Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred from the UK to (a) Italy, (b) Hungary, (c) Croatia, (d) France, (e) Belgium, (f) Austria and (g) Germany under the Dublin III Regulation in the last 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    An answer is still being prepared. We are currently extracting the data and need to ensure it is correctly quality checked to give the Hon. Member an accurate response and I will write to the honourable Member when it is finished.

  • Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Simon Hart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hart on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve safety for horses and riders on roads.

    Andrew Jones

    Rule 215 of The Highway code gives specific advice on approaching and overtaking horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles safely and with consideration. The theory test contains questions about how drivers should interact with horse riders and the hazard perception test includes a number of clips where horse riders are the hazard.

    The “Have Some Horse Sense on the road campaign was launched as part of the THINK! Road Safety Campaign and encouraged drivers to approach horses slowly and give them a wide berth when overtaking. This has been supplemented more recently by the THINK! Rural Roads campaign which reminds drivers to take particular care when driving along country roads.

  • 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

  • Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Enterprise Investment Scheme, Venture Capital Trust, tax relief or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme have offered low-risk investment opportunities in energy generation; and what his Department’s definition of low-risk is in this context.

    Mr David Gauke

    The purpose of the tax-advantaged venture capital schemes is to provide funding to smaller, higher-risk companies that would otherwise struggle to access finance to develop and grow. To target the schemes at these companies, and to ensure investment is not crowded out by low-risk investment opportunities, the schemes exclude certain activities from qualifying for investment under the schemes.

    The list of excluded activities is updated as necessary to exclude activities that are able to access finance from the market and which may therefore be regarded as lower risk. These include asset-backed activities, such as property dealing and development, leasing of assets or exploiting acquired copyrights, general financial and professional services, and financing activities that can divert the tax reliefs to non-qualifying activities. For these activities, a lack of proven track record is unlikely to affect the company’s ability to access finance. In addition, such activities are likely to have collateral against which loans can be secured.

    In recent years, the Government has been concerned about the disproportionate amount of tax-advantaged investment in certain energy generation activities. Their asset-backed nature makes it easier for these activities to access mainstream finance. Therefore the Government has taken several steps to exclude certain types of energy generation from the schemes, including in 2012, 2014 and 2015.

    The Government keeps all tax-advantaged venture capital schemes under review, and makes changes where necessary to ensure the schemes remain well-targeted and effective.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many non-UK (a) nations and (b) planes were flying combat missions in Syria against ISIS on the last date for which figures are available.

    Michael Fallon

    In addition to the UK, the other coalition partners that have flown combat missions in Syria against Daesh are the United States of America, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The number of aircraft that our coalition partners have in the region flying combat operations in Syria is not held by the MOD.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of employees in his Department has (a) taken the CESG Certified Cyber-Security Training Course and (b) received other relevant cyber-security training.

    Brandon Lewis

    Technical cyber-security services are provided to the Department by the Department for Education under a shared services agreement. All Information Asset Owners in the Department have undertaken the Information Asset Owner module of the cross government Responsible for Information Training, which includes cyber-security training.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 23824, whether any staff in young offender institutions are (a) qualified speech and language therapists, (b) registered with the Mental Health and Care Professions Council and (c) qualified social workers.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

    The Youth Justice Board is responsible for the commissioning and oversight of the secure youth estate. The Youth Justice Board funds dedicated social workers at each under-18 Young Offender Institution (YOI). All young people undergo a health and education assessment upon arrival into custody, whilst all staff undergo training in child and adolescent development and safeguarding.

    Under-18 YOI providers should ensure that they meet the needs of all detained persons including those with Special Education and Needs (SEN) requirements, and that all staff are suitably qualified to support young people and make referrals to other specialist support where this is appropriate.