The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-28.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review his Department’s priorities in the next six months.
Mike Penning
My Rt Hon friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, has a clear set of priorities for the Ministry of Justice. These priorities are regularly reviewed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) Ofcom has made of the number of (a) business parks which do not have superfast broadband and (b) businesses based in business parks which do not have superfast broadband.
Mr Edward Vaizey
In its 2015 publication Connected Nations, Ofcom estimated that 68% of SMEs had access to superfast broadband in May 2015, and almost half (around 130,000) in certain business areas were unable to receive speeds above 10Mbit/s.
The Government is supporting investment to provide superfast broadband coverage to 90% of UK premises by early 2016 and 95% by December 2017. In addition, BDUK’s Connection Voucher Scheme issued around 55,000 vouchers to businesses to enable to access Superfast broadband. However, this does not include the provision of leased lines which offer an alternative connectivity option for businesses.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-03-22.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) English airports and (b) aviation connectivity of the devolution of Air Passenger Duty.
Damian Hinds
Any potential effects of Air Passenger Duty (APD) devolution are contingent on the extent of devolution in the UK and subsequent decisions made by devolved administrations and central government.
The Government is delivering the Smith Agreement by devolving APD to the Scottish Parliament. It is also considering the case and options for devolving APD to Wales, informed by a review of options to support English regional airports from potential impacts caused by its devolution.
As part of this review, HM Treasury published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring a number of options. We are carefully considering the evidence received from stakeholders and will respond in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-22.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 7660, whether his Department has made a decision on the proposed conversion of Class 801 Intercity Express Programme units to bi-mode diesel operation.
Claire Perry
We have received a formal submission from Agility Trains West, the train supplier, which my Department is now considering. I remain committed to ensuring that the IEP trains enter service in accordance with the delivery schedule from 2017/18.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.
Harriett Baldwin
As part of the government’s transparency agenda, the department publishes on a monthly basis, information on payroll and non-payroll staff. The link for the requested years can be found below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workforce-management–2?1
There are no civil servants contracted to the department who are paid through public limited companies.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Salmond on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to speed up family reunification for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.
Mr Robert Goodwill
The Government began work to implement the ‘Dubs amendment’ immediately after the Immigration Bill gained Royal Assent. Over 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer since it received Royal Assent in May, the majority of these have already arrived in the UK.
We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.
We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe. We also continue to consult local authorities about the transfer unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-10.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the government of North Korea, or any of its state-owned companies, has access to the London Stock Exchange or holds financial interests in the UK.
Lord Young of Cookham
As part of UN and EU sanctions, banks are required to close existing branches, subsidiaries or accounts in North Korea where it has been determined that they contribute to North Korea’s ballistic missile programmes. The sanctions also prohibit any commercial activity by the Government of North Korea (including legal persons, entities or bodies owned or controlled by them).
Assets owned or controlled in the EU by designated DPRK persons, entities or bodies, including government bodies, are subject to an asset freeze and cannot be traded on the London Stock Exchange. A list of designations which has been placed in the Library includes a number of DPRK government and state-owned bodies. HM Treasury implements these financial sanctions in the UK. Non-compliance with financial sanctions is a criminal offence and HM Treasury works closely with law enforcement to ensure sanctions breaches are dealt with appropriately. For reasons of confidentiality, the Treasury does not make public the details of individual reports of frozen assets.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2015-10-30.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, at what intervals her Department receives accident and injury data on (a) racing and (b) retired greyhounds from (i) the Greyhound Board of Great Britain and (ii) individual greyhound tracks.
George Eustice
Under the Welfare of Racing Greyhounds Regulations 2010, there is no statutory requirement on any greyhound organisation or individual track to report any figures to Defra. The Regulations have now been in force for five years and Defra is currently undertaking a review of their effectiveness. The review is looking at the requirement on tracks to collect injury statistics and how they are then used; and the traceability of greyhounds after they have left the sport. Defra intends to consult on the initial findings of the review.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 31 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, whether he plans for the off-shore patrol vessels being procured by his Department to be manufactured using the same supply chain as the off-shore patrol vessels under construction.
Mr Philip Dunne
As with the three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) currently under construction, the two additional OPVs referred to in the White Paper National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence And Security Review 2015 (Cmd 9161) will be built at BAE Systems’ (BAES) shipyards on the Clyde. Decisions about the appointment of sub-contractors to the supply chain will be a matter for BAES.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sanctions measures imposed on North Korea in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Hugo Swire
The UN and EU sanctions measures on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have increased the cost and difficulty to the DPRK of its efforts to fund, supply and develop their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.
However, these sanctions regimes would be strengthened by more rigorous implementation by all UN Member States. As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) said following the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK on the 6 January, we are working with other UN Security Council members to ensure the international community responds robustly, including immediate work on further significant measures in a new UN Security Council Resolution.