Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Attorney General, what the sex was of the (a) complainant and (b) defendant in each of the cases of stalking brought since the implementation of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012; and what the outcome was in each such case.

    Mr Robert Buckland

    The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of the sex of either complainants or defendants prosecuted in cases where charges of stalking under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 have been brought. Obtaining this information would require a manual review of individual case files which would incur a disproportionate cost.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to bring forward housing development on sites where construction has been delayed.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 30 October 2014, Question UIN 207630.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward species-specific legislative proposals to (a) prohibit the use of barren cages for new rabbit farm developments and (b) make other provision for protecting the welfare of farmed rabbits.

    George Eustice

    There are existing provisions which protect the welfare of rabbits kept for meat production. Whilst there is no specific EU-wide legislation for rabbits, any kept for meat production in cages or in other systems in this country are protected by the general provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which makes it an offence to cause suffering to an animal. The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 specifically covers the welfare of rabbits kept for the production of food. In addition, the statutory welfare code for rabbits provides good husbandry advice including recommendations for housing, feed, water and space allowances which should be regarded as absolute minimum.

  • Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Farron – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Thai government on human trafficking.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    As part of our inaugural strategic dialogue in 2013, which I co-chaired, the UK and Thailand committed to work together to combat transnational crimes, including illegal trafficking. Since the coup of May 2014, high-level bilateral exchanges with the military-dominated Thai government have been postponed or cancelled. However, we continue to look for opportunities to raise this issue where and when we can. We also work with the Thai authorities on the disruption of human trafficking and illegal migration, and have issued statements in support of activists working on the issue of migrants’ rights.

  • Pauline Latham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Pauline Latham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pauline Latham on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England plans to take to ensure that patients and clinicians are aware of the drugs delisted from the Cancer Drugs Fund as announced on 12 January 2015.

    George Freeman

    NHS England has advised that a meeting with patient groups and charities was held on 19 January 2015 to provide the context for the changes being made to the national Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) list, how the review was undertaken by the CDF clinical panel and the results. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions to provide further clarity.

    Information on the outcomes from the review is available on NHS England’s website at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf

    and has been circulated to NHS England networks. Clinicians are also being informed via the regional CDF teams.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2014 to Question 214859, how many foreign national prisoners from each country were convicted of each offence in the violence offence group from April 2013 to March 2014.

    Andrew Selous

    International prisoner transfer arrangements may enable non-nationals to apply to transfer to their state of normal residence or to the state to which they have close ties. There is no requirement on a state to accept the transfer of a non-national resident. Since 2010, no such transfers have taken place to England and Wales. Prisoner transfer is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant Minister in Scotland and in Northern Ireland.

    The numbers of foreign national prisoners from each country convicted of each offence in the violence offence group from April 2013 to March 2014 are in the attached table 1.

    The numbers of foreign national prisoners from each country, convicted of each offence type from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2014 are at the attached table 2. Prison receptions data for April to June 2014 is not available by offence group due to problems with data quality. Figures for this period will be published in due course subject to the result of ongoing investigations. Prison receptions data for July to September 2014 is currently not available and is due to be published on 29 January 2015.

    The number of foreign national offenders in our prisons has reduced since 2010, compared to that number doubling between 1997 – 2010.

  • Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emma Lewell-Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Lewell-Buck on 2015-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what resources from the UK’s allocatons of EU Structural Funds have been used to support food banks.

    Esther McVey

    The European Commission implementing decision of 3 April 2014 transferred €3.96m from the UK’s structural funds allocation to the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived.

    The Government announced on 18 December 2014 that the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived will be used to support additional breakfast clubs in schools in deprived areas in England, subject to agreement with the European Commission. We believe that breakfast clubs effectively target help to many of the most deprived children – providing nutritious meals in some of the poorest areas, supporting academic attainment, promoting healthy eating habits at a young age and saving families money. This funding would be in addition to existing support provided by the Government – we have already committed just over £1 million over two years to support an expansion of breakfast clubs in poor areas.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-01-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the state of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia; whether they have raised with the government of Saudi Arabia the sentence of 1,000 lashes against Raif Badawi; and whether the European Commission has made any representations in the case of Raif Badawi.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is a strong supporter of freedom of expression around the world. We believe that people must be allowed to freely discuss and debate issues, peacefully challenge their governments, exercise the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and speak out against violations of human rights wherever they occur. We have raised a range of human rights issues with the Saudi authorities including the right to freedom of expression. We are seriously concerned by Raif Badawi’s case. The UK condemns the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment in all circumstances. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon.Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), has raised the matter with the Saudi Ambassador. We have previously raised the case at a senior level with the Saudi authorities. Our embassy in Riyadh has supported two EU demarches on the Saudi government about this case.

  • Lord Sharkey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Sharkey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2015-01-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they use for assessing the effectiveness of the Prevent and Channel counter-terrorism programmes; what targets have been set for any aspects of these programmes; and what key performance indicators are in place.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office assess the effectiveness of the Prevent and Channel programmes through a range of performance mechanisms.

    We have publically reported on a number of performance indicators such as internet removals and projects delivered. For example, since December 2013 over 53,000 pieces of unlawful terrorist-related content which encourages or glorifies acts of terrorism have been removed from the internet. And since 2011, 180 local projects have been delivered in Prevent priority areas, including projects in education, internet safety, and families.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-01-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made any representations to the government of India regarding the Governor’s Rule currently in place in Jammu and Kashmir.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not made any representations to the Government of India on this matter.