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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether there have been any unintentional violations of international humanitarian law carried out by Saudi coalition forces in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by all sides to the conflict and take these very seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached. As the Saudi Arabian authorities announced on 31 January, they have mechanisms in place to investigate alleged incidents and to learn lessons if things go wrong. The Ministry of Defence also monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using a range of available information, which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. At this stage, looking at all the information available to us, we have not assessed that there has been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but we continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) age and (b) gender was of each potential victim recorded on the NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline between July 2014 and July 2015; how many such cases were referred to the police and for what reasons; and how many such callers agreed to a reference to the National Referral Mechanism.

    Karen Bradley

    Between 31 July 2014 and 31 July 2015, 849 contacts were made to the NSPCC-run modern slavery helpline including 57 contacts made by potential victims themselves. 403 referrals were made to the police during the same period. Many calls to the helpline are made by concerned members of the public rather than victims themselves and so the number of potential victims is based on the information provided by a third party. The helpline refers information to the police or social services if the operator believes someone to be in danger or at risk of modern slavery.

    From the 849 contacts the NSPCC was notified of a potential 1,163 victims. Of those potential victims, 340 were reported as female, 530 were male and 293 were recorded as both or unknown. The table below shows the breakdown of those potential victims by age group.

    Age group

    Total

    0-17

    83

    18-25

    152

    26-35

    114

    36-45

    46

    46-50

    17

    51-60

    37

    61-70

    10

    Unknown

    704

    Grand Total

    1163

    The Home Office does not maintain a record of how many potential victims were subsequently found or referred to the NRM as a result of these contacts. However, all potential adult victims who contact the helpline are signposted to The Salvation Army for support and referral into the National Referral Mechanism, if they consent. Potential child victims are referred to the NSPCC’s Child Trafficking Advice Centre for further action.

    No funding has been allocated for the NSPCC helpline for the financial year 2016-17. Polaris, a US-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), is establishing an enhanced UK helpline in collaboration with a UK-based NGO, which will supersede the current NSPCC helpline. The NSPCC helpline will remain in operation until the enhanced helpline is up and running. Start up funding of up to £1 million has been provided by Google.org. The new helpline is expected to be in operation later this year.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were removed from the UK by surface transport on grounds that they were not entitled to leave to remain but who were unable to fly on medical grounds in each of the last five years; and how many such people were removed to India.

    James Brokenshire

    The mode of transport for persons for persons subject to enforced removal from the UK is not published within official national migration statistics. To establish this figure over a 5 year period would require a manual examination of records within the Home Office Case Information Database (CID) which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

    Joseph Johnson

    In 2015-16, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) spent £7.3m on non-payroll staff, which represents 4.7% of the total paybill. This includes agency staff, specialist contractors, Interim Managers, consultants and consultancy costs.

    BIS has a clear strategy to reduce our costs for agency and contractor spend by at least 20% over the current Spending Review period.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on allowing more refugees the opportunity to reach the UK safely and legally.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We operate several resettlement schemes that provide safe and legal routes to the United Kingdom for the most vulnerable refugees, including Gateway, Mandate, the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme and the Vulnerable children at risk schemes. In addition, we support the principle of family unity and have several routes to enable refugees and their families to be reunited.

    We are under no obligation to consider asylum claims lodged outside UK territory and it would not be appropriate to do so. Those who need international protection should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach – that is the fastest route to safety.

    We believe that seeking protection in the first safe country allows vulnerable people to receive help more quickly rather than risking their lives on hazardous journeys into and across Europe or falling victim to criminal gangs who are exploiting the situation. Providing humanitarian support in the region and working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on resettlement programmes remains the best way to provide much needed support to the majority of those facing persecution who remain in the region.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which projects in the UK are (a) currently funded and (b) due to be funded by the European Investment Bank.

    Mr David Gauke

    While the UK remains a full member of the European Union it retains all of the rights, obligations and benefits that membership brings. The long-term relationship between the UK and the EIB will need to be resolved as part of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the UK Governor of the European Investment Bank and continues to fulfil his governance duties. The Chancellor continues to meet his European counterparts on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.

    The EIB publish all loans made to UK borrowers as well as details on all future projects yet to be financed. Between 2013 and 2015, the UK received €20.7bn in EIB financing. The link below provides full details on EIB lending to the UK.

    http://www.eib.org/projects/regions/european-union/united-kingdom/index.htm

  • Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gavin Newlands – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women were affected by the changes made in the Pension Act 2011.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Estimates of the number (a) men and (b) women affected by the changes made to State Pension age are presented in Table 5 of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, available at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdf

    This shows that an estimated 2.34 million men and 2.64 million women would have an increase in the State Pension age under the Pensions Act 2011 compared to the legislated position prior to the passing of the Pensions Act 2011.

    The Impact Assessment examines the fiscal costs and benefits of increasing women’s State Pension age from 63 to 65 between April 2016 to November 2018; and increasing men’s and women’s State Pension age from 65 to 66 between December 2018 and October 2020. A Gender Impact assessment is provided in the Annex of the Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment.

    Women born in 1952 were not affected by the changes to State Pension age in the Pensions Act 2011.

    “

  • 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 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether staff working in his Department that were employed through an agency earned the London Living Wage or more in each of the last two years.

    David Mundell

    All London based staff employed by the Scotland Office through an agency earned more than the London Living Wage in each of the last two years.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the UK no longer has a strategy on opposing the death penalty; and whether the Government plans to publish a new strategy.

    Mr David Lidington

    This Government is continuing its work to oppose the death penalty as part of its broader efforts to promote human rights. Our commitment to the Rules Based International Order underpins this work, including through bilateral and multilateral support to global efforts to abolish the death penalty. We do not intend to publish a new strategy specific to the death penalty; but we will be publishing a strategy for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund shortly, which will show how work to abolish the death penalty is important under all three of the strategy’s new themes. The FCO’s death penalty-related work will also be covered in future instalments of the FCO’s Annual Human Rights Report.

  • John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many people and (b) what proportion of the eligible population have been invited to participate in the NHS Bowel Scope Screening Programme by screening centre in each year since that programme was launched.

    Jane Ellison

    Bowel Scope Screening is currently offered in 48 out of 63 screening units with 25% of all general practitioner practices in England engaging with bowel scope.

    All screening centres are expected to go live in 2016 and it is hoped that full roll out of bowel scope screening will be achieved by 2019.

    The annual population eligible for screening (55 year olds) is approximately 780,000 across all screening centres. This data come from the counts of people turning 55 each year.

    Data on screening centres offering bowel scope screening is currently unavailable due to deductive disclosure; however the programme is looking to publish the data as soon as possible.