Tag: Parliamentary Question

Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent representations they have received about the interpretation and implementation of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in relation to the actions by ISIS against Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq; what response they are making to such representations; and what specific actions they intend to take to establish an international consensus on these matters.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government has received a number of recent representations on these issues from Parliament and members of the public and is responding in writing.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all civilians, including Christians, Mandeans, Yazidis, and other minorities, as well as the majority Muslim population who continue to bear the brunt of Daesh’s brutality. The UK has led efforts within the UN to tackle and condemn Daesh and on the protection of civilians more widely. For example, we co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution mandating the UN to investigate and report on Daesh abuses.

It is a long-standing Government policy that any judgements on whether genocide has occurred are a matter for the international judicial system rather than governments or other non-judicial bodies.

Ultimately, the only way to protect Christians, Yazidis and other minorities in the region from Daesh is by defeating this terrible organisation, which in turn requires, amongst other things, ending the conflict in Syria. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), set out the UK’s comprehensive strategy for defeating Daesh and finding a political settlement to the Syria conflict in his response to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 26 November 2015.

The joint Office of the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect (the Office) are engaged with these issues and publish much of their activity online, including statements in relation to the situation of Christians and other minorities in Syria and Iraq. Our officials maintain regular contact with officials from the Office to discuss issues related to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities. The Government provides funding for the Office, including for their work with religious leaders and faith based organisations in the Middle East and North Africa region, aimed at the prevention of incitement to violence that could lead to atrocity crimes.

01/01/2023
Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time of cases in employment tribunals related to non-payment of the National Minimum Wage was in each of the last five years.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The average clearance time of employment tribunal claims for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage¹ in each of the last five years is as shown in Table 1 below:

Financial Year

Average time in weeks

2010-11

43

2011-12

41

2012-13

43

2013-14

32

2014-15

74

source: ET Database February 2016

¹ "Suffer a detriment and/or dismissal related to failure to pay the minimum wage or allow access to records"

In 2014-15 we reviewed outstanding cases and removed a backlog of very old cases from the case management system. The overall trend in average clearance time for single cases is improving and this can be seen in the Published Statistics at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

“

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials of his Department were employed specifically to assist with negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement

Anna Soubry

Prior to 1 April 2014 the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was handled alongside a number of other trade negotiations. On 1 April 2014 my Department established a Unit whose primary purpose is to assist with the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership but which also handles certain other international matters. In April 2014 this Unit comprised 8 staff primarily working on TTIP and 4 working on other international matters. It currently comprises 10 staff working primarily of TTIP and 6 working on other international matters. Staff expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £793313, and in 15/16 is projected to be £916007. Total expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £886813 and in 15/16 is projected to be £926774.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether it is his policy for the House to be given an opportunity to debate in advance any decision to use his Department’s cyber strike capability.

Penny Mordaunt

We continue to develop the ability of our Armed Forces to deploy a broad range of offensive cyber capabilities as an integrated part of military operations. As with other sensitive defence capabilities, we do not reveal specific details in order to safeguard national security. As we have previously made clear in the context of the war powers convention, we do not propose to define the circumstances in which we would consult Parliament about the use of particular military capabilities.

01/01/2023
Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department’s laptop computers have been lost in the last year.

Mark Lancaster

Between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2016, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has reported that 39 laptops were lost.

The MOD treats all losses of assets seriously. All reported losses are subjected to an initial security risk assessment, with further action taken on a proportionate basis.

It is MOD policy that its laptops are to be encrypted to minimise the impact if a loss were to occur.

01/01/2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who the senior leaders and board members are of the 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints.

George Freeman

The Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) leads for the footprints are as provided below. The names of other members of the footprints are held locally.

