Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15349, if HM Revenue and Customs will expand the tax exemption associated with the Cycle to Work scheme to provide employees with access to tax-free physical activity accessories and personalised activity plans for themselves and their families.

    Mr David Gauke

    The tax exemption associated with the Cycle to Work scheme is for the loan or hire by an employer to an employee of a cycle or cyclist’s safety equipment. It was established to promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution. This and all other tax exemptions are kept under review.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total crew complement of HMS Ocean was on its most recent deployment; of what the Embarked Military Forces she carried consisted; and how many helicopters of which type she carried.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Ships’ complements are not fixed; they vary, even across a class, depending on equipment fits and in response to specific tasking.

    HMS OCEAN has a complement of 380 when in her normal operating role; however, this would have varied during her deployment on COUGAR 15 as personnel embarked and disembarked dependent on the activity. The Embarked Military Force (Royal Marines and Aviation Group personnel) was in the region of 620.

    Similarly, the number and type of helicopters embarked varied depending on the activity. At points during the deployment, HMS OCEAN carried the following helicopters:

    Chinook CH47

    2

    Apache

    4

    Wildcat

    4

    Merlin Mk2

    2

    Osprey MV 22 (US Marine Corps)

    3

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of transferring staff from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to the Institute for Apprentices to allow continuity of collected labour market information when government funding for that commission ceases in 2016-17.

    Nick Boles

    The Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) will have a very small research role, focused around its tight set of core functions. It will not continue the UKCES function of carrying out research into the wider labour market.

    BIS has consulted the Devolved Administrations and other users of labour market information on future research priorities. These discussions have identified the significance of the Employer Skills Survey, the Employer Perspectives Survey and the LMI (Labour Market Information) for All Portal. We are considering how these can best be delivered in future and will announce future arrangements as soon as final decisions are made.

  • Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Deech – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Deech on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Iran concerning the announcement by Iranian state media that an additional $600,000 has been added by them to the existing cash reward for killing Salman Rushdie.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have consistently been clear that threats to Mr Rushdie are completely unacceptable. Our Chargé d’Affaires in Tehran raised our strong concerns with the Iranian government on 29 February about these recent developments.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to extend the Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme to (a) Iraqi victims of Daesh and (b) members of the Yazidi community.

    James Brokenshire

    Only UNHCR registered Syrian refugees are eligible under the Syrian Resettlement Scheme, which has been expanded to resettle up to 20,000 during this Parliament. We work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify cases that they deem in need of resettlement according to seven agreed vulnerability criteria for the Syrian Resettlement Scheme.

    There are no current plans to widen the Syrian Resettlement Scheme but it is operated in addition to our global resettlement schemes: Gateway and Mandate, which are not nationality specific.

  • 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 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken in conjunction with the French government to ensure that unaccompanied child refugees have access to high quality legal assistance in order to submit claims for family reunion under the Dublin III Regulation.

    James Brokenshire

    Under the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August 2015, the UK and France have committed to ensuring that the provisions of the Dublin III Regulation are used efficiently and effectively. To assist the handling of such cases, the two Governments have established a permanent official contact group, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and the UK seconded an asylum expert to the French administration to improve all stages of the process of identifying, protecting and transferring relevant cases to the UK. The Home Office will review the existing arrangements as part of the work to implement relevant provisions of the Immigration Act 2016. Between the start of January 2016 and 30th April 2016 our records indicate that the UK has accepted over 30 requests from France under the Dublin Regulations to take charge of asylum seeking children on family grounds of which more than 20 have already been transferred to the UK.

    To assist with the identification of potential victims of trafficking and exploitation (including unaccompanied children) in Calais, the UK has funded a project run by a French non-governmental organisation which aims to identify and direct these vulnerable people to the appropriate support services in France.

    The UK and France are running regular joint communication campaigns in northern France which informs individuals (including unaccompanied children) of their rights to claim asylum in France and gives them information on family reunification. The frequency of these campaigns has been increased in line with the Joint Declaration signed in August 2015.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Schools of 4 July 2016, Official Report, column 210WH, what the evidential basis is for the statement that 77 per cent of UK employees say that they need more employees with foreign languages.

    Nick Gibb

    The figure to which I referred on 4 July was derived from a survey by the Confederation of British Industry’s Education and Skills Survey 2015[1] which found that only 23% of businesses said they had no need for foreign language skills among their employees.

    [1] http://news.cbi.org.uk/reports/education-and-skills-survey-2015/

    “

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many lion trophies were imported into the UK in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Before 1 January 2015 there was no requirement to obtain a permit to import a lion hunting trophy for personal use so no data is held. In 2015 the Animal and Plant Health Agency issued 19 import permits (all were returned as used) for the importation of lion hunting trophies into the UK from outside the EU. As at 28 September 2016 it has issued seven import permits this year (none have yet been returned as used). Where permits are returned as used, this confirms that the importation has taken place.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many of the (a) core recommendations and (b) specific recommendations of his Department’s report entitled Children in Military Custody, published in June 2012, the Israeli government has implemented.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Since the publication of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded independent report on Children in Military Custody in June 2012, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention. This includes a pilot to use summons instead of night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. There has also been a reduction in the use of solitary confinement and an increase in the use of Arabic to give notifications of arrest.

    While we welcome the improvements to date, we continue to press the Israeli authorities to make further progress on this important issue.

  • Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the apprenticeship levy is expected to raise in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

    Greg Hands

    The Apprenticeship Levy is expected to raise:

    • £2,730m in 2017-18;
    • £2,845m in 2018-19;
    • £2,970m in 2019-20.

      These figures are published in table 3.1 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 document which is available on gov.uk.