Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to section 6.5 of the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and the Palestinian National Authority, whether her Department has been aware of any breach of the commitment of human rights and taken any action in response to a breach of that commitment.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK assesses that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not in breach of its commitment to respecting human rights. The UK promptly raises specific human rights issues with the PA when necessary, both publicly and privately.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to communicate to local authorities and developers of onshore wind renewables projects the effect of the time taken to upgrade air defence radars at RRH Benbecula and RRH Buchan.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In respect of the upgrade of the Air Defence radar at Remote Radar Head (RRH) Buchan, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is in contact with the developers who proposed the upgrade as mitigation for their wind farm proposal.

    At RRH Benbecula, the MOD is in contact with the Western Isles Council and developers via the Council’s Working Group. In addition, the MOD provided an Air Defence update at the Aviation Management Board meeting on 5 November 2015 at which Scottish Government, the wind industry and RenewableUK representatives were present.

    The MOD continues to undertake full technical and operational assessments of all site specific Air Defence radar mitigation proposals, including those to the upgraded TPS-77 radar systems at RRH Benbecula and RRH Buchan. It remains the responsibility of developers to submit site specific mitigation proposals. The MOD will determine whether the impact upon the radar is of a permissible level.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2015 to Question 19474, in what circumstances her Department plans to recompense spousal visa applicants whose application is not determined within the eight-week postal service standard.

    James Brokenshire

    Generally, the Home Office will not recompense a customer whose spousal application is not considered within the eight week postal service standard.

    The Home Office aims to process all straightforward applications, that is those that have complied with the application process including provision of mandatory information, evidence and biometrics, within eight weeks of receipt.

    There are a variety of reasons why a spousal application may take longer than the publicised service standard. As such the Home Office service standard reflects that and does not allow for all cases to be decided within that publicised standard.

    If the Home Office cannot make a decision within the service standard, the Home Office will write to customers to inform them of the next steps and when they are likely to receive a decision.

    It is open to a customer to submit a complaint if their application is not considered within the service standard. These claims are considered on an ex-gratia basis under the complaints procedure. Any compensation would be handled based on individual customers’ exceptional circumstances, and as such these are considered on a case-by-case basis.

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government has taken to increase the number of BAME (a) executive and (b) non-executive staff of (i) NHS trusts, (ii) clinical commissioning groups and (iii) related arms length bodies since 2012.

    Jane Ellison

    In 2014, NHS England, in partnership with the National Health Service and arm’s length bodies, developed a Workforce Race Equality Standard which requires NHS organisations to demonstrate progress against a number of indicators of workforce race equality, including a specific indicator to address the low levels of Black and Minority Ethnic representation at Board level.

    Since April 2015, the Standard has been included in the NHS contract for providers, and it will feature in the new assessment framework for clinical commissioning groups for 2016/17. The Standard has also been included in the Care Quality Commission’s inspections of provider organisations.

    In addition to supporting the implementation of the Standard, the arm’s length bodies are also applying it to their own workforces. Further information on the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard can be found at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/gov/equality-hub/equality-standard/

    The Department keeps diversity in focus throughout the appointments process for non-executives of arm’s length bodies. The Department’s “Non-Executive Appointments Diversity Action Plan” is published annually which outlines progress and actions to improve the diversity of public appointments and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/445660/Diversity_Action_Plan_14_15.pdf

    Cabinet Office publishes annual diversity statistics on new public appointments made by United Kingdom Ministers at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-in-public-appointments#history

    “

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings (a) she and (b) Ministers of her Department have had with (i) arms manufacturers, (ii) tobacco manufacturers and (iii) representatives of the Israeli embassy since the period covered in the Cabinet Office’s most recent ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings data release.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26th February 2016 to Question 27634:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-02-22/27634/.

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary school places in Romford.

    Edward Timpson

    Supporting local authorities in their responsibility to ensure sufficient school places in their area is one of this Government’s top priorities. That’s why we’ve committed to spending £7 billion on new school places up to 2021, which, along with our investment in the free schools programme, we expect to create 600,000 new places.

    Havering local authority, which is responsible for school places in Romford, received £23 million of basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create 2,583 new primary places and 1,960 new secondary places between 2010 and 2015.

    Havering has also been allocated a further £58 million to create the places required by the 2019/20 academic year.


  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether apprenticeship levy funds will be usable to pay for qualifications embedded within apprenticeship standards.

    Nick Boles

    Employers will be able to use their levy funding (up to a maximum which will depend upon the standard or framework that is being trained against) to cover the costs of an apprentice’s training, assessment and certification. Apprenticeship training can either be on an apprenticeship standard, or on an apprenticeship framework.

    Where a qualification is a requirement for achieving the standard or framework employers will be able to use levy funds to pay for the qualification. Levy funding cannot be used to fund other qualifications.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the decision to delay inquiring into wider governance issues at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and the role that the Trust is being asked to play in helping the re-configuration of services in Staffordshire are connected, and if so, how.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS Improvement advises that Verita’s report Independent review of the handling by The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust of concerns raised by and related to Mrs Haynes-Kirkbright was undertaken and published independently of Government and of any role the Trust played in the reconfiguration of services in Staffordshire. The review did not relate in any way to the reconfiguration.

    The content and timing of the review into wider concerns about governance at the Trust will not be affected in any way by the Staffordshire reconfiguration.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what assessment he has made of how the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 applies in relation to UK citizens currently living in other EU countries.

    Mr David Jones

    Article 70 of the Vienna Convention applies to States only. It does not create rights for individuals. Nevertheless, we would expect to deal with the rights of UK citizens living in other EU member states and the rights of EU nationals already living in the UK as part of the UK’s exit negotiations.

    At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people. The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that wouldn’t be possible is if British citizens’ rights in other EU member states were not protected in return.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether the Government has made plans to assist with additional funding or aid subsequent to the changes in refugee numbers entering into Mosul.

    Rory Stewart

    On 21 September, the UK announced an extra £40 million of humanitarian funding to Iraq, on top of £50 million committed earlier this year. This brings our total commitment in Iraq to £169.5 million since June 2014. This support will provide emergency life-saving assistance – such as food, shelter, medical and protection services – to support the Government of Iraq-led Mosul humanitarian response as well as continuing to provide assistance for displaced and vulnerable people across the country.