The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-10-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to increase the use of CCTV in slaughterhouses; and if she will make a statement.
George Eustice
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the Rt. Hon. Member for Knowsley, George Howarth on 24 June 2015, PQs UIN 2944 and 2945.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-10-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports regarding increasing violence towards Palestinians by Israeli troops.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) said on 9 October, “We condemn all acts of violence, including attacks by Palestinians and by Israeli settlers. We urge all sides to take immediate steps to de-escalate the tensions and avoid actions that threaten to exacerbate the situation”. In his Statement of 13 October, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr. Ellwood), said, “We are also concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents”.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-23.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what public inquiries they have instigated into the death of a single individual since 1988; who were those individuals; why they were referred for a public inquiry in each case; and on which dates they were referred.
Lord Faulks
The table below lists each public inquiry launched by the Government to investigate the death of a single individual since 1988. It shows the purpose of the inquiry and the timing of the inquiry from its launch to publication of the inquiry report.
|
Individual |
Purpose |
Duration |
|
Stephen Lawrence |
To inquire into the matters arising from his death on 22 April 1993, in order particularly to identify the lessons to be learned for the investigation and prosecution of racially motivated crimes. |
July 1997 – February 1999 |
|
Victoria Climbié |
To establish the circumstances leading to and surrounding her death. |
May 2001 – January 2003 |
|
Dr David Kelly |
To conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. |
July 2003 – January 2004 |
|
Zahid Mubarek |
To investigate his death and the events leading up to the attack on him, and make recommendations about the prevention of such attacks in the future. |
April 2004 – June 2006 |
|
Robert Hamill |
To investigate whether any wrongful act or omission by or within the Royal Ulster Constabulary facilitated his death or obstructed the investigation of it, or whether attempts were made to do so; whether any such act or omission was intentional or negligent; and whether the investigation of his death was carried out with due diligence. (This followed a recommendation of the Cory Collusion Inquiry.) |
November 2004 – February 2011 |
|
Billy Wright |
To investigate whether any wrongful act or omission by or within the prison authorities or other state agencies facilitated his death, or whether attempts were made to do so; and whether any such act or omission was intentional or negligent. (This followed a recommendation of the Cory Collusion Inquiry.) |
November 2004 – October 2010 |
|
Rosemary Nelson |
To investigate whether any wrongful act or omission by or within the Royal Ulster Constabulary, Northern Ireland Office, Army or other state agency facilitated her death or obstructed the investigation of it, or whether attempts were made to do so; whether any such act or omission was intentional or negligent; and whether the investigation of her death was carried out with due diligence. (This followed a recommendation of the Cory Collusion Inquiry.) |
November 2004 – May 2011 |
|
Baha Mousa |
To investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Baha Mousa, an Iraqi civilian who died in Iraq in 2003 and the treatment of others detained with him by the British armed forces. |
August 2008 – September 2011 |
|
Bernard (Sonny) Lodge |
To investigate his death at HMP Manchester in August 1998. (An ad hoc investigation began in September 2008 and was converted into a 2005 Act inquiry.) |
February 2009 – December 2009 |
|
Azelle Rodney |
To investigate the death of Azelle Rodney who was shot by a police marksman in North London on 30 April 2005. |
June 2010 – July 2013 |
|
Alexander Litvinenko |
To investigate his death on 23 November 2006. (The inquest was converted into a 2005 Act inquiry following a judicial review.) |
July 2014 – present |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2013-05-08.
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the outcome of his Department’s matching of the electoral register with Department for Work and Pensions data in communities with (a) seaside towns and (b) towns with high student populations; and what effect this work will have on the size of electorates in these constituencies.
Chloe Smith
As part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration (IER), entries on the electoral register will be matched against data held by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for the purposes of confirming existing electors, a process which will simplify the transition for the majority of existing electors. Last year the Cabinet Office undertook pilots to test this process and we published our evaluation of these pilots earlier this year which is available to download from:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-the-transition-to-individual-electoral-registration
The evaluation report includes an analysis of match rates by population groups and while no specific analysis was undertaken of seaside towns, the results did suggest that match rates were lower in areas with high student populations. However, anyone who cannot be confirmed will still be invited to register individually and will retain their ability to vote in the 2015 general election. By using confirmation to simplify the process for the majority of electors it means resources can be focused on maximising registration among those people who cannot be confirmed, including individuals who are not currently registered. We are also currently running a separate set of pilots exploring whether data matching against DWP and other trusted national data sets can be used to find potential electors who are not currently registered but may be eligible to do so, in order to invite them to register. The results of the pilots, which are specifically targeted at boosting registrations among students, attainers and home-movers, will be published in the summer.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2014-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on 15 June 2009 (HC Deb, col 21–38) that the final report of the Chilcot Inquiry would be able to disclose all but the most sensitive information—that is
Lord Wallace of Saltaire
The terms under which the Chilcot Inquiry is operatingare set out in the Protocol between the Inquiry and Her Majesty’s Government regarding documents and other written and electronic communication. They have not changed since the Inquiry’s inception in June 2009. A copy of the Protocol is available on the Inquiry’s website:
http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/background/protocols.aspx
Each request under the Freedom of Information Act is considered on its merits and handled accordingly. The reasons for the use of the veto on the disclosure of Cabinet minutes prior to the Iraq war are a matter of public record.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Ward on 2014-02-04.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of (a) permanent, (b) temporary and (c) contract staff in his Department as paid the living wage or above.
