The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patricia Gibson on 2016-09-05.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will estimate the potential cost to the economy of trade barriers between the UK and EU countries after the UK has left the EU.
Greg Hands
We are going to make a success of Brexit. As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister made clear ahead of the G20 summit, the UK will continue to be a powerful advocate for free and fair trade.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-10-13.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent the illegal killing of hen harriers.
Dr Thérèse Coffey
All wild birds are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, with strong penalties for committing offences against birds of prey and other wildlife.
The Government takes wildlife crime very seriously and raptor persecution is a UK wildlife crime priority and has a delivery group led by a senior police officer to consider what action should be taken, and develop a plan to prevent crime, gather intelligence on offences and enforce against it. It focuses on the golden eagle, goshawk, hen harrier, peregrine, red kite and white tailed eagle.
The National Wildlife Crime Unit, which Defra funds jointly with the Home Office, monitors and gathers intelligence on illegal activities affecting birds of prey and provides assistance to police forces when required.
The Government has also published the Hen Harrier Action Plan, setting out proposals to increase hen harrier populations in England and includes measures to stop illegal persecution. A copy of the plan can be accessed at www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/491818/hen-harrier-action-plan-england-2016.pdf.
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Afshar on 2015-11-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, and (c) 2014.
Lord Faulks
Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:
|
Year |
Female |
Male |
Not Specified |
|
2012 |
41 |
62 |
4 |
|
2013 |
41 |
60 |
7 |
|
2014 |
33 |
45 |
11 |
It should be noted that there are a few cases where the gender of the defendant has not been specified and these have been shown separately in the table above.
These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics
In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).
It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2015-11-30.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will introduce legislation to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
The Government remains committed to bringing forward legislation to ratify the Hague Convention and accede to its two Protocols at the first opportunity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-12.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of Tornado aircraft fully modified and available for operations in relation to the total air fleet.
Earl Howe
As of 13 January 2016, 48 Tornado aircraft are held in the Forward Available Fleet. This includes aircraft that are held at readiness for contingent operations alongside those deployed on operations
I am withholding the exact number of Tornado aircraft that are available for operations on the grounds of safeguarding national security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the childhood obesity strategy will be published before 23 June 2016.
Jane Ellison
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 February 2016 to Question 24826
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top on 2016-02-24.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the national consultation on the future of children’s centres will be launched, and what is the timetable for responses to be received and for them to announce their proposals following the consultation.
Lord Nash
The government is considering its future policy on children’s centres as part of the development of the cross-Government Life Chances Strategy, and plans to publish details in the summer. At that point we will make it clear how stakeholders and members of the public can contribute.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-04-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will give Ofcom the power to set or cap access charges with regard to 084 and 087 numbers.
Mr Edward Vaizey
Under the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom already has the power to impose tariff principles and maximum prices for the purpose of protecting consumers. Ofcom made changes in July 2015 to simplify non-geographic numbers and make call pricing clearer for consumers. This included making Freephone 080 and 116 numbers free from all telephones; and imposing a common simplified structure on revenue generating numbers – 084, 087, 090, 091 and 118 – which splits the price of the call between the phone company and the call service. Ofcom will be reviewing the effectiveness of these new regulations after their first year of operation and will consider whether further regulation should be imposed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-06-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to Belize and Guatemala on (a) adhering to the provisions established under the 2005 Confidence Building Measures related to the disputed border between those countries and (b) steps to improve confidence and trust between those countries.
Mr Hugo Swire
I last met Foreign Minister Elrington of Belize and Foreign Minister Morales of Guatemala on 25 May to discuss confidence building measures and further steps towards referring the border dispute to the International Court of Justice. We continue to encourage both countries to enhance confidence and trust between them by engaging in constructive dialogue, building on the provisions established by the 2005 Confidence Building Measures. We fund a number of projects to support increased economic activity in the border region, with the aim of reducing the need to cross the border illegally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-09-02.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to minimise the administrative effect on small businesses of information requests from the Financial Ombudsman.
Simon Kirby
The issue raised is a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) who are operationally independent from Government.
The question has been passed on to the FOS. The FOS will reply directly to the Honorable Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.