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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 13 May 2014, Official Report, columns 200-3WH, what representations he has made to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the recent acquittal of 14 officers of the armed forces of that country on charges of mass rape and murder.

    Mark Simmonds

    I welcome efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to prosecute perpetrators on charges of mass rape and murder – but more must be done to deliver justice for the victims. I met with the Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the DRC in London last week when he was attending the Global Summit on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict. I emphasised to him that ending impunity was fundamental to tackling the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence. He confirmed his Government’s commitment to tackling sexual and gender based violence and to ending impunity for the perpetrators.

    The British Embassy in Kinshasa sponsors a range of projects to tackle sexual violence in the DRC focusing on security sector reform and improving service provision for survivors. During his visit to eastern DRC in March 2013 the Foreign Secretary announced over £1 million in funding to a range of organisations tackling rape and sexual violence. The UK has supported the deployment of an international expert to build capacity of health and legal professionals to address accountability and the investigation and documentation of sexual violence crimes.

    The Foreign Secretary has publicly called on the Congolese authorities to continue in their efforts to seek out and prosecute the remaining perpetrators. Senior officials at our Embassy in Kinshasa have, jointly with EU Heads of Mission and independently, also raised the issue directly with the Government of the DRC.

    The International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, which was field tested in the DRC, was launched at the Global Summit on 12 June. I hope that the Protocol will be deployed widely, helping to ensure that more and more perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence the world over will be brought to justice.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the value of London Midland’s rolling stock contract with Angel Trains after the direct award of the franchise for the period September 2015 to June 2017.

    Stephen Hammond

    Negotiations for the direct award of the West Midlands franchise are yet to commence and the Department has not made any estimate on the value of London Midland’s contract with Angel Trains. It should be noted that the value of rolling stock contracts are a commercial matter between the operator and the rolling stock owner.

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

    Lord Lexden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was their total spending in 2013–14 on treatments for HIV infection in the United Kingdom.

    Earl Howe

    Data for 2013-14 is not available at present. Primary care trusts’ aggregate spend for 2012–13 (latest figures available) on HIV/AIDS was £630 million.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to promote the education of United Kingdom citizens about the events of 1948 in Palestine.

    Lord Nash

    The new national curriculum for history, to be taught in maintained schools in England from September 2014, requires that 11-14 year olds be taught about the challenges for Britain, Europe and the wider world from 1901 to the present day. This can cover Britain’s place in the world since 1945, including the events of 1948 in Palestine. It is for schools to decide what to teach and how to teach it. In accordance with Section 407 of the Education Act 1996, we would expect that the teaching of any issue in schools be consistent with the principles of balance and objectivity.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 May (WA 358), whether they are considering introducing legislation to prevent the practice of reparative or conversion therapy on homosexual men and women.

    Earl Howe

    This Government does not believe that being lesbian, gay or bisexual is an illness to be treated or cured. We have no current plans to ban or restrict conversion therapy via legislation as we do not feel this would be an effective preventive measure.

    We do, however, fully recognise the importance of this issue. Therefore, the Minister of State for Care and Support, Norman Lamb, convened a roundtable with professional bodies and charities in February of this year to discuss collaborative measures to help prevent the use of such therapies. The Department continues to work with these organisations.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consideration his Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.

    Jenny Willott

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Francis Maude) on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 434W.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which includes the Government Equalities Office, has no specific targets for increasing employeediversity. DCMS publishes its employee diversity information on data.gov.uk annually. The most recent diversity information can be found at the following link

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/237397/DCMS_Equality_Workforce_Data_2012-2013.csv/preview

    “

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Whilst the Department for Education does not set explicit targets for increasing diversity, Management Committee monitors representation rates on a monthly basis.

    The table below shows the change to the workforce over the past year:

    May-13

    May-14

    Annual change (percentage points)

    Workforce

    Black and minority ethnic

    16.6%

    16.6%

    0.0

    Women

    59.0%

    57.8%

    -1.2

    Disabled

    11.7%

    12.1%

    +0.4

    LGBT

    4.0%

    4.1%

    +0.1

    We also monitor the Department’s representation rates at SCS against Civil Service 2013 targets:

    Female

    BME

    Disabled

    DfE

    CS target

    DfE

    CS target

    DfE

    CS target

    SCS

    44.1%

    39%

    5.4%

    5%

    5.7%

    5%

    Women (Director and above)

    42.9%

    34%

    “

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Department has exceeded the target set by the Cabinet Office for women in the Senior Civil Service (SCS), met the target for black and minority ethnic (BME) staff in the SCS, and is 1% below the target for disabled staff in the SCS.

    SCS Group

    Cabinet Office

    Target %

    Department

    Acheivement %

    Women

    37

    41

    BME

    5

    5

    Disabled

    5

    4
  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what proportion of staff within her Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Because of the devolution of policing and justice functions on 12 April 2010, and subsequent reconfiguration of the Northern Ireland Office, my Department does not hold figures for the periods prior to 2010. Attempting to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.

    Since April 2010, two members of staff have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings. Given the small numbers involved, it would not be appropriate to provide any further breakdown as to do so would risk the identification of the individuals concerned.