Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Eritrea are currently held in immigration detention centres in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    As at 31 December 2015, there were 20 Eritrean nationals in detention in the UK. The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. Information on those in detention by nationality is available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: October to December 2015, table dt_13_q from GOV.UK on the statistics web pages at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40363, what estimate she has made of the cost of energy imports by the UK in each of the next five years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) does not produce projections of the cost of energy imports by the UK. The latest available estimate of the cost of UK energy imports is for the year 2015, valued at £37.9 billion.[1] Future costs of energy imports will depend on the volumes traded and also on fuel prices, which are inherently uncertain.

    [1] The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates of the value of trade according to internationally agreed classifications (SITC), with category 3 comprising most energy products (coal, crude oil, oil products, gas and electricity). This data is republished by DECC in table G7 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), and shows estimates of the value of energy trade.

  • Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alan Whitehead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department’s announcement of 17 December 2015 on improving air quality in cities, what progress her Department has made on deciding what resources, funding and guidance will be made available to the five local authorities which are introducing clean air zones.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    Air quality has improved significantly in recent decades and we are working at local, national and international levels to continue those improvements. The UK currently meets legal limits for almost all pollutants.

    The national air quality plan for NO2, published in December last year, combines targeted local and national measures, forming part of a wider approach that exploits new and clean technologies, such as electric and ultra-low emission vehicles. As part of the national plan we are requiring five cities to implement Clean Air Zones. The relevant cities are Birmingham, Derby, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton.

    The Joint Air Quality Unit has been established to deliver the national plan and is working in close cooperation with local authorities. The unit will provide guidance and support to local authorities to implement the plan by producing a Clean Air Zone framework which will set out how zones should be implemented, ensuring consistency across English local authorities. This will allow businesses and individuals to make straightforward economic decisions about which vehicles to purchase, and how and when they use them. We will support local authorities to make improvements to air quality through a variety of measures, including the Air Quality Grant, a competitive fund supporting local action to improve air quality.

    We are also providing dedicated support for the five cities which are required to implement Clean Air Zones by funding local scoping studies. In addition, we will provide funding to help these local authorities implement the zones and, where necessary, support the implementation of additional measures.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to tackle the conflict in Central African Republic.

    James Duddridge

    The UK’s focus in the Central African Republic is on working with the international community to improve security throughout the country. We support the Transitional Authorities in their preparation for elections, and assist with justice, governance and state administration. The UK co-sponsored a UN Security Council Resolution authorising the deployment of a UN Peacekeeping Operation, MINUSCA, which launched in September 2014. The operation is focussing on restoring stability, preventing human rights abuses, and promoting reconciliation. The UK has also supported the EU Military Advisory Mission to the Central African Republic which launched in March 2015. The mission provides the government of the Central African Republic with expert advice on security sector reform. In addition, the UK co-funded the African Union’s 2014 deployment of experts to the Central African Republic to support victims of sexual violence.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what improvements will take place under the new Northern Rail franchise on the Blackpool South and Preston to Colne service, other than the replacement of the Pacer trains.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Preston-Blackpool South will get a Sunday service all year round. At present the line shuts down for a period in the winter, but from Dec 2017 at least an alternate-hours service will operate all year round. Colne-Preston will get a full hourly Sunday service – twice as many trains on Sunday compared to now, and with the entire Northern fleet being refurbished, passengers will notice rolling stock improvements across the franchise.

    Accrington and Blackburn stations will become Northern Connect stations so will be staffed from 6am to 10pm (if they don’t already have staffing hours longer than this), with WiFi and catering outlets. All Northern stations with more than 10 passengers per day will have ticket machines, real-time information and help points.

    Beyond that there is a franchise wide, £38m investment in bringing stations up to standard, with benefits for many stations, which includes new platform seating, replacement shelters, new waiting rooms and toilets, and customer information screens.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many foreign national offenders are in prison in England and Wales.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is published and the latest figures, from April to June 2015, can be be found using the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2015

    “

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to use the UN Security Council Resolutions on Syria to organise air-drops of food by the World Food Program to besieged areas, and to provide air cover for such drops with the US air force.

    Baroness Verma

    At the "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference on 4 February, more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total more than £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    The most effective way to get food and other essential aid to people who are starving and in desperate need is for Assad and all parties to the conflict to adhere to international law. Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a day-by-day basis. It is an outrageous, unacceptable and illegal mechanism to use starvation as a weapon of war. That is why the UK will continue to call on the Assad regime and all parties to the conflict to allow immediate and unfettered access to all areas of Syria.

    Right now, aid delivered by road, by UN agencies and by others who know the situation on the ground and who can ensure it gets to those who need it most is the best way of getting help through. But we always consider the most effective way to get assistance to the people in need, and we do not rule anything out.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the proposed extension of Sunday trading hours on the pay and conditions of retail workers.

    Anna Soubry

    In view of the will of the House, we are no longer proposing to give local authorities the ability to extend the Sunday trading hours of large shops.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police custody suites in the UK have technology to allow live-link interpretation; and what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of such interpretation.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not collect this data. However, we support the use of video to minimise time spent in court and streamlined procedures that save time and money. The police and the wider Criminal Justice System need to meet the needs of a public who increasingly use technology in their day-to-day lives. They must have the tools and the skills to deal with digital information, to tackle crime, support victims and ensure swift justice.

  • Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Kirsty Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsty Blackman on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will make information on the House of Commons annunciator available online in real time.

    Tom Brake

    The House is currently completing a procurement process to replace the software system which enables publication of information on the annunciator service. The solution has been specified in such a way that the data will be available in an open format. The information will be published in real time and made available to connected devices.