Footprint	STP footprint lead
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear	Mark Adams (Chief Officer, Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG))
West, North and East Cumbria	Stephen Eames (Chief Executive, North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust)
Durham, Darlington and Tees, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Whitby	Alan Foster (Chief Executive, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust)
Lancashire and South Cumbria	Dr Amanda Doyle OBE (Chief Clinical Officer, Blackpool CCG)
West Yorkshire	Rob Webster (Chief Executive designate, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust)
Coast, Humber and Vale	TBC
Greater Manchester	Sir Howard Bernstein (Chief Executive, Manchester City Council)
Cheshire and Merseyside	Louise Shepherd (Chief Executive, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust)
South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw	Sir Andrew Cash OBE (Chief Executive, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)
Kent & Medway	Glenn Douglas (Chief Executive, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust)
Sussex and East Surrey	Michael Wilson (Chief Executive, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust)
Frimley Health	Sir Andrew Morris (Chief Executive, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust)
Surrey Heartlands	Julia Ross (Chief Executive, North West Surrey CCG)
Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly	TBC
Devon	Angela Pedder OBE (Chief Executive, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust)
Somerset	Dr Matthew Dolman (Chair, Somerset CCG)
Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire	Robert Woolley (Chief Executive, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust)
Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire	James Scott (Chief Executive, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust)
Dorset	Tim Goodson (Chief Officer, Dorset CCG)
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight	Richard Samuel (Chief Officer, Fareham and Gosport CCG, South Eastern Hampshire CCG)
Gloucestershire	Mary Hutton (Accountable Officer, Gloucestershire CCG)
Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West	David Smith (Chief Executive, Oxfordshire CCG)
Staffordshire	John MacDonald (Chair, University Hospitals North Midlands NHS Trust)
Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin	Simon Wright (Chief Executive, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust)
Derbyshire	Gary Thompson (Chief Officer, Southern Derbyshire CCG)
Lincolnshire	Allan Kitt (Chief Officer, South West Lincolnshire CCG)
Nottinghamshire	David Pearson (Director, Adult Social Care, Nottinghamshire County Council)
Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland	Toby Sanders (Accountable Officer, West Leicestershire CCG)
The Black Country	Andy Williams (Accountable Officer, Sandwell West Birmingham CCG)
Birmingham and Solihull	Mark Rogers (Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council)
Coventry and Warwickshire	Andy Hardy (Chief Executive, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust)
Herefordshire and Worcestershire	Sarah Dugan (Chief Executive, Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust)
Northamptonshire	John Wardell (Accountable Officer, Nene CCG)
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough	Dr Neil Modha (Chief Clinical Officer, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG)
Norfolk and Waveney	TBC
Suffolk and North East Essex	Nick Hulme (Chief Executive, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust)
Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire and Luton	Pauline Philip (Chief Executive, Luton & Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust)
Hertfordshire and West Essex	Beverley Flowers (Accountable Officer, East and North Hertfordshire CCG)
Mid and South Essex	Dr Anita Donley (Independent Chair for Mid and South Essex Success Regime from 1st April)
North West London	Dr Mohini Parmar (Chair, Ealing CCG)
North Central London	David Sloman (Chief Executive, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust)
North East London	Jane Milligan (Chief Officer, Tower Hamlets CCG)
South East London	Amanda Pritchard (Chief Executive, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust)
South West London	Kathryn Magson (Chief Officer, Richmond CCG)

Note: Entries that are TBC mean that no one is as of yet confirmed in position.

01/01/2023

Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements will be made to provide submarine operational cover while HMS Ambush in undergoing repairs; and what risks have been identified as a result of those arrangements.

Harriett Baldwin

It is UK policy that we do not comment on matters relating to submarine activity or operations as this would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

HMS AMBUSH is undergoing repairs at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, the duration of which is under review.

On 28 July 2016, the Director General of the Defence Safety Authority convened an independent Service Inquiry to investigate the circumstances of this incident. It would be inappropriate to comment further while this investigation is on-going.

01/01/2023
Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings took place between Liz Sanderson and members of the panel of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse; on what dates those meetings took place; and who was present at each such meeting.

Sarah Newton

Liz Sanderson was the then Home Secretary’s special adviser. The Department holds no records of separate meetings or conversations between Ms Sanderson and Dame Lowell Goddard, panel members or the statutory officers. However, she routinely attended the Home Secretary’s meetings, including with Dame Lowell Goddard and panel members during the appointment processes. She also had occasional conversations with the Secretary to the Inquiry.

01/01/2023
Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider increasing the weekly Azure card allowance to include the costs of travel.

Lord Bates

There are no plans to increase the allowance provided on the Azure card. Travel assistance is provided separately and information on how to apply for it is published on the GOV.UK website.

01/01/2023
Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 42 of the North East Devolution Agreement, what the composition of the proposed Steering Group will be; what the process of escalation referred to will be; and what plans he has to report on the activities of the Steering Group to Parliament on an annual or quarterly basis.

James Wharton

My officials are working closely with representatives of the North East Combined Authority to ensure that robust implementation arrangements for the North East Devolution Deal are in place. Aspects of monitoring, including a steering group, are still subject to ongoing discussions, and once agreed will form part of the North East Combined Authority’s Implementation Plan.

The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill includes provision for the Secretary of State to provide an Annual Report to both Houses of Parliament on areas of the country where agreements have been reached, as soon as practicable after 31 March each year.

01/01/2023

Financial Year	Average time in weeks
2010-11	43
2011-12	41
2012-13	43
2013-14	32
2014-15	74