Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on preventing the practice of capturing and breaking young elephants in India for use in the tourism industry.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are aware of reports that some elephants in use in the tourist industry in India have been captured as calves and then beaten and mistreated. This practice is illegal in India. Officials in London have discussed this issue with Save The Asian Elephant (STAE), an organisation that works to stop this cruel treatment.

    The UK is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border, illegal trade in live animals to feed the demand by the tourist and entertainment industries. The UK has been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in discussion with elephant range states, including India, to increase protection for Asian elephants. We secured agreement from the Indian government in 2014 for elephant range states to put in place measures to prevent illegal trade in live elephants.

    It is not for the Government to make British citizens aware of this practice. However, we will continue to work together with the Indian authorities, as well as STAE and other non-governmental organisations, on protecting elephants.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for the replacement of radar capable of distinguishing between wind turbines and missiles at its Hebridean range.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Air space management and missile tracking activity at the Hebrides Test and Evaluation Range requires interaction between three local radar systems. A technical upgrade of one radar system was undertaken earlier this year including capability to potentially mitigate the detection of aircraft type targets from possible interference from wind turbines. In the next few years it is also planned to replace a second radar system, although on current plans this will not include capability to mitigate wind turbine interference. There are no plans to replace the third radar system which is not susceptible to interference from wind turbines.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of efficiency savings arising from his Department’s digital strategies in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    DCMS has made significant savings by working with the Government Digital Service to streamline it’s IT services, in line with other Government departments. Cabinet Office and DCMS now share a technology platform for common technology systems, which has allowed the Department to reduce its annual running IT costsfrom £3.79 million to £1.75 million – a saving of over £2 million per year (this does not include capital costs or costs associated with DCMS specific business systems or projects.) Due to costs associated with adapting to the new system, savings in 2014-15 were approximately a third of that.

  • Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Catherine West – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Chinese government on the imprisonment of Liu Xiaobo.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China, and consistently raise the range of our concerns with the Chinese authorities. We did so in detail at the most recent UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, held in Beijing in April. We raised the case of Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia immediately prior to the Dialogue.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2015 to Question 12217, on judicial co-operation with Saudi Arabia, when those discussions took place.

    Dominic Raab

    Discussions are ongoing. No work has yet been undertaken by the Ministry of Justice as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full-time equivalent staff in the Tax Credit Office were allocated to deal with representations from hon. Members relating to constituents’ concerns about tax credits on 1 October (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013, (d) 2014 and (e) 2015.

    Damian Hinds

    HMRC do not hold the requested data.

    HMRC requires many of its staff, as part of their roles, to contribute to dealing with tax credits enquiries from Members.

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the apprenticeships levy rate will be.

    Nick Boles

    My Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce further details of the apprenticeship levy at the Spending Review, including the scope and rate of the levy and how it will operate with respect to the Devolved Administrations.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many sites are approved for fracking in England and Wales; what the location is of each such site; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Licensing and consent of onshore oil and gas activities in England is now a matter for the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences are not specific to shale gas. They grant exclusive rights to extract hydrocarbons, including shale gas but also other hydrocarbons, within a particular onshore area. A separate consent from the OGA is required before any drilling or hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can take place, as well as planning permission, environmental permits and review of the well design by the Health and Safety Executive.

    The OGA does not have any undetermined consent applications.

  • Jessica Morden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jessica Morden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government made during recent discussions with the Chinese Prime Minister in agreeing a timetable for closing legal ivory markets at international and domestic levels.

    Rory Stewart

    China is a key partner for the Government to work with in combating the illegal trade in wildlife. In the UK-China Joint Statement on Building a Global Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century, issued on 22nd October on the occasion of the State Visit of President Xi Jinping, the UK and China recognised the importance and urgency of combating the illegal wildlife trade, and committed to take active measures to tackle this global challenge. We warmly welcome the recent announcement by China that it intends, in due course, to close its legal domestic market for ivory, and will continue to work with China to encourage this to happen as soon as feasible.

    The Government is committed to maintaining the current global ban on any new international trade in ivory. In addition, the UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age and we are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the level of (1) crime against older people, and (2) fear of crime amongst older people; and what steps they are taking to address both the incidence and fear of crime against older people.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office has made no specific assessment of the level of crime against older people, and fear of crime amongst older people. The attached tablesshow figures from the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for the year to March 2015 for (1) the percentage of adults in each age group who were victims of crime, and (2) the percentage of adults in each age group who had high levels of worry about crime.

    Police reform is working and the Crime Survey shows that overall crime is down by more than a quarter since 2010. We continue to develop the role of our elected and accountable Police and Crime Commissioners to shape policing services to local needs and priorities, as they are now doing in commissioning victims’ services, setting policing priorities and driving reform.