Andrea Leadsom
100% of permanent and temporary staff at HM Treasury are paid the Living Wage or above.
HM Treasury fully complies with EU procurement directives and awards contracts on the basis of the best value for money for the taxpayer. Nevertheless, we have encouraged contractors to commit to paying a living wage and expect all employers to pay at least the national minimum wage.
The Government supports businesses that choose to pay the Living Wage however the Government’s main policy on wages is the National Minimum Wage, which has continued to protect the relative wages of the low paid. This is independently set by the Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises their wages without reducing employment prospect. It is for workers and employers to decide the level of wages above the minimum wage based on current circumstances. This includes the Government as a procurer and an employer. Over 95%, around 20 million employees earn above the minimum wage and the majority of public sector workers currently earn above the Living Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sammy Wilson on 2014-01-15.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) laundering plants and (b) millions of litres of fuel were seized in the UK by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last 10 years.
Nicky Morgan
Figures are only available for the years 2010-11 and onwards. The number of laundering plants and millions of litres of fuel seized in those years was as follows.
|
Year |
Laundering Plants |
Fuel (millions litres) |
|
2010-11 |
23 (20 NI 3 GB) |
2.74 |
|
2011-12 |
29 (NI figure only) |
2.44 |
|
2012-13 to Dec 13 |
26 (22 NI 4 GB) |
2.63 |
HMRC fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. HMRC has also recently concluded the evaluation of a possible new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.
HMRC uses several avenues to tackle fraud: criminal prosecution, civil action (such as seizing fuel or pumps), civil penalties and strong regulatory controls.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-10-19.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 24 July (HL1516) concerning the decision of the government of Israel not to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, whether any safeguards are in place to discourage the extension or upgrading of Israel’s nuclear deployment capacity.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Israel does have a facility-specific safeguards agreement in place with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), namely “The Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Government of Israel and the Government of the United States of America for the Application of Safeguards” (commonly referred to as an INFCIRC 66-type agreement). The agreement applies to a single facility in Israel, which is the Soreq Nuclear Research Reactor. The facility is inspected by the IAEA to ensure that it is not used for weapons purposes. We continue to call on Israel to upgrade this arrangement to a full scope Comprehensive Safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Department’s press release Hancock: Every young person should be earning or learning from April 2017, published 17 August 2015, (a) what the evidential basis is for the effectiveness of each of the proposals of the Earn or Learn taskforce referred to in that press notice; (b) what he plans the criteria for referral to the three-week programme referred to in that press notice to be; (c) by what measures the success of that programme will be assessed; (d) when he plans for contracts for that programme to be put out to tender; (e) if he will launch a consultation on the design of such contracts; (f) what additional funding he plans to make available for skills training for programme participants lacking basic qualifications; (g) how much his Department has set aside to fund that programme; and (h) whether he plans for funding for skills training to be ring-fenced within the overall grant made to providers.
Priti Patel
The Youth Obligationfor 18-21 year olds includes a 3 week intensive activity programme at the start of the claim to Universal Credit. The detailed policy design is still under development.
All spending decisions on skills training for 2016-17 and beyond will be taken as part of the Spending Review, which is due to be concluded in November.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2015-10-19.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make representations to the EU Commission on including bookmakers within the scope of the fourth money laundering directive.
Harriett Baldwin
The Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“the Directive”) was formally adopted in June 2015, and will be transposed into national law by June 2017. The Directive extends the scope of the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2007 to cover all gambling providers.
The Government can exempt providers of certain gambling services from the requirements laid down in the Directive on the basis of proven low risk posed by the nature and scale of operations. Any exemption will need to take account of a risk assessment that includes factors such as the degree of vulnerability of the transaction and the payment methods.
We will be consulting on which sectors of the gambling sector can be proven to be low risk as part of the transposition process and we will be legislating accordingly. The Government plans to publish a consultation on the changes by the end of this year, and this will run for a full 12 weeks.