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Tag: Parliamentary Question

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Permanent Council of the Organisation for Securityand Co-operation in Europe is considering Ukraine at is weekly meetings; and what recommendations, if any, it has so far made, in particular about conflict prevention.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been at the forefront of the international response to the crisis in Ukraine over recent months. The crisis has been a regular topic of discussion on the Organisation’s agenda since the Permanent Council met to discuss it in special session on 3 March. Both the Permanent Council and the Forum for Security and Co-operation have discussed Ukraine on numerous occasions since then.

    The OSCE has launched a number of initiatives to contribute towards de-escalation of the crisis. On 21 March the Permanent Council agreed to the deployment of a Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine. That Mission, which includes a UK Deputy Chief Monitor and 9 UK staff, swiftly deployed across the country with a mandate to gather information, report on the security situation and assess how best to meet the concerns of all parties. The Mission is providing regular reporting and recently played a key role in the negotiation of the safe release of the Vienna Document unarmed military inspectors who had been detained in Slavyansk. In Geneva on 17 April the US, the EU, Ukraine and the Russian Federation agreed that the Mission should have a role in verifying the implementation of agreed steps towards de-escalation. The Government fully supports this Mission’s work and is actively backing it with both finance and personnel. The UK has so far contributed over £1 million and is currently the second biggest contributor to the Mission’s core costs.

    In addition to the SMM, the OSCE has been active in Ukraine through the work of its autonomous institutions, the High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Representative on Freedom of the Media, while there has been a rolling programme of visits by unarmed military inspectors under the Vienna Document 2011. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is sending a large scale mission of 1000 observers to monitor the Ukrainian Presidential Elections on 25 May. The UK will be providing 10% of the total number of observers with 10 Long term Observers and 90 Short Term Observers.

    There are no current plans for an OSCE Summit, while the next formal Ministerial Council is due to take place in Basel, Switzerland on 4-5 December 2014. However the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), been in regular contact with OSCE Chairman and Swiss Foreign Minister Didier Burkhalter, most recently when they met in Vienna on 6 May, while the Minister for Europe, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), spoke by telephone to OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier on the same day.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which official, with what job title, is responsible and accountable for departmental management information in the Department of Health.

    Earl Howe

    Within the Department of Health the official who holds responsibility for Departmental management information is Richard Douglas, Director-General for Finance and the National Health Service.

  • Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Seccombe on 2014-05-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 6 May (WA 368–70), what was the breakdown of departmental private office spending on Government Procurement Cards in the Department for Energy and Climate Change between 2008–09 and 2009–10.

    Baroness Verma

    GPC spend above £500 by the Department are published on the GOV.UK website. Details for May 2012 to March 2014 are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/gpc-departmental-spend-over-500

    Details for April 2010 to April 2012 are archived at:

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121025080026/http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/expenditure/spend_over_500/spend_over_500.aspx

    The Department does not hold records of any details prior to April 2010. Those for 2008-09 and 2009-10 were held as a mixture of electronic and paper records by both BIS and Defra. Locating and retrieving these records would incur disproportionate costs.

    “

  • David Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    David Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Heath on 2014-05-07.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps he has taken to improve prosecution of wildlife crime.

    Oliver Heald

    The CPS views wildlife crime offences very seriously and will robustly prosecute cases referred by the police. In order to achieve this, the CPS has thirteen wildlife co-ordinators based in its regional Areas. They are supported by face to face training and legal guidance on wildlife offences, which is available to all prosecutors and to the public.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department has held meetings with external organisations to discuss a strategy for combating liver disease since 11 May 2010; if he will place minutes of those meetings in the Library; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is responsible for the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes for people with liver disease. It is adopting a broad strategy to reduce premature mortality, including mortality from liver disease.

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not met any external organisations to discuss a strategy for combating liver disease since 11 May 2010. The Secretary of State and current Ministers at the Department have not met with representatives of people living with liver disease since September 2012.

    NHS England and Public Health England are supporting clinical commissioning groups and local authorities to reduce premature mortality by providing commissioners with a suite of tools to help them maximise the best possible outcomes for their local communities such as Local Authority Profiles. These can help local authorities and clinical commissioning groups identify the significance of liver disease in their local area compared with the rest of the country and the actions they could prioritise to tackle it.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what comparative assessment he has made of the estimates made by (a) Experian and (b) the Electoral Commission of the number of unregistered voters in the UK.

    Greg Clark

    The Government funded the Electoral Commission’s 2011 research into the completeness and accuracy of the electoral register. This informed the approach to the transition to Individual Electoral Registration, including the use of data matching to confirm the majority of current electors on the existing register without their having to make a new application, and the phasing of the transition over two years, which means no one who registered to vote at the last canvass will lose their right to vote at the General Election. Alongside this the Government is funding all local authorities in Great Britain and five national organisations to take steps to boost the completeness and accuracy of the register.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of levels of expenditure of electoral registration measures on levels of registration.

    Greg Clark

    The Government has made no recent assessment of the effect of levels of expenditure of electoral registration measures on levels of registration.

    The Government announced on 5th February 2014 that five national organisations and every local authority in Great Britain would be sharing £4.2 million funding aimed at maximising the rate of voter registration as part of the transition to Individual Electoral Registration in 2014.

    They have been provided with guidance to support them in evaluating the success of activity delivered through this funding. Government will continue to work closely with all funding recipients in order to monitor the outcomes.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, with reference to the Answer of 13 June 2011, Official Report, columns 584-5W, on electoral register, how many letters the Electoral Commission have written to hon. Members as a result of their electoral registration officers having failed at least one standard performance indicator in each year for which data is available.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it notifies all MPs of the outcomes of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) performance measurement assessments through a Written Statement and it writes individual letters to MPs who have an ERO that has failed at least one performance indicator within their constituency. EROs that have failed the standards are identified in the Commission’s reports each year, which are available on its website:

    http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/performance-standards

    “

  • Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Maynard – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Maynard on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which organisations have received how much funding from his Department aimed at supporting access to short breaks and respite provision for children, young people and their families experiencing all types of disadvantage in each of the last five financial years.

    Jenny Willott

    Departmental records show that in each of the last five financial years, no funding was made in respect of supporting access to short breaks and respite provision for children, young people and their families.

  • 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 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders were bailed under an electronic curfew and went on to receive a custodial sentence in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Jeremy Wright

    Information on bail and remand collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database does not record whether conditions (including the use of electronic monitoring) were attached to bail. To answer this Question would require a data matching exercise between data held by the electronic monitoring contractors and sentencing data held by the Ministry of Justice, which could be done only at disproportionate cost.