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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department spent on raising the profile of forced marriage as a criminal offence in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

    Karen Bradley

    We made forced marriage a criminal offence in 2014 to better protect victims and send a clear message that this abhorrent practice will not be tolerated in the UK.

    The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) (a joint FCO and Home Office Unit) leads the Government’s forced marriage policy, outreach and casework. It carries out a range of awareness raising work, including a comprehensive programme of outreach, new e-learning for professionals, and the launch of short film aimed at deterring potential perpetrators. For the financial years 2014-16, the Home Office has allocated £200,000 to the FMU.

    Statistics on the number of cases of forced marriage investigated by the police are not collected centrally. The Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent violence against women and girls report shows that the volume of referrals from the police to the CPS with a forced marriage element is going up: from 67 in 2013-14, to 82 in 2014-15. In addition, to date over 1,000 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been issued to prevent marriages from taking place and to assist in repatriating victims.

    We are encouraged by the first conviction secured in June last year, but there is still work to be done. We want to see more victims having the confidence to come forward and being identified by the police. As part of the wider work to improve the police response to so-called ‘honour’ based violence, we will continue to work with the partners to review the implementation of the new legislation and lead efforts to tackle this barbaric crime.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of Sustainability and Transformation Plans have been submitted to his Department; and what the deadline is for such plans to be submitted.

    George Freeman

    No Sustainability and Transformation Plans have been submitted yet. Draft submissions will be made to the national arm’s length bodies and are due on 30 June 2016. These documents will be discussed with footprints in July 2016.

    Plans will have no status until they are agreed. Footprints are at different starting points, and so the degree of detail that will be provided by 30 June 2016 will vary. Therefore, rather than expecting to have one ‘sign-off’ moment for all 44 plans, it is anticipated that this will occur in a series of waves over the coming weeks and months, with those areas who are more advanced achieving earlier sign off than those who will require more work.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the rationale was for his Department’s decision to allow soldiers who have completed only Phase One training to be called up to perform frontline tasks.

    Mark Lancaster

    The rationale behind the decision to plan to use Army Phase 1 trained Regular and Reserve personnel in response to crises within the UK was set out in the Written Ministerial Statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) on 29 June 2016 (HCWS49).

  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is giving to aid organisations based in Yemen to deliver humanitarian assistance in that country.

    Priti Patel

    The UK is the fourth largest donor to Yemen with an additional £37 million in UK funding for Yemen announced at the UN General Assembly. This brings the UK’s total to £100 million in humanitarian assistance for 2016/17 which is provided to aid organisations in Yemen. Last year, we helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis with food, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter.

    We also continue to urge parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to ensure our partners are able to deliver aid to its intended beneficiaries.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of medical research spending is directed toward eye disease.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 19 November 2015 to Question UIN 14200.

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  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what impact assessment they conducted on provisions in the Trade Union Bill prohibiting public sector employers from providing a check-off service.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The prohibition on deduction of union subscriptions from wages in the public sector (check-off) is being considered in an impact assessment to be published in due course.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to promote safety among older drivers; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The crucial factor for road safety is not a driver’s age, but their physical and mental fitness to drive. The current licensing arrangements support road safety without penalising those older drivers who remain fit and competent to drive.

    When drivers aged 70 and over renew their licences, they must declare any medical condition that could affect their fitness to drive and confirm that they meet the legal eyesight standards. Renewals are at three-yearly intervals and provide a timely reminder for drivers to consider their health in the context of driving.

    Additionally, all drivers have an ongoing duty to inform the DVLA at any time of the onset or worsening of a medical condition that may affect their ability to drive safely. When a driver declares a medical condition, the DVLA will investigate their ongoing fitness to hold a driving licence.

    The Department has provided grant funding to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to develop a dedicated older drivers website that will provide information to drivers and their families on driving safely. The website should go live within the next couple of weeks.

    We will consider the Older Driver forums review of older driver safety when it is published, subject to priorities set out in the British Road Safety Statement.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24499, what discussions his Department plans to have with banks on minimising the cost of loan and other penalties incurred by colleges which merge as part of area reviews.

    Nick Boles

    I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 24367

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  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many wholesalers have registered for the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme to date.

    Damian Hinds

    The application window for the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS) closes on 31 March. HMRC is using appropriate channels to ensure customers who need to apply are aware of their obligations in good time to enable them to meet that deadline.

    Once the application window has closed, HMRC will assess the applications it has received. Appropriate action will then be taken to enforce the requirements of the new scheme.

    HMRC has been ramping up communications for AWRS over the last 12 months. It has issued several press notices and articles including regional and national media as well as specialist press and social media. HMRC is also working through key stakeholders and representative bodies associated with the alcohol business sectors to issue partnership marketing, giving a reach of 55,000 businesses. In February I wrote to individual businesses that may need to apply for AWRS to remind them of the deadline.

    The HMRC communications approach to this scheme is designed to ensure messages reach everyone who needs to receive them. If, however, analysis of applications after the deadline reveals a particular category of customers ‘missing’ to a significant degree from the applications received, and there is evidence that the programme of extensive communications failed to reach them, HMRC will explore whether there are any implications for the way in which follow up action is taken for that particular group.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Liberia.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Liberia has made significant progress since the end of its civil war in 2003. However, Liberia’s second Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in 2015, highlighted continuing concerns over gender-based violence and victims’ access to justice; the length of pre-trial detention; investigative capacity of the police and judiciary; and the death penalty. The government of Liberia accepted 147 of the 186 recommendations made. The UK Government regularly presses for concrete action in these areas through our Ambassador in Monrovia and in multilateral fora.

    The UK is concerned about inflammatory statements by the Liberian opposition in the run-up to the country’s elections in 2017. In March, our Ambassador urged the Government of Liberia to show restraint by ensuring that their responses to such statements are proportionate.