Tag: Parliamentary Question

Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s bilateral investment treaties on its policies on human rights, development and the environment in each of the countries with which it has signed a treaty.

Anna Soubry

The UK is signatory to over 90 bilateral investment treaties (BITs). The objective of BITs is to provide investors with fair and equitable treatment, protection against discriminatory action and a commitment not to expropriate investments without compensation. The contents of BITs do not provide specific obligations to either investors or states regarding human rights, development or the environment, however fair, non-discriminatory and proportionate action taken by a host state to protect human rights, development and the environment would not breach an investment protection. The Government is not aware of any Investor-State Dispute Settlement claims made by UK investors under existing BITs that have led directly to or contributed towards a negative impact on these areas.

January 1, 2023
Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much humanitarian funding the Government gave to Yemen in 2015-16; and how much the Government plans to give to that country in 2016-17.

Rory Stewart

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 15 September to Question number 45832.

January 1, 2023
Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of post-release prisoners who fatally overdose on opioids.

Ben Gummer

Information on opioid-related deaths in England following release from prison is not held centrally.

January 1, 2023

Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the productivity levels in the UK compared with the rest of the G7 in each year since 1990.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The data is available on the ONS website, under the international Comparisons of Productivity section. For your ease, I have provided the table below:

Current price GDP per hour worked (UK=100)

Year	UK	G7 exc. UK	Year	UK	G7 exc. UK	Year	UK	G7 exc. UK
1990	100		2000	100	107	2010	100	115
1991	100	119	2001	100	108	2011	100	114
1992	100	116	2002	100	106	2012	100	116
1993	100	112	2003	100	105	2013	100	117
1994	100	111	2004	100	105	2014	100	120
1995	100	111	2005	100	106
1996	100	109	2006	100	104
1997	100	109	2007	100	106
1998	100	109	2008	100	107
1999	100	111	2009	100	110

Data are in current prices, allowing cross-country comparison of productivity for each individual year.

Source: International Comparisons of Productivity, First Estimates for 2014, ONS (Sep 2015)

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/icp/international-comparisons-of-productivity/2014—first-estimates/stb-icp0915.html

* Productivity data for the G7 are unavailable for 1990 due to the absence of comparable data for pre-reunification Germany.

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January 1, 2023

Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of statutory PSHE education on lowering the level of violence against women and girls; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson

High quality Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education has a vital role to play in ensuring that young people leave school prepared for life in modern Britain, helping them develop healthy relationships and recognise unhealthy relationships. It can also give them the skills and knowledge to help keep themselves, and each other, safe. The Government has made it clear in the introduction to the framework to the national curriculum that all schools should teach PSHE. Schools and teachers are best placed to develop their own PSHE curriculum based on the needs of their pupils, drawing on guidance provided by expert organisations such as the PSHE Association.

As stated in the Government response to the select committee report, we will take forward work with the sector to improve the quality of PSHE, and intend to make significant progress on this issue during this parliament.

January 1, 2023
Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether overtime for Ministry of Defence Police stationed at HM Naval Base Clyde is (a) voluntary or (b) compulsory.

Mark Lancaster

All Ministry of Defence Police officers can be asked to work beyond their normal conditioned hours if there is an unavoidable operational need to do so. Where there is a requirement to cover essential duties by the use of overtime working, volunteers are sought in the first instance in order to minimise the need for compulsory overtime working

January 1, 2023
Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Halifax constituency will be affected by changes to employment and support allowance for new claimants in the work-related activity group.

Priti Patel

Forecasts for Employment and Support Allowance are made only at the national level. As such, the information requested is not available.

January 1, 2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she uses to assess a bid from a metro mayor to assume the additional role of police and crime commissioner.

Mike Penning

Any proposal submitted by a local area for an elected mayor to take on police and crime commissioner (PCC) functions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In keeping with the Government’s broader approach to the devolution of powers to local people, it is for local areas to make the case and demonstrate that the transfer of PCC functions would be in the best interests of local communities and the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in relevant areas.

There is no presumption that an elected mayor would take on PCC functions. Local circumstances and the views of relevant PCCs are important factors in any consideration. Alongside this, another significant consideration is the issue of geographic boundaries and co-terminosity between the police area and the combined authority area.

Against that background, it is for local areas to make the case for any proposals.

January 1, 2023
Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase the number of people removed from the UK under (a) the assisted voluntary return scheme and (b) enforced removals.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office works across government and beyond to reduce the size of the illegal population by ensuring that there is a consequence for every individual and organisation that is benefiting from immigration abuse. That includes ensuring that people who have no right to be here leave the UK, voluntarily or through an enforced return.

The support available under the assisted voluntary return scheme is now integrated into the Home Office Voluntary Returns Service where a range of help and support is available to those here illegally who are seeking to return.

Creating the single service as a clear point of contact for those seeking to return, working with key voluntary sector stakeholders, local authorities, increasing the work we do directly with community and faith groups and improving our understanding of the best ways to reach out to those here illegally – are all key parts of the work the Home Office is doing to help people return home.

Encouraging voluntary returns allows us to focus our detention and enforcement resource on criminal cases and those that represent the biggest threat. Where someone refuses to leave the UK voluntarily we will take steps to enforce their swift removal and prevent them returning for up to 10 years.

In terms of enforced removals the 2014 Immigration Act reformed the deportation process. More than 3,200 foreign national offenders have been removed under the new deport first, appeal later powers since they came into force in July 2014, with many more going through the system.

We are also using biometrics to match identities and speed up the process of gaining emergency travel documents.

January 1, 2023
Julian Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the original planned date was for cutting steel to begin for the first Type 26 Global Combat Ship; to what date this planned date has been moved; whether the cause of that change was (a) limited capacity of BAE Systems and its sub-contractors to meet the original schedule or (b) a decision to remove a significant sum from the annual T26 budget; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

No firm date has yet been set for cutting steel which will mark the start of the manufacture phase of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) programme.

For equipment procurement programmes the cost and schedule is set at the main investment decision, and we have not yet reached that decision point.

The approval, in March 2016, of the Extended Demonstration Phase is consistent with the incremental approach to approvals we have adopted for the T26 GCS programme.

During the Demonstration Phase, we will continue to work with industry to re-baseline the programme in order to implement the changes resulting from the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the investment in Shore Testing Facilities, extending investment in our wider supply chain as well as further developing the detailed design of the ship ahead of the main investment decision and the start of manufacture.

January 1, 2023