Tag: Parliamentary Question

Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents there have been of women detained at Yarl’s Wood being handcuffed while attending hospital.

James Brokenshire

Home Office policy remains that there should be a presumption against using handcuffs to escort detainees for medical visits. The decision to use handcuffs is made on the basis of an individual risk assessment, and we monitor the use of restraint by custody officers closely to ensure that the use of restraint is reasonable, necessary and proportionate.

Management information shows that from May 2015 to May 2016 there have been 31 incidents when a woman has been handcuffed when attending hospital from Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre.

Month	Incidents of handcuff use
May 2015	0
June 2015	0
July 2015	0
August 2015	0
September 2015	1
October 2015	6
November 2015	6
December 2015	4
January 2016	5
February 2016	5
March 2016	1
April 2016	3
May 2016	0

This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics:

01/01/2023

Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consultations took place with the Scottish Government in advance of the announcement of the pilot study on post-study work visas in July.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

We have been in correspondence with the Scottish Government concerning the Tier 4 visa pilot. There is no pilot study currently being conducted into post-study work visas.

The Tier 4 visa pilot is part of the Home Office’s continued efforts to ensure that the UK maintains an excellent offer to attract the brightest and best to study at our world-leading institutions. The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with the institutions selected on the basis of their consistently low level of visa refusals. Its main aim is to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within Tier 4, whilst ensuring any changes do not undermine the robust application of immigration requirements.

The pilot helps simplify the visa application process for international students looking to study on a Masters’ course, in the UK, of 13 months or less. Whilst it will also help to support students who wish to switch into a work route by extending the leave period following the end of their study to up to six months, it does not make any changes to the Tier 2 visa route and is not a return to the post-study work visa route.

The four selected institutions were consulted regarding its implementation. Should the pilot be successful, the Home Office will consult key stakeholders about its possible expansion.

01/01/2023
Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote the role of women researchers in the global agriculture sector.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Government is committed to developing a strong, diverse research community. The Research Councils and National Academies share this commitment.

Government is working with its partner organisations to promote equality across all research disciplines and has established a Diversity Steering Group to guide this work.

To improve the diversity of research fellowship awards, the National Academies are working to encourage more applications from under-represented groups and to guard against discrimination in the selection process. Government has also commissioned the Research Councils to develop an action plan to improve the diversity of grant applications and peer-review rates.

As an international example, Government and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council have jointly funded four research programmes involving collaborative projects between UK researchers and partners in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.

All programmes have included research capacity building in developing countries and have had an increasing focus on integrating gender into agricultural research.

The most recent programme, Zoonoses and Emerging Livestock Systems (ZELS) includes a studentship programme and of the twelve PhD students who have been appointed, eight are women.

01/01/2023
Norman Lamb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the reasons are for the change in the publication date of the Mental Health Taskforce report to January 2016.

Alistair Burt

The independent Mental Health Taskforce has committed to delivering a costed five year mental health strategy for the NHS. Following the important announcement in the Spending Review that the Government is investing an additional £600m in mental health during this period, in line with the priorities identified in the strategy, the Taskforce is now finalising its recommendations and supporting analysis to ensure these are robust. Their report is due to be ready for publication by NHS England in the New Year.

01/01/2023
Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has held with the Chief Electoral Officer on steps to ensure that the count of the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in May 2016 is carried out efficiently and is not subject to undue delays.

Mr Ben Wallace

The Northern Ireland Office is in regular contact with the Chief Electoral Officer. I am confident that he is taking all necessary steps to ensure the Northern Ireland Assembly elections, including the count, are delivered as efficiently as possible. Single Transferable Vote counts by their nature take longer than those in “first past the post” elections, and the Chief Electoral Officer’s primary consideration has to be the accuracy of the count. However, he has put in place a number of measures to improve the speed of the count, including testing for count staff and modifications to the process for verifying ballot papers.

01/01/2023
Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 19143, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the administration of disability exemptions on vehicle excise duty and the effect on parking charges in local authority car parks.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has not issued guidance to local authorities on the administration of disability exemptions on vehicle excise duty. The issue of guidance to local authorities on off-street car parking charges would be a matter for the Department for Communities and Local Government, which has policy responsibility for this matter. It is for local authorities to decide what factors to take into account when considering how to apply concessions and exemptions from parking charges.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26146, on what programmes has contingency funding for the Defence Equipment Plan been spent in each year since 2012; and how much was spent on each programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

Centrally held contingency funding for the Defence Equipment Plan was introduced for the first time in 2012. During the 2014 Annual Budget Cycle, it was re-profiled into the later years to reflect better the level of risk in the equipment plan. As a result we have not spent any of the contingency in the years to date. However, we have allocated funding from it in future years to support specific programmes (Rotary Wing Flying Training System and Ajax Vehicles).

01/01/2023
Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to respond to the recommendations in Implementing the Family Test, a review of progress one year on by Relate, the Relationships Foundation and the Family and Childcare Trust.

Baroness Altmann

DWP welcome the Family Test, a review of progress one year on by Relate, the Relationships Foundation and the Family and Childcare Trust. We will consider the findings of the report in the next phase of our Government wide strategy to improve the embedding and implementation of the family test.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been referred to the NHS for remedial treatments for scarring and pain after laser hair treatment in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison

This information is not held centrally.

01/01/2023
Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-07-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, what measures they plan to take to ensure continued UK access to grants from Horizon 2020.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK economy is fundamentally strong and our research and innovation are world-leading. The UK’s decision to leave the EU has no immediate effect on the right of researchers to apply or to participate in Horizon 2020 as the UK is still an EU member state. UK participants can continue to apply to the programme in the usual way. The Commission has made a public statement on its website to this effect. The future of UK access to European research and innovation funding will be determined as part of wider discussions with the EU.

01/01/2023