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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of UK citizens imprisoned abroad in each country.

    James Duddridge

    We collect global detainee statistics twice a year. On 30 September 2015 we were aware of 2,003 British nationals detained overseas (either pre- or post- sentencing). The largest numbers are detained in USA (499), Spain (186), Ireland (173), Australia (155) and France (102).

  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to stop the further displacement of civilians in Iraq, particularly in Mosul, due to continued military action by coalition forces there.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is working with the Government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the UN and international partners to ensure that all Coalition-supported military operations against Daesh in Iraq are under-pinned by comprehensive plans to minimise and manage expected displacement, and provide humanitarian assistance and stabilisation support. The Foreign Secretary, my Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson), raised these issues with international partners at the counter-Daesh Coalition Ministerial meeting in Washington on 20-21 July.

    On 20 July, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), announced £10.5 million in additional UK funding for stabilisation in Iraq, we expect a significant proportion of our contribution to support efforts in and around Mosul. This announcement brings the UK’s Iraq contributions on immediate stabilisation to £9.25 million, and on explosive hazards to £7.75 million.

    Since summer 2014, the UK has pledged £129.5 million of humanitarian support. This includes £50 million of additional assistance announced on 20 July 2016.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reviewing the medical exemption criteria of prescription charges for people with long-term health conditions.

    David Mowat

    We have no plans to change the list of medical conditions which provide for exemption from prescription charges. Extending this exemption would have significant cost implications at a time when the National Health Service is facing increased demand and is expected to deliver efficiency savings of £22 billion by 2020.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many women were present as representatives at the recent meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIL in London.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    On 28-29 October, the UK hosted the fourth meeting of the Global Coalition’s Communications Working Group, along with our Coalition Co-Chairs, the United Arab Emirates and the US. Ministers and senior officials from 32 Coalition countries participated. 149 delegates were involved in the meeting over the two days, of whom 43 were women.

    The meeting focused on digital communications and what more coalition governments could do, in partnership with civil society and digital industry, to promote positive voices and to ensure those promoting extremism and violent extremism online were not left unchallenged.

    The meeting agreed that highlighting women’s voices was a key part of the Coalition’s response to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s propaganda.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Harrow West, sent on 25 November 2015, about the immigration applications of Ms Raize Khan, Miss Radia Khan and Miss Aneela Khan; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office replied to the hon. Member on 18 December 2015.

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the evidential basis is for tax relief on pension contributions encouraging savings in pension schemes.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government launched a consultation on the future of pensions tax relief at the Summer Budget 2015. The Government has been consulting on whether there is a case for reforming pensions tax relief to strengthen incentives to save, and offer savers greater simplicity and transparency, or whether it would be best to keep with the current system. The Government will publish its response to the consultation at Budget 2016.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the statistics it produces on homelessness and rough sleeping comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics in relation to each of the requirements identified by the UK Statistics Authority in its report, Assessment of compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics: Statistics on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping in England, published in December 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Departmental statisticians are currently using the report to help plan future developments in homelessness statistics.

    In 2010, we overhauled the way local authorities count rough sleepers, to provide a more accurate assessment of the scale of the problem and reflect the reality on the streets.

    Under the Labour Government, including when the rt hon Member was Housing Minister, the process did not actually require all local authorities to submit a return, meaning the number of rough sleepers was consistently under estimated.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what (a) recent steps he has taken and (b) mechanisms he has introduced to increase the efficiency of work between government departments.

    Matthew Hancock

    Improving efficiency, both across Government and between government departments, is central to the work of the Cabinet Office. By 2014/15 the Government had saved £18.6 billion through efficiency and reform, and tackling fraud, error and uncollected debt (against a 2009/10 baseline). This includes saving:

    • £6.1bn by improving how government buys goods, and services.

    • Generating £1.8bn net capital receipts and saving £750 million from reducing the annual running cost of the estate.

    • £4.6bn by addressing waste and inefficiency in construction and reducing costs in major projects.

    • £700m through reducing losses from fraud and error.

    In autumn 2015 the Spending Review announced a range of additional measures to further improve effect and joint working between departments. These include co-locating Civil Servants though the Government Hubs programme, and introducing shared ICT though Common Technology Services and the Common Platforms Programme.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to Ministers: quarterly return October to December 2015, published on 24 March 2016, whom he met during the visit to Kuwait that began on 26 November 2015; and what the agenda was at those meetings.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    I travelled to Kuwait on 26 November 2015 to co-chair the seventh UK-Kuwait Joint Steering Group meeting with my Kuwaiti counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al Jarallah. This six-monthly discussion covers a range of bilateral issues, including migration, healthcare, defence, security, education, energy and trade. In addition to the Steering Group, I also had bilateral meetings with the Deputy Foreign Minister and the Minister for Cabinet Affairs, which focussed on Gulf Strategy, Typhoon, COP21 and regional and humanitarian issues.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with medical organisations on using DNA tests to help in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

    Jane Ellison

    We are not aware of any discussions with medical organisations on using DNA tests to help in the diagnosis, and treatment, of breast cancer.