Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on forced disappearances in Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to press (including in international fora) for the immediate end to enforced disappearances in Syria and the release of those arbitrarily detained.

    The UK sponsored three resolutions on the human rights situation in Syria at the Human Rights Council during 2015 condemning all arbitrary detention of individuals by the Syrian authorities and other parties to the conflict and demanding the immediate release of all persons arbitrarily detained. We also co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Third Committee Resolution on the human rights situation in Syria which was successfully adopted on 19 November.

    We support the UN Commission of Inquiry’s investigations into human rights violations and abuses, including enforced disappearances, in Syria. In partnership with other donor countries, we are funding the collection of documentary evidence on such abuses for use in possible legal processes in the future. We continue to call for the UN Commission of Inquiry to have unhindered access to all persons deprived of their liberty and allow them to investigate.

    Last year the UK co-sponsored a UN Security Council Resolution to refer all those responsible for war-crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria, regardless of affiliation, to the International Criminal Court. Russia and China chose to veto this resolution.

  • Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the implications of the police indicating to a person being interviewed under caution that no further action will be taken due to insufficient, or a lack of, evidence.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The implications in such circumstances are detailed in a written answer on 31 March 1993 by the then Attorney General (Sir Nicholas Lyell), as outlined below.

    The fundamental consideration remains that individuals should be able to rely on decisions taken by the prosecuting authorities. The policy of the Director of Public Prosecutions is that a decision to terminate proceedings or not to prosecute should not, in the absence of special circumstances, be altered once it has been communicated to the defendant or prospective defendant unless it was taken and expressed to be taken because the evidence was insufficient. In such a case it would be appropriate to reconsider the decision if further significant evidence were to become available at a later date especially if the alleged offence is a serious one.

    Special circumstances which might justify departure from this policy include:

    (1) rare cases where reconsiderations of the original decision show that it was not justified and the maintenance of confidence in the criminal justice system requires that a prosecution be brought notwithstanding the earlier decision; and

    (2) those cases where termination has been effected specifically with a view to the collection and preparation of the necessary evidence which is thought likely to become available in the fairly near future. In such circumstances the CPS will advise the defendant of the possibility that proceedings will be re-instituted. (Official Report, Col’s 200-201).

    Following this written answer and further written ministerial statements, the Crown Prosecution Service has produced guidance for prosecutors to follow concerning the exercise of the CPS discretion to institute, reinstitute or continue proceedings after a suspect has been informed by the police or CPS of a decision not to prosecute. The above mentioned Written Statements are detailed below and are published in the Official Report.

    WMS – Crown Prosecutors Code – 22 February 2010. Column WS64, Baroness Scotland of Asthal.

    WMS – Reconsidering a Prosecution Decision (CPS Guidance) – 31 October 2012, Col 15WS, Rt. Hon Dominic Grieve

    WMS – Victim’s Right to Review – 5 June 2013, Col 99WS, Rt. Hon Dominic Grieve

  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the charity Broken Rainbow on renewing funding from her Department; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government is committed to tackling domestic violence and abuse. Broken Rainbow plays an important role in supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims of domestic abuse, and the Home Office provided £120,000 to support the Broken Rainbow helpline for the 2015/16 financial year.

    We are carefully considering ongoing funding of national helplines, in close consultation with helpline providers, and decisions on renewing funding will be announced shortly.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people on temporary admission who travel for mandatory reporting from Oxfordshire to London have their transport costs paid from the public purse.

    James Brokenshire

    Immigration Enforcement retains a record of tickets that are issued to people on temporary admission for the purpose of travel to report at an Immigration Reporting Centre.

    Immigration Enforcement does not keep a record of the area from which those individuals have travelled. We are required to provide a travel ticket if the subject resides more than 3 miles away from the reporting centre and is in receipt of Asylum Support. We do not routinely provide travel tickets for anyone else who reports unless they reside over 25 miles away and there is an exceptional reason to do so. Each case is assessed and considered on its own merit.

  • Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation in the review What’s important to me: A review of choice in end of life care, that greater joint working between palliative care specialists and other clinical staff, and between secondary care and primary care staff, is important in order to identify people who may need end of life care as early as possible; and what action they are taking to implement that recommendation.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are committed to ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences.

    The Government’s forthcoming response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care, which will be published shortly, will set out our vision for high quality, personalised care and the steps we will take to achieve this. The response will also address each of the Review recommendations, including on care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care.

  • Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lyn Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lyn Brown on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will ensure that the PROUD trial participants will continue to receive a supply of the pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV drugs after June 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is in the process of re-considering its decision to remove pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) from the specialised commissioning annual prioritisation process. As such, no final decisions have yet been taken by NHS England as to whether or not they will routinely commission PrEP. This process, which is being overseen by NHS England’s Specialised Services Commissioning Committee, is expected to complete by the end of May 2016. Until the outcome of this process is known, NHS England will continue to work with Public Health England and the Department on planning for the proposed £2 million investment in an early implementer test site programme for PrEP. As part of this, NHS England will be exploring how, and where appropriate, a period of further support might be offered to the participants enrolled on the PROUD study. All the PROUD trial participants signed an explicit consent form that made clear that there was no long term commitment to continue providing PrEP beyond the trial.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39301, whether there is a timetable in place for other departments to establish and implement their plans to monitor official development assistance spending.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    HM Treasury will commission 5-year Official Development Assistance spending plans from all departments. The departmental plans are expected to be finalised by the end of the calendar year.

  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the total contribution in the form of Official Development Assistance that the UK plans to provide to India for (1) the current financial year, and (2) each of the following three years.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    For the current financial year, DFID has committed to spend £30 million through technical assistance and £40 million through returnable capital investment. Figures for ODA to India from other Government Departments will be available at the end of the period. UK ODA to India for outer years has not yet been agreed by Ministers.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many operators in the North Sea have yet to submit a safety case assessment to the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of compliance with the provisions of the EU Directive on the safety of offshore oil and gas operations.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As of 11 November 2015, forty-four operators of oil and gas installations have yet to submit a safety case for one or more installations to the Offshore Safety Directive Regulator for assessment. This is in line with an agreed transition schedule which is due for completion by 18 July 2018.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on how many local authorities have suicide prevention groups.

    Alistair Burt

    Data is currently not collected centrally on how many local authorities have in place local suicide prevention strategies and multi-agency prevention groups.

    I will be meeting soon with Departmental officials and our delivery partner organisations on suicide prevention to explore ways in which we can work together to progress the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, including improving local delivery of the Strategy, and the collection of information.