Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • 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, if he will consider the merits of ring-fencing funds allocated by his Office to local government for the purpose of voter registration.

    Greg Clark

    Both the paper forms and the new online registration channel to be used under Individual Electoral Registration have been designed to meet a wide range of accessibility needs. The Government has no current plans to commission such research, but the Electoral Commission is currently aiming to publish its assessment of registration rates under individual electoral registration in July 2016.

  • 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, with reference to the Answer of 6 September 2010, Official Report, column 302W, on electoral register, what additional research has been conducted into the reasons for the apparent decline in registration levels and the growth of local and regional variations in electoral registration.

    Greg Clark

    The Electoral Commission is currently conducting research into the completeness and accuracy of Electoral registers which will be published in Summer 2014.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Answer from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Constitutional and Political Reform of 11 October 2011, Official Report, column 344W, on electoral register: standards, what assessment she has made of the effects of the visits of electoral registration officers in Northern Ireland to schools with 10 or more pupils between the ages of 16 and 17 on electoral registration for that age group in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Andrew Robathan

    Concerns about under-representation of attainers were raised following the introduction of individual registration in Northern Ireland in 2002. The registration of attainers improved significantly with the introduction of the Chief Electoral Officer’s Schools Initiative. The Electoral Commission’s 2012 report on continuous electoral registration in Northern Ireland estimated that 66% of attainers were registered.

    Although the number of attainers registered in December 2013 fell to 9,945 from 11,477 in December 2012, the Electoral Commission’s recent report on the electoral registration canvass suggests that this can be partially explained by the fact that the Electoral Office did not conduct any activity with schools to register attainers in autumn 2013 due to canvass activity. The Electoral Office will commence school visits in September 2014 for the academic year 2014-15 and will also take applications from those pupils not visited last year.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of people who came to the UK to (a) participate in and (b) spectate at the 2012 Olympic Games who remain in the country illegally.

    James Brokenshire

    Close to 70,000 records of individuals who were accredited by LOCOG (London
    Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) have been investigated. These
    individuals were subject to immigration control. This would include athletes,
    coaches, sponsors, etc. but the records do not include those who came merely to
    watch the Games.

    At the time of the investigations, 82 individuals had claimed asylum and 50 had
    not returned but were in possession of another form of legitimate leave.

  • 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 serving prisoners received driving lessons in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Jeremy Wright

    In 2013, the latest year for which data are available, 190 prisoners were recorded as taking car driving lessons/tests.

    All prisoners are thoroughly risk-assessed before being allowed to take these lessons and are only permitted to do so if the licence is required to help their rehabilitation, for example improving future employment prospects, thus reducing their likelihood of re-offending.

  • Crispin Blunt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Crispin Blunt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Crispin Blunt on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the names are of all those issued visas in connection with the current visit of President Museveni of Uganda.

    James Brokenshire

    It is not the policy of the Home Office to comment on the detail of individual
    applications.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 30 April 2014, Official Report, columns 712-3W, on floods: Cumbria, when the results of his public consultation will be published; and whether plans are in place for moving the nuclear waste stored at the Drigg Low-Level Waste Repository if the site is deemed at risk.

    Michael Fallon

    The Environment Agency carried out a public consultation exercise between November 2013 and February 2014 on LLW Repository Ltd’s variation application to dispose of further radioactive waste at the Low Level Waste Repository. Submissions received as part of this exercise are available on the Environment Agency’s Public Register. Responses will be published by the Environment Agency before the end of 2014, as part of a second consultation on a draft decision on the variation application. It is then anticipated that a final decision will be published in the spring of 2015.

    As part of the Environmental Safety Case for the repository, LLW Repository Ltd were required to consider the need to move some or all of the radioactive waste disposed of at the facility given the best current understanding of likely coastal erosion timescales and all relevant technical factors. This work has demonstrated that the risks presented by leaving the radioactive waste in place are consistent with relevant legislation, standards and guidance. The most appropriate option for the environment and people, now and into the future, is not to recover and move the radioactive waste and therefore no plans have been put in place for this.

  • The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the question of human rights and freedom of religion and belief was amongst the range of international issues discussed by the Foreign Office’s Political Director, Sir Simon Gass, when he met senior Iranian officials whilst visiting Iran in April.

    Baroness Warsi

    Human rights were not amongst the issues discussed by Sir Simon Gass on his visit to Iran in April: his interlocutors did not have responsibilities in this area. However, the UK’s non-resident Chargé d’Affaires discussed human rights with a range of Iranian government officials during his visit to Iran on 12 March 2014. He raised the use of the death penalty, freedom of religion and the workings of the criminal justice system. Prior to that, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised Iran’s human rights records with Iranian foreign minister Zarif at the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2013.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the Law Commission’s draft bill on the regulation of health and social care professionals.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    The Department worked closely with the Law Commission on its review of legislation governing regulation of healthcare professionals and after almost three years of review, consultation and development the Law Commission published its recommendations, along with a draft Bill on 2 April 2014.

    This work will help us make sure the system is fit for the future and continues to protect patients. The Department is considering the Law Commission’s proposals with great interest and is working closely with the regulatory bodies and the Professional Standards Authority to inform our response to the Law Commission, which we will publish in due course.

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

    Lord Avebury – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Avebury on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what date they will revisit the decision on whether to include Gypsies and Irish Travellers as an ethnic category in the NHS National Data Dictionary; and what account they have taken of the recommendation by the National Inclusion Health Board to the Health and Social Care Information Centre to use the 2011 Census ethnic category classifications in national data collection.

    Earl Howe

    NHS England, in collaboration with other bodies, will shortly produce guidance that advises on the codes for data collection, including those for ethnicity. National Health Service organisations continue to use the 2001 codes in order to support consistency with other data systems within the NHS. NHS organisations can choose to use either the 2001 or the 2011 categories.

    Additional codes can be included as appropriate at a local level to reflect the demographic make-up of the local population. This allows local monitoring to take place in a way that supports service planning, decision-making, and key processes such as the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

    We envisage this position will be revisited, with decisions to change this advice based upon the breadth of utilisation of the new coding system.

    The Department, Public Health England and NHS England are together considering the findings and recommendations in the report from the National Inclusion Health Board.