Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions will take place at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Malta about the recent state of emergency declared in the Maldives.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    On 10 November the Maldivian government lifted the State of Emergency. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) welcomed the announcement.

    On 11 November the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and Mr Swire met Kamalesh Sharma, the Commonwealth Secretary General. The Prime Minister urged the Secretary General to use the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and in particular the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, to highlight the situation in the Maldives and to support the process of restoring democracy and the rule of law.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 11834, whether he still intends to open the consultation on reform of support for those affected by contaminated blood products by the end of this year.

    Jane Ellison

    Reforming the current payment schemes is a priority and we are keen to get this right for those affected.

    We do not have a firm date for the consultation at this time, but it will be announced as soon as possible.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that applicants for universal credit are made aware of appropriate debt advice services; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    At the initial meeting, Work Coaches will assess the claimant’s financial capabilities and determine if there is a need for Personal Budgeting Support. If there is, then the claimant can be referred to a range of services including the Money Advice Service. Any claimant identified as being vulnerable and needing an Alternative Payment Arrangement during the course of their claim will be referred for appropriate support.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of Palestinian children imprisoned in (a) Palestine and (b) Israel in 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold information on this issue. However, according to the Israeli Non-Government Office (NGO) Military Court Watch, 422 Palestinian children were held in Israeli military detention as of 31 December, 2015. According to figures provided by the Israeli Prison Service, 148 children are being held inside detention facilities inside of Israel and 274 children are being held in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. According to the Palestinian human rights NGO, Addameer, there are no children being detained as Palestinian prisoners.

    We are concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. We funded an independent report on Children in Military Custody.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce self-harm among female prison inmates.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government is committed to reducing the incidence of self-harm in prisons. All prisons, including women’s prisons, are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harm to themselves. These include the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process, which is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for prisoners identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm. The ACCT process is designed to ensure that all prisoners are managed in a way that is responsive to individual needs and risks, including those related to gender.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 29629, if the Government will make it its policy to introduce targeted sanctions against individual members of the Maldivian government if the recommendations of the Commonwealth Action Group are not implemented in the next 12 months.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Following its meeting on 20 April, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) set a revised deadline of September for clear and measurable progress to be delivered in the six areas of concern, identified at their previous meeting in February. It will be for CMAG to assess what progress has been made by September and to decide what collective action may be required. If CMAG assesses sufficient steps have not been taken, the UK will carefully consider appropriate bilateral action to help support reform efforts in the Maldives.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is making to help prevent the displacement of Bedouin people in southern Israel; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have been encouraging the Israeli authorities and Bedouin communities to find a satisfactory solution to this issue, respecting the equality of all of Israel’s citizens.

  • Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address delays in the production of education, health and care plans in cases where (1) plans are produced by a local authority outside the timescale specified in regulations, and (2) plans are not produced for the start of a new school or academic year where a young person is transferring to a new stage of education at the age of (a) 16, and (b) 18.

    Lord Nash

    Local authorities are responsible for fulfilling the statutory duties on special educational needs (SEN) and disability placed upon them by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. This legal framework sets out clearly the process and timescales for producing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; and the process for determining the school placement of children and young people with EHC plans.

    Local authorities must issue final EHC plans within 20 weeks of commencing an assessment. Data published in May showed that 59.2% of EHC plans were issued on-time, excluding exception cases. Some areas are managing 100%. We have emphasised to local authorities that, where there are delays, they need to communicate clearly about them with families.

    The SEND Code of Practice is clear that EHC plans must be issued in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution. The Children and Familes Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2014, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2015, require local authorities to prioritise the review of statements of SEN or Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs) for children and young people approaching the end of an educational phase.

    Young people aged 19-25 are only able to draw on high needs funding from the Education Funding Agency where they have an EHC plan. Because some local authorities may not complete all the necessary transfers from LDAs to EHC plans by 1 September, EFA-funded institutions can continue to deliver programmes to 19-25 year olds where the young person has a Learning Difficulty Assessment and is receiving high needs funding, and where the local authority is in the process of an EHC assessment but has not finalised the EHC plan.

    The Department does not set targets for the performance of individual local authorities. The Department monitors very closely nationally-published data on local authority performance on SEN and disability and provides support and challenge as appropriate.

  • 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 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost of the NHS Citizen scheme has been to date; and what assessment he has made of its success since its creation.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    A total of £4.2 million has been spent on the NHS Citizen programme in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and the programme has a budget of £1.3 million for 2016/17.

    The Department’s annual assessment of NHS England in 2015-16 states that NHS England has made good progress against its duties to involve patients and the public. In the Department’s previous assessment, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State praised the positive work of the NHS Citizen programme and how it is building on its strong brand by expanding activity to ensure that Citizen Voice is locked into NHS England priority delivery areas and in the development of Sustainability and Transformation Plans.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether British missions in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, and other countries have received applications for family reunion and asylum in Britain; and if so, what action they have taken to respond to them.

    Lord Bates

    Applications for family reunion visas can be made in Visa Application Centres across the globe. There are such centres in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Italy and Greece. Should any mission receive queries about applying for a family reunion visa the applicant will be directed to the online application process. UKVI aims to decide all family reunion visa applications within 12 weeks of submission as per it’s customer services standard.

    An individual must be in the UK to claim asylum. There is no obligation on the UK to consider applications or enquiries made on behalf of people abroad about asylum in the UK and there is no provision in the Immigration Rules for someone to be given permission to travel to the UK to seek asylum.