The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-26.
To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, which 50 local authorities had the largest decrease in electoral registration between December 2012 to March 2014; and which parliamentary constituencies cover such local authorities.
Mr Gary Streeter
The Electoral Commission informs me that the requested data is available here:
[hyperlink attached document]
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-06-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 18 June (WA 38), on how many occasions since 2010 there have been unlawful incursions by naval or other vessels of other European Union countries into British territorial waters.
Baroness Warsi
There have been no unlawful incursions into British (UK) territorial waters by naval or other vessels of European Union countries other than Spain since 2010. Further to my written answer on 18 June (WA 38), there have been no unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by naval or other vessels of European Union countries other than Spain since 2010.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-06-26.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether concerns about the use of torture have been raised in Uzbekistan under the European Union Human Rights Dialogue; and if so, when.
Baroness Warsi
Concerns about torture were raised in the last EU-Uzbekistan human rights dialogue which took place in November 2013. Specifically, concerns were raised about reports of torture of detainees and there was discussion focussed on encouraging progress towards establishing a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) on torture.
The UK has significant concerns about the human rights situation in Uzbekistan, as reflected in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s annual human rights report. Torture is one of the issues which we continue to raise both in multilateral contexts such as the EU Human Rights Dialogue and through our bilateral contacts with the Government of Uzbekistan. I had wide ranging discussions, including on human rights, during my recent visit to Uzbekistan in April, and more recently during a meeting in London with the Uzbek Ambassador here.
In a bilateral context, our Embassy in Tashkent funds a range of projects in support of good governance, human rights and the development of civil society. In relation to torture prevention, we have promoted British experience of criminal justice reform and have shared UK expertise to support the development of Uzbekistan’s NPM against torture. Our Embassy also contributes to discussions between the Uzbek authorities and its international partners to encourage criminal justice reform.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s publication of work carried out by the Government Actuary’s Department Costings and Correspondence on 12 June 2014, what plans he has to bring forward new proposals based on options set out in that document negotiations on firefighters’ pensions.
Brandon Lewis
As set out in my response to the hon. Member of 24 June, Official Report, column 131W, we are currently consulting on draft regulations to implement the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 2015 and this consultation concludes on 4 July 2014. The Department will consider all the responses received to that consultation and final decisions will subsequently be taken on the design of the scheme to be implemented. It is open to the Fire Brigades Union, or any other interested party, to respond to the consultation in a way that builds on the costings carried out on behalf of the Union by the Government Actuary’s Department. However, it would be premature to pre-empt the outcome of that consultation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of his Department’s consumption in kWh of (a) gas and (b) electricity in each month since June 2010; and what the cost of such consumption has been in each such month.
Dr Andrew Murrison
The table shows the breakdown of consumption and expenditure relating to gas and electricity for each month since June 2010. Figures are not yet available for the first quarter of Financial Year 2014-15
The expenditure data represents physical payments in addition to the accrued expenditure posted to the Ministry of Defence accounts each month.
Expenditure also includes standing charges as well as costs of pure consumption.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate he has made of the duration in days that the South East of England fuel demand could run at full capacity based on current stock levels of (a) refined petrol and (b) diesel products in the event of an emergency on the scale of the Buncefield explosion in 2005.
Michael Fallon
UK supplies of aviation fuels are resilient to most hazards and additional protections have been put in place since the incident at Buncefield in 2005. Any impact upon supplies would depend entirely on the nature of any incident.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK Embassy in Saudi Arabia provides support and protection to human rights activists in that country.
Hugh Robertson
Our policy on human rights defenders is guided by the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (1998) and the EU Guidelines. Embassy officials have regular contact with human rights defenders. It is, however, often the view of the defenders that involvement with foreign representatives and organisations can make their task of pressing for reform more difficult. Nevertheless, we work to align our priorities with theirs and continue to press for reform.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what organisations or individuals Ministers or officials of his Department have met to discuss standardised packaging of tobacco in the last 12 months; which Ministers or officials were present at those meetings; and who represented each organisation present at those meetings.
Jane Ellison
Details of Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the Gov.UK website at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-2013#department-of-health-dh
The Department does not keep a central diary of the engagements that every Departmental official has had. In discharging their official duties, Ministers, special advisors and Departmental officials meet with representatives from a range of organisations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Sawford on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times an escaped person has been categorised as a high harm person and the senior management team believe there is a high risk of reputational damage to the Home Office as set out in the Home Office Guidance on Escaped Detainees at immigration removal centres in the last four years.
Karen Bradley
The Home Office does not routinely categorise immigration detainees against a
scale of harm. They are instead subject to individual risk assessment linked
to their suitability for placement in an immigration removal centre (IRC) which is
based on a number of different factors.
Where an escape or attempted escape from an IRC takes place, Criminal and
Financial Investigation (CFI) immigration specialist teams will assist in the
investigation where the individual is assessed to be a ‘high harm’ person, or
where the senior management team believe there is a high risk of reputational
damage to the Home Office.
In the last four years the CFI team has conducted two investigations relating
to escapes of individuals from escort who were assessed to fit the
investigation criteria. There have not been any cases of escapes from an IRC
which have warranted the involvement of the CFI.
This data is management information and does not form part of published
statistics and is not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National
Statistics publications. It is provisional and subject to change.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national prisoners were repatriated under foreign prisoner transfer agreements to their home countries to serve their custodial sentence in each year since 2010.
Jeremy Wright
The tables below sets out the number of prisoners who have transferred from a prison in England andWales to a prison in their state of nationality since 1 January 2009.
|
Year |
Transfers |
|
2009 |
40 |
|
2010 |
46 |
|
2011 |
33 |
|
2012 |
40 |
|
2013 |
43 |
The list includes one foreign national prisoner who was returned to a British Overseas Territory in 2011 under the Colonial Prisoners Removal Act 1884.
We remain determined to secure compulsory Prisoner Transfer Agreements wherever possible, in order to increase the number of foreign national prisoners who are able to transfer to prisons in their home countries. In January this year we signed a compulsory transfer agreement with Nigeria and last year we signed an agreement with Albania. We expect to see prisoner transfers to both these countries before the end of this year.
We are also working hard to increase the number of foreign nationals who are removed from prison under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS). In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under TERS, which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed 256 prisoners to date.
The numbers reported here are drawn from a Prison Service Case Tracking System. Care is taken when processing these cases but the figures may be subject to inaccuracies associated with any recording system.
Whereas this Government has begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.