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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which members of the armed forces work with trichloroethylene in the line of duty and the suitability of existing health and safety arrangements when this takes place.

    Mark Lancaster

    The assessment of exposure to hazardous chemicals, including Trichloroethylene, by Armed Forces personnel is covered by legislative requirements in the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). These require that the employer makes a suitable and sufficient assessment of exposure to employees, and that any exposure is prevented or adequately controlled. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) fully complies with these regulations, through risk assessments of exposure to hazardous substances being undertaken at local level by the Chain of Command. This includes an assessment of the suitability of arrangements to prevent or control exposure.

    The MOD is also aware that after 21 April 2016, an authorisation will be needed for continued use of Trichloroethylene and has arrangements in place to ensure compliance.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they intend to make to the government of Turkey about the proposed expropriation and partial demolition of the Sur neighbourhood and the city of Diyarbakir; and what assessment they have made of whether those actions constitute collective punishment.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We understand that the Turkish government has proposed expropriation in order to facilitate reconstruction of certain areas damaged during security operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. We have not made representations or assessed the question of collective punishment.

  • Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Cox on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they or the UN are collecting reports or intelligence detailing suspected crimes against humanity or genocide in Iraq and Syria, and if so, whether that information will be used to profile people who wish to enter the UK from that region.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have provided over £8 million to support the documentation of human rights abuses and violations in Syria and Iraq.

    In Syria, we support the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and continue to call for them to be given unhindered access to investigate human rights violations and abuses. The UK provides financial support to a specialist organisation to collate and build prosecution-ready criminal case files against the high level perpetrators in Syria. These cases are built for international prosecution should a referral to the International Criminal Court be forthcoming, or should individuals be subject to litigation by hybrid, specialised and national courts.

    In Iraq, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses. The UN continues to issue regular reports on abuses committed by Daesh in Iraq. Through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund we funded a project that documents case of sexual violence crimes.

    A unit within the Office of Counter-Terrorism monitors various country situations, focusing on issues such as international crimes. This information can be used to help identify possible perpetrators and also to support any decision to refuse their application to enter or stay in the UK.

    Where there is credible evidence that a visa applicant has been involved in international crimes (war crimes and crimes against humanity) their case will be investigated further. This applies to any nationality. If there is sufficient evidence, the applicant would be refused entry on the of grounds of their character, conduct or associations. It is also possible to exclude such people from the UK by virtue of the Home Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Theresa May)’s powers under the Immigration Act. With regard to Syria, applicants under the Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Programme are also screened for any security concerns; including international crimes.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to identify families in the UK who would be willing to receive related unaccompanied child refugees from the refugee camps in Calais.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    UK Government officials have confirmed that the Citizens UK list has been passed to the French authorities, who are primarily responsible for migrants on French territory.

    We continue to work with the French authorities and others to speed up exist-ing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary. We will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

    We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe; over 70 of these are from France.

    It is important that the due processes under the Dublin Regulation are followed. This position was recently confirmed in a Court of Appeal judgement (“ZAT and others”). Families are only contacted once a transfer request has been made and a family link has been established. When we accept a request to transfer an unaccompanied minor we liaise with Local Authorities and the child’s family.

    A new scheme to allow community groups to directly sponsor a refugee family was launched by the Home Secretary and Archbishop of Canterbury on 19 July. The Full Community Sponsorship scheme enables community groups including charities, faith groups, churches and businesses, to take on the role of supporting resettled refugees in the UK. A ‘Help Refugees in the UK’ web-page has also been developed on GOV.UK to make it easier for the public to support refugees in the UK and allow local authorities to focus support on the goods and services that refugees need.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the needs and rights of older people in developing countries; and whether ageing will be reinstated as a responsibility under her Department’s Inclusive Societies policy.

    Rory Stewart

    Many DFID programmes reach and include older people, supporting their needs and rights. These include programmes to strengthen health systems and eye care, and specific programmes for the poorest including supporting slum dwellers in Tanzania and supporting widows resulting from the Genocide in Rwanda. Ageing features in DFID country level poverty analyses as a key factor in understanding poverty. In addition DFID is taking a global leadership role to achieve better quality and use of age disaggregated data to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals leave no one behind. DFID’s Inclusive Societies Department in Policy Division holds policy responsibility for ageing.

  • Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to (a) increase awareness of autism and (b) ensure that diagnosis times are improved.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department issued new statutory guidance in March this year for local authorities and National Health Service organisations to support the continued implementation of the 2010 Autism Strategy, as refreshed by its 2014 Think Autism update. This sets out what people seeking an autism diagnosis can expect from Local Authorities and NHS bodies.

    The Department has also discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the NHS to be working towards meeting the recommendations.

    We are aware that Northumberland continues to make significant progress in improving access to services. A child will wait no longer between initial referral and treatment than 12 weeks and the majority are seen within nine weeks. Northumberland has also invested in adult autism diagnosis services and has an agreed programme with Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust designed to deliver the NICE guidelines for adults by September 2016. Urgent cases are seen earlier and those on waiting lists, whose needs escalate, are given access to services as required. There is also a newly developed emotional health and wellbeing strategy for children and young people in Northumberland which will aim seek to identify children with autism at an earlier age and ultimately provide earlier treatment.

    NHS England is promoting the engagement services with children and young people. All children, young people and adults, including those with autism or a learning disability, who are receiving care from the NHS, should have the opportunity to provide feedback via the Friends and Family Test. There should also be consideration given to capturing the views of parents and carers. In addition, the autism statutory guidance mentioned above states that NHS bodies and NHS foundation trusts should look at people’s experiences of the autism diagnostic process locally and assure themselves that this is acceptable.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the administrative costs was of implementing and enforcing the criminal courts charge; and what the projected cost of administering that charge is in each of the next three years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The costs of the criminal courts charge implementation project were £534,760.

    The cost of enforcing the criminal courts charge cannot be separated from the total cost of enforcing all types of court ordered financial impositions. No additional resources have been allocated to the National Compliance and Enforcement Service within HMCTS specifically as a result of the criminal courts charge.

  • FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    FALSE – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by FALSE on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland concerning the human rights section of the Belfast Agreement 1998, in which that government affirmed the right to freely choose one’s place of residence”

    Lord Dunlop

    As I have set out in previous answers, the UK and Irish Governments meet regularly at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern, and will continue to do so.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how the response provided by the British Hydropower Association to her Department’s Consultation on feed-in tariffs was taken into account by her Department in the assumptions used to determine that hydropower load factors are site specific.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The load factor data used to calculate hydro generation tariffs were drawn from individual sites but then aggregated to calculate a load factor range on which to base the tariffs. This included data collected by external consultants and evidence submitted by various individuals and organisations, including the British Hydropower Association, in response to the consultation.

  • Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Northover – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Northover on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to support proposals at the World Humanitarian Summit in May to ensure that women are involved in planning and decision-making during a humanitarian emergency response.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK supports proposals to ensure that women are involved in planning and decision-making during responses to humanitarian emergencies. It will be a priority of the UK to secure outcomes from the summit that promote the protection and empowerment of women and girls, strengthening their voice, choice and control in crisis settings.