Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Stephen Doughty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met (a) the Afghan ambassador to the UK or (b) other representatives of the Afghan government.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) most recently met with Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah at the UN General Assembly in New York on 28 September 2015.

    The Embassy of Afghanistan in London has been without an Ambassador since 23 March 2015, but Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with Afghan Embassy representatives, including the Chargé d’Affaires Mr Siamak Herawi.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans his Department has to respond to the Electoral Commission’s report, Electoral Fraud in the UK, published in January 2014.

    John Penrose

    The Government is currently conducting its own review of electoral fraud, led by Sir Eric Pickles MP, which is considering arguments for and against different measures to improve electoral integrity, including those suggested by the Electoral Commission. Recommendations emerging from the review will be put to the Prime Minister in due course.

  • Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Chadlington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chadlington on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice exempts sports betting around televised sporting events from the 9pm television watershed.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Televised gambling advertising in the UK is governed by the Advertising Codes which are maintained by the Broadcast Committee for Advertising Practice. This is supplemented by a self-regulatory industry code, the Industry Code for Socially Responsible Gambling. An enhanced version of the industry code will come into effect in February 2016. New measures include a commitment that gambling operators will no longer advertise sign-up offers on television before 9pm.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effect on motor insurance premiums of the recent increase in insurance premium tax.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Insurers must pay IPT on the value of premiums received for general insurance. If insurers pass on the full rate increase to their customers, the impact on premiums would be an increase of only 3.5%.

    Tax forms only a small part of the cost of motor insurance. Other factors include competition, the volume of low value personal injury claims and fraud. The government has taken steps to crack down on the fraud and claims culture such as announcing at Autumn Statement 2015 proposals to end the right to cash compensation for minor whiplash injuries. The government expects the insurance industry to pass an average saving of £40 to £50 per motor insurance policy on to consumers.

    The government also encourages consumers to shop around for the most suitable cover at the best price.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish papers relating to the review of the workings of the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    The Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland is currently considering a range of options for reforming his office. Any reforms will ensure that elections and electoral registration will continue to be delivered in the most effective way while placing his office on a sustainable financial footing. I understand work on some of the options for reform remains at an early stage.

    In addition to the currently available paper registration process we propose to introduce, by the end of 2016, an on-line registration service. This will improve the registration service offered to people in Northern Ireland.

    The consideration of possible structural changes to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Chief Electoral Officer and it will be for him to consult with stakeholders once the options have been fully explored.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the methodology used by his Department to calculate the distribution of the Transitional Grant announced in the local government finance settlement 2016-17.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Secretary of State has published an explanatory note setting out the method of calculation of the Transition Grant. It is available to view at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/510870/Explanatory_note_on_the_allocation_of_the_Transition_Grant.pdf

  • Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Cox on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support the Beja people in Eastern Sudan, in particular to prevent kidnapping and people trafficking.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is supporting the people of Eastern Sudan, including the Beja people, in a number of ways. The Department for International Development (DfID) spends £30million in Eastern Sudan to help improve vulnerable communities’ food security and nutrition, provide sustainable water supplies and improve sanitation. DfID also provides core funding to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees which supports host and refugee communities across Sudan to improve livelihoods and reduce the risk of human trafficking. The UK is also taking a lead role in the Khartoum Process, which prioritises tackling smuggling and trafficking across the Horn of Africa, including Sudan.

  • Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Scriven – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Turkey about the reported use of tear gas and rubber bullets at a LGBT pride march in Istanbul.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not discussed these specific cases with the Government of Turkey. We regularly underline the importance of all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government, including the freedom of assembly and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and/or intersex persons. We did not fly the rainbow flag over our Embassy in Ankara over the weekend commencing 24 June. British Missions overseas fly the Diplomatic, Union or Consular flag throughout the year, the flags of the constituent countries of the UK on their respective national days and in certain countries the European flag. Missions do not fly any other flags.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the potential cost of terminating and re-tendering the Carillion Amey housing contract.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence has put in place a strategy to provide an alternative solution should CarillionAmey fail to sustain performance. The Department continues to assess CarillionAmey’s performance to determine whether the implementation of this strategy is necessary.

    I will be meeting senior CarillionAmey staff in September to hold them to account for their performance.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on the UK’s obligations as agreed in the August 2015 joint ministerial declarations, Managing migratory flows in Calais, of the French government’s decision to close the Calais camp for refugees and migrants.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Although the decision to clear the camp in Calais is a matter for the French Government, the UK and France remain committed to working together to protect our shared border in Calais and address the humanitarian challenges in the camps.

    Both governments are clear that those in northern France in need of protection should claim asylum in France and those not in need should return to their home country.

    Our priority is to ensure the safety and security of children in the camps. The UK Government has made clear its commitment to transfer unaccompanied refugee children under the 2016 Immigration Act, where it is in their best interests, and to ensure those with close family in the UK are brought here using the Dublin Regulation.