national co-operation; principally with France as part of the Lancaster House agreement. A range of options is being considered to modernise mine countermeasures systems and remove the man from the minefield through use of the latest unmanned technological solutions and remote operating systems. Decisions on the type and number of platforms which will operate these systems will follow later in programme

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many employees of (1) NHS England, and (2) Arden GEM Commissioning Support Unit, were seconded to the Special Projects Team in (a) 2014, and (b) 2015, and how many are currently seconded from each.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Special Projects Team (SPT) is a service hosted by Arden and GEM Commissioning Support Unit (CSU). In 2014 and 2015 the team had two full-time employees, one employed by NHS England, and then seconded to the CSU to work directly on SPT issues, and one person employed by the CSU (through the NHS Business Services Authority) working directly on SPT matters. This position continues at present.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s Written Statement of 21 April 2016, HCWS687, on refugees and resettlement, what (a) additional steps she has taken and (b) further steps she plans to take to implement and streamline the Dublin III Regulation process and to quickly identify children who qualify for family reunion across Europe.

    James Brokenshire

    We continue to work with a number of EU Member States and the European Asylum Sup-port Office (EASO) to ensure Dublin works effectively. We are in ongoing discussions with France, Italy and Greece, as well as the UNHCR, to ensure that we continue to have the right processes in place and the resources to make them work effectively.

    We have recently deployed two UK experts to the Greek Dublin Unit. We are currently providing bilateral support to the Italian Dublin Unit through a long term secondment. We are also due to deploy an additional UK expert to the Italian Dublin Unit shortly.

    Our work with France including the permanent official contact group and a recently sec-onded senior UK official to the French Dublin Unit to assist with the identification and transfer of cases has shown results of our collaborative efforts.

    The Home Office has a unit processing Dublin III asylum transfer requests from and to the United Kingdom. This unit comprises 78.34 full time equivalent managers, caseworkers and support staff. Staffing levels will remain in line with anticipated volumes.

    As announced on 4 May we are now looking to transfer children who were already present in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal came into force on 20 March, where it is in their best interests. It is important that we ensure we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in UK, as well ensuring we have the right support for those who may be brought to the UK from Europe. We are working with the relevant Member States, the UNHCR and other Non-Governmental Organisations and local authorities to establish the best way to implement the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 for the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK.