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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effect of the Government’s welfare programme on social and economic inequalities in Scotland.

    David Mundell

    We have fully assessed the impacts on equality of the measures in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill and the wider budget, meeting our obligations as set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty. The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Bill on 20 July.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times the Sexual Health Forum has met in each of the last five years; what the dates were of each such meeting; and who attended each such meeting.

    Jane Ellison

    The Sexual Health and HIV Forum met 15 times between March 2011 and March 2015. The Forum was discontinued in September 2015. Details of dates of meetings and those who attended are shown in the attached document.

    Public Health England is considering how to take forward appropriate stakeholder relationships in the future.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Bates on 8 February (HL Deb, col 1980), what steps they are taking to persuade the government of Turkey to open the border at Oncupinar to enable Syrian refugees fleeing Russian aerial bombardment of the Aleppo Province to reach safety; what assessment they have made of how many refugees are at that border; and how many of those are estimated to be women and children.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We condemn the recent actions of the Syrian regime, driving civilians from their homes in and around Aleppo, and question the role of Russia in supporting this offensive. We are appalled by the humanitarian impact of these developments and the ongoing war in Syria. We assess that there are over 30,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of this action. On 8 February 2016, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released an initial assessment which estimated 80 per cent of IDPs to be women and children. We welcome Turkey’s generosity in hosting over 2.5m Syrian refugees in Turkey, a commitment reaffirmed by Prime Minister Davutoğlu at the 4 February London Syria Conference. The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have made clear that Turkey will continue to allow refugees to enter Turkey. The UK continues to work closely with the Turkish government, including through implementation of the EU-Turkey Action Plan, to ensure refugees continue to receive support and protection.

  • Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Clement-Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis they have carried out of the average annual earnings for (1) men, (2) women, and (3) all individuals, aged between 22 and 24 inclusive who are in possession of a first degree and who are not in full-time education.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) migrants and (b) people seeking asylum who have attempted to travel to Europe via Egypt in each of the last two years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We do not hold figures for the number of migrants and asylum seekers who have attempted to travel to Europe via Egypt. According to the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (Frontex), in 2014 there were 170,760 detections of illegal border-crossings on the Central Mediterranean route (not only from Egypt). In 2015, the number of detections was 153,946.

  • Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to increase the effectiveness of the UK Border Force as a law enforcement organisation since it was established as an independent operational command within her Department in 2012.

    James Brokenshire

    Since it was established as an operational command of the Home Office in 2012, a number of positive changes have been made to Border Force’s working practices in order to make it a more effective law enforcement organisation. In 2012, Border Force was, for the first time, provided with an operating mandate which set out parameters for operational decision-making, including the need to maintain 100% checks on all passengers arriving at passport control at all times. Border Force has also become more intelligence-led – adept at utilising increasing volumes of advance data to make targeted interventions against potentially dangerous passengers and consignments of goods upon arrival in the UK.

    Other important changes include: an improvement in command and control arrangements so that Border Force can rapidly respond and adjust to evolving security threats across different locations; employing new leadership in headquarters and ports across the country to install a more security-focussed culture in the organisation and plan effective operations with partner organisations at both a national and international level. Border Force has also increased the capability of its officers to respond to security threats, by equipping all permanently employed staff working at passport control with powers and training to detain individuals that pose a threat to the public who are subject to an arrest warrant or otherwise liable to arrest.

    These reforms have had a transformative effect on Border Force. As well as undertaking its traditional immigration and customs roles more effectively and efficiently, it has also proved capable of meeting a range of new strategic priorities, including rapidly implementing a screening regime in response to the global ebola outbreak and being a international leader in its work to identify victims of trafficking and slavery. Furthermore, in the past year Border Force has seized nearly 8 tonnes of Class A Drugs, more than two and half times as much as in 2009/10.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Attorney General, what progress he has made on increasing the number of prosecutions for disability hate crime.

    Robert Buckland

    In 2015/16, the CPS completed 941 prosecutions for disability hate crime, an increase of 41.3% on the previous year when it completed 666 prosecutions.

    The number of convictions rose from 503 in 2014/15 to 707 in 2015/16, an increase of 40.6%.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the educational resources available to (1) teachers, and (2) parents, to encourage healthier living among children and young people.

    Lord Nash

    This Government wants all children to lead healthy and active lives and schools have a key role to play in teaching children about healthy lifestyles. Schools have the flexibility to choose which educational resources they use to support their teaching and there are opportunities across the curriculum for pupils to be taught the knowledge and skills they need to support heathy living.

    The national curriculum is compulsory in state maintained schools and sets the expectation that across a variety of subjects, pupils are taught about the importance of leading a healthy active lifestyle. Physical education (PE) is compulsory at all four key stages in the national curriculum and should provide opportunities for pupils to become physically confident in a way that supports their health and fitness. Across science and design and technology, pupils are taught about the importance of healthy eating and nutrition.

    Change4Life is the Government’s flagship social marketing programme aimed at inspiring everyone to eat well, move more and live longer. In 2015 more than 385,000 families signed up to the “10 Minute Shake up” campaign, which are designed as fun activities for children to squeeze short 10-minute bursts of activity into their day. In January 2016, Change4Life launched the Food Detective campaign. Developed by educational experts, these curriculum-linked resources encouraged pupils to become Food Detectives and to learn more about sugar and 5 a day to support a healthy and balanced diet.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much her Department has spent on measures to improve air quality in each year since 2010-11; how much funding has been allocated to air quality improvement in the 2015-16 financial year; and what estimate she has made of the funding needed until 2020 to bring air pollution levels to within legal limits.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government has committed over £2 billion since 2011 in measures to improve air quality. As road transport is the dominant source of pollution most of the funding has been allocated from the Department for Transport. Defra’s contribution has taken the form of payments made under the Air Quality Grant Scheme to support local authority action on air pollution. Total payments made under the Scheme in each year are as follows:

    2010-11

    £2,361,000

    2011-12

    £3,078,745

    2012-13

    £3,100,000

    2013-14

    £1,000,000

    2014-15

    £1,000,000

    2015-16 (allocated)

    £500,000

    Future funding will depend on the outcome of the current Spending Review.

    The government has recently consulted on draft national and local Air Quality Plans for the UK. The finalised plans will be submitted to the European Commission by 31 December.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many young people are classified as long-term unemployed in the East Dorset District Council area.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.