Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department is making on tackling aggressive fundraising activities by charities.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Last year the Government accepted the recommendations made in a sector-led review of fundraising regulation to support the setup of a new independent regulator with stronger sanctions and control of the code of practice.

    Since then there have been several positive changes. The Code of Fundraising Practice has already been strengthened in several areas. The law has been changed in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 to better protect vulnerable individuals and encourage greater accountability. The Charity Commission has published updated fundraising guidance that emphasises trustees’ role in over-seeing fundraising. Many charities and their representative bodies are already taking their own steps to improve fundraising practices.

    The new Fundraising Regulator is due to open in July and will proactively ensure that charities fundraise to the high standards the public expect.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to tackle selective breeding of dogs for aesthetic reasons which cause health defects.

    George Eustice

    We have consulted on proposals to modernise dog breeding licensing legislation, including helping promote schemes which are accredited by the UK Accreditation Service. One scheme is the Kennel Club’s Assured Breeder Scheme which involves the Kennel Club working with breed societies in the development and application of tests to identify dogs that have genetic defects that can cause health problems.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve the quality and comparability of data on assaults on the police.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have worked closely with police forces in recent years to improve the quality of data on assaults on the police. In July 2015 provisional data were published for the first time since 2009/10, presenting data on assaults without injury from crime recording systems alongside information from health and safety systems to provide a more complete picture of assaults.

    These data were then developed further in 2016, with forces asked to submit more complete data on assaults from their crime recording systems, including cases that involved injury as well as cases that did not. This allowed a more refined figure of 23,000 assaults on police officers in 2015/16 to be estimated.

    We are continuing to work with forces to better capture assaults that involve injury to the police in recorded crime data.

    Recorded crime data on “assaults without injury on a constable” are published at Community Safety Partnership (equivalent to boroughs in London) and Police Force Area level, and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

    There are no current plans to collect this data at parliamentary constituency level.

    “

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of the referrals made by the NSPCC human trafficking and modern slavery helpline between July 2014 and June 2015 were made to the police.

    Karen Bradley

    The NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline was launched in July 2014, as part of a wider awareness-raising campaign, to better support potential victims of modern slavery. For the period July 2014 to July 2015, £50,000 was made available to the NSPCC to run the modern slavery helpline. To support the launch of the helpline, training was provided by existing staff in the NSPCC child trafficking advice centre, the Metropolitan police’s human trafficking unit and the Modern Slavery Unit to NSPCC call-handlers at zero cost.

    The NSPCC helpline routinely records the number of contacts made each month, how they are made, and by whom. The helpline also records the gender, age and nationality of potential victims, where that information is known or presumed. Between 31 July 2014 and 31 July 2015 the NSPCC modern slavery helpline received, in total, 849 contacts. These were comprised of 491 referrals, 107 advice cases and 251 enquiries. During the period 31 July 2014 to 31 July 2015 the helpline received a total of 57 contacts from potential victims themselves and in that same period the NSPCC made 272 referrals to the police. The NSPCC does not hold data on the number of contacts referred to the helpline by the police and other agencies that were subsequently referred back to those agencies.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on how many occasions a special adviser in her Department accompanied a Minister on an overseas trip since May 2015.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Special Adviser has accompanied me on four overseas visits since May 2015; three official visits to Dublin and one official visit to the USA.

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many people of each gender work in her Department.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID provides quarterly reports to the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The information provided at 31 December was as follows:

    Gender

    Headcount

    Male

    914

    Female

    1152

    Total

    2066

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the contribution of the Employment Minister at 1 February 2016 Official Report: column 638, if he will make it his policy to ensure that all individuals receiving dialysis and in-work qualify for personal independence payment.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We have no plans to do so. Entitlement to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is based on the effects of disability on a person’s life and not on any particular or specific disability, illness or treatment received. The PIP assessment is designed to treat all health conditions and impairments fairly, including for those with renal or kidney disease. If someone is found to be entitled to PIP they can continue to receive the benefit whether they are in or out of work.

    The Government provides a range of employment support for disabled people or people with health conditions that affect the way they work, such as: Access to Work, which offers financial awards to pay for additional support beyond an employer’s statutory duty to make reasonable adjustments; Work Choice, which provides tailored support to help unemployed disabled people enter and retain work; and Specialist Employability Support, which focuses on helping disabled people who need intensive, specialist support to either enter work or engage in employment related courses or activities.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority they attach to acquiring and deploying autonomous underwater vehicles, and for what purposes they plan to use those vessels.

    Earl Howe

    The Royal Navy (RN) currently deploys unmanned systems to enhance maritime surveillance and improve situational awareness in a number of operational theatres.

    It is widely recognised that autonomous systems offer a unique opportunity to maintain our operational advantage and the RN will therefore continue to explore how such systems can further augment its capabilities into the future.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of non-natural deaths (a) in police custody and (b) on the prison estate.

    Mike Penning

    Every death in police custody and on the prison estate is a tragedy and this is a priority area for the Government.

    The Ministerial Council for Deaths in Custody looks at this issue across Government. The Council considers what lessons can be learnt following a death in custody and the development of a clear and robust legislative and policy framework to help prevent deaths in any state custody setting.

    The Home Secretary announced a major review into deaths in police custody on 23 July. This review is being led by Dame Elish Angiolini who is working closely with victims, families and the police. At its heart will be the experience of the families of those who have died in custody. The review is scheduled to report in the summer of 2016. My officials also work closely with police forces, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the National Offender Management Service and other partners to take action to minimise the risks to detainees and prevent deaths from occurring in custody environments. Police forces are required to refer all matters concerning deaths in police custody to the Independent Police Complaints Commission who will decide whether the matter should be investigated and, if so, what form that investigation should take.

    All deaths in prison are subject to a police investigation, an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) and a Coroner’s inquest. The Ministry of Justice works hard to learn lessons from each death, and has accepted and acted on the vast majority of recommendations from recent investigations by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

    All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves, and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has put in place additional resources to undertake this safer custody work.

    Health partners are engaged in supporting all prisoners’ physical and mental health and wellbeing, and play an important role in the identification and management of prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide.

    On 17 December 2015 the Government published its response to the Harris Review into the deaths in custody of young adults and reaffirmed its commitment to reducing the levels of self-harm and self-inflicted deaths in custody.

    NOMS has an extensive programme of work aimed at preventing self-inflicted deaths and reducing levels of self-harm.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reasons the exemption from the anti-lobbying clause is limited to Research Councils, National Academies and the Higher Education Funding Council for England; and if he will delay the implementation of that clause until a full consultation has taken place.

    Matthew Hancock

    As I made clear in the House on 27 April, we are continuing to consider the comments of all interested parties, ahead of the introduction into grant agreements of the clause aimed at protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation, pending a review of the representations made, and to give further time to consider any necessary adjustments to the wording of the clause, or the policy on its implementation, to help to deliver this policy in the best possible way for all involved.