The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, when her Department plans to publish its Bilateral Aid Review.
Rory Stewart
The Government intends to publish the outcomes of the Bilateral Aid Review shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2015-11-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much the UK contributed to UN and African Union peacekeeping and stabilisation in low and middle income countries which (a) was not and (b) was classified as Official Development Assistance in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15.
James Duddridge
The UK’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping for low and middle income countries for Financial Year 2014/15 was £319.2m of non Official Development Assistance and £23.6m of Official Development Assistance funding; and for 2013/14 was £295.9m of non Official Development Assistance and £20.5m of Official Development Assistance funding. The UK does not make a direct contribution to the African Union. However, the annual UN Peacekeeping payments include a contribution and support to the United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-01-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government has taken to transpose the EU Directive on Victims’ Rights into UK law.
Mike Penning
The Ministry of Justice fully transposed the EU Victims’ Directive 2012/29/EU (the Victims’ Directive) on 16 November 2015. In conjunction with existing legislation, the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code) is the main mechanism used to transpose the Victims’ Directive into the law of England and Wales.
The UK government is responsible for transposing the Directive in England and Wales. The Devolved Administrations are also required to implement the Directive under their devolved powers and we have been working closely with them to do so.
The transposition table which sets out how we have implemented the Victims’ Directive through the Victims’ Code can be found at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1817/pdfs/uksitn_20151817_en.pdf
In the Queen’s Speech we made a commitment to bring forward measures to increase the rights of victims of crime. Further detail on our plans will be published in due course.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-01-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to hold NHS bodies accountable to the recommendations of the Accelerated Access Review.
George Freeman
The Accelerated Access Review, which was set up to look at speeding up access to innovative drugs including those for rare diseases, devices and diagnostics for National Health Service patients, has been making strong progress since it was first announced in November 2014.
The review is independently chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor and has been engaging stakeholders extensively since the summer to gather evidence on the big questions the review is considering, and has developed a number of emerging solutions.
Sir Hugh published his interim report of the review on 27 October 2015. The report is high-level, direction-setting and grounded in evidence gathered through the review’s stakeholder engagement to date. Included in the report were proposals for a National Innovation Partnership of key bodies in the innovation pathway who would be party to a Concordat committing them to the ambitions set out in the review. The review has used a second phase of engagement to work closely with industry stakeholders, Government, the NHS and arm’s length bodies on these and other proposals set out in the interim report.
In April 2016 the review will conclude with Sir Hugh making his final recommendations to Government. The Department will review these recommendations and consider how best to respond.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-02-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on relations between the UK and Ireland.
Mr David Lidington
At the February European Council the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.
The Government believes that the best context for friendly and constructive bilateral relations with the Republic of Ireland is common membership of a reformed European Union. A vote to leave the EU in the referendum would bring with it uncertainty across a range of issues.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on the introduction of citizenship by investment schemes by EU member states.
James Brokenshire
I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave on 9 March to Question 29833 from the hon. Member for Hammersmith (Andy Slaughter) and to Question 29873 from the hon. Member for Rochester and Strood (Kelly Tolhurst).
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost of hotel bookings for (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) civil servants of his Department was during the negotiation processes for local authority devolution deals in each of the last three years.
Mr Mark Francois
Ministers, special advisers and civil servants in this department undertake a variety of visits to support the delivery of Government’s devolution and local growth objectives. We do not hold figures for the costs incurred for visits specifically supporting the negotiation of devolution deals in the format requested and this can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-23.
To ask the Chairman of Committees how many staff in the House of Lords are employed on zero-hours contracts.
Lord Laming
The House of Lords does not employ any staff on zero-hours contracts on an exclusive basis. It employs 28 staff on zero-hours contracts in the Catering and Retail Services department, primarily for banqueting events. These are roles where staffing demands vary significantly week to week and are often unpredictable. The House also employs 22 freelance Hansard reporters. In order to meet overnight publication deadlines for Grand Committee debates, Hansard needs to supplement its permanent team with temporary reporters
Zero-hours staff employed by the House of Lords are free to turn down shifts offered by the House. They have equivalent employment rights to full-time staff including pension and holiday pay entitlements, which are better than those of most agency staff. All staff in the House of Lords, including those on these contracts, are paid at least the London Living Wage.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-19.
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which ministerial responsibilities are held by the Office of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Ben Gummer
The List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to increase capacity at the Asylum and Immigration Chamber.
Sir Oliver Heald
The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). HMCTS have provided an additional 4,500 tribunal sitting days for this financial year compared to 2015/16. HMCTS keeps performance and resource levels under close review.