Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if her Department will increase its contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

    James Wharton

    The Global Fund has announced its 2017-2019 replenishment target – seeking to mobilise US$13billion to save 8 million lives and avert up to 300 million new infections. The UK is planning to support a successful Fifth Replenishment of a strong, value for money Global Fund and a decision on the size of our investment will be made later in the summer.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff on the payroll of his Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Mr John Hayes

    Many staff self-declare their nationality on the staff system. Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks and copies of this evidence are held on file for the duration of the person’s employment and for a further two years after they cease working for the department.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will discuss with the government of Turkey measures to slow the rate at which refugees and migrants leave Turkey, and the feasibility of their having European interviews before they leave that country.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has strong bilateral relations with Turkey and regularly discusses a number of issues, including migration. The Government recently announced that the UK will resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over the lifetime of this Parliament – this will include a number from Turkey. The Government supports Turkey’s efforts to manage the flow of illegal migration, and maintain an effective border between Turkey and the EU. Turkey is responsible for refugees on its territory and EU Member States are responsible for interviewing and deciding asylum claims lodged on their territories. There are no plans to create a mechanism to allow asylum interviews to be conducted in Turkey on behalf of EU countries.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle online fraud.

    Mike Penning

    The Government takes fraud including online fraud incredibly seriously. That is why we established the Economic Crime Command and the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency to tackle the most sophisticated international cybercriminals and fraudsters. We have also made significant investment in Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, both operated by City of London Police, to improve our intelligence on fraud and provide a better disruption response.

    We are also investing in regional and local police capabilities to tackle fraud. This includes, establishing cyber teams at a regional level to support the National Crime Agency and local forces in more complex digital investigations, training police officers and staff in how to identify and secure evidence on digital devices, and launching a network of police officers to offer advice on cybercrime and fraud to individuals and businesses across the country.

    Furthermore, as the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9billion. Many successful frauds and cybercrimes could be prevented. Through the most recent phase of our Cyber Streetwise campaign, we are helping to educate the public and businesses on the importance of adopting simple security measures, such as installing security software and stronger passwords.

    Industry also has a role to play in fraud and cyber crime prevention. That is why we are working with the banking sector and law enforcement agencies to more effectively disrupt fraudsters and protect victims. This work will be a key part of the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, which the Government intends to publish next year.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to improve broadband and mobile phone coverage in rural areas.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    UK superfast coverage is now almost 90 per cent of premises and we have made it available to 3.5 million homes and businesses and that will rise to over 5 million by the end of 2017.As the Prime Minister announced in November, the Government also intends to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has undertaken impact assessments for different regions of the UK on developing Sunday trading regulations; and what assessment his Department has made of any particular effects of such devolving of regulations on rural and semi-rural areas.

    Anna Soubry

    My Department has carried out an assessment of the impacts of devolving the power to extend Sunday trading hours.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received regarding the Civil Aviation Authority’s consultation on air display and low-flying permission charges; what (a) estimate of the cost and (b) assessment of the timeframe of implementing those proposals he has made; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Twelve Honourable Members have sent me thirteen letters from constituents about the Civil Aviation Authority’s consultation on air display and low-flying permission charges, which itself received 534 responses. Two individuals have written directly to me. A related parliamentary petition 120628 has received over 14,400 signatures. The Civil Aviation Authority consulted the Secretary of State on 8 March about this scheme of charges. I intend to respond shortly.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times on which dates in 2014 specialist contractors were used to facilitate the enforced return to Yemen of people from that country who had unsuccessfully claimed asylum in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    All escorting services to facilitate enforced returns are provided by the Home Office’s main contractor, Tascor. In 2014, detainee custody officers from the Pilgrims Group, who are sub-contracted by Tascor were used on one occasion on 23rd July to facilitate the enforced return of an individual to Yemen.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with BT on the time taken to repair faulty telephone lines.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ministers have raised the issue of the time taken for service requests and repairs with senior management at BT and Openreach.

    Government supports the measures Ofcom announced in its Digital Communications Review to address the problem across all communication service providers, including: raising minimum standards for the time taken to install new lines and make repairs; and encouraging proactive behaviour in the maintenance of the network. Government expects Openreach’s performance to be consistently above the minimum standard.

  • Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kelvin Hopkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kelvin Hopkins on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether under the terms of its franchise agreement Govia Thameslink Railway is required to consult stakeholders before introducing a change to the timetable for its services.

    Paul Maynard

    For planned timetable changes, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is required to consult stakeholders before introducing them. However, when – as is the case for the revised timetable which came into effect on Southern and Gatwick Express services on 11 July a revised timetable has been introduced to mitigate the impact of official and unofficial industrial action – no consultation is required. GTR has an overriding obligation to act in the overall interests of passengers and to take all reasonable measures to avoid or reduce the impact of any disruption.