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Tag: Parliamentary Question

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on press freedom of the takeover of the Turkish newspaper Zaman.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We continue to monitor specific cases and regularly underline the importance of freedom of expression and all fundamental freedoms as part of our broader dialogue with the Turkish government. We welcomed the EU Commission’s Annual Progress Report on Turkey, released on 10 November 2015, which highlighted the need for further reforms from Turkey in these areas. These reports reinforce our long-standing concerns about freedom of press in Turkey. Freedom of press and access to a range of views are crucial in a democracy. As a friend and ally, we urge the Turkish government to uphold the right of media to operate without restriction.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any enquiries have been launched into the involvement of UK financial institutions in the matter of the Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK has a robust but proportionate anti-money laundering regime. The UK’s first National Risk Assessment of money laundering was published on 15 October 2015. It identified the threats and vulnerabilities faced in this area, and an Action Plan will be published shortly, clearly setting out the steps that will be taken to address them.

    The Prime Minister made clear in his Singapore speech on corruption last year that the Government is determined to make sure the UK does not become a safe haven for corrupt money. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Summit in May will also consider what more the UK and our international partners can do to tackle flows of illicit finance at home and abroad.

    Any investigation is an operational matter for the police and the prosecution authorities. The decision on whether to investigate a case, and then take forward a prosecution, will depend on the evidence available.

  • Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Champion – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that when a girl is identified as being at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM), frontline professionals are taking the steps outlined in the multi-agency statutory guidance on FGM.

    Karen Bradley

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.

    The Government is clear that tackling FGM needs a coordinated response from a range of professionals, including teachers, health professionals, social workers and police which is why on 1 April we published updated multi-agency guidance on FGM which we have put on a statutory footing to support compliance. To support professionals to take the steps outlined in the guidance, including receiving adequate training, we have made available free FGM e-learning for all professionals. To date, the course has been completed by over 30,000 people. Our FGM Unit is providing outreach support to local areas and working to raise awareness of resources available to professionals, including training, best practice examples and information on legislation and policy.

    In addition, the Department of Health’s £3 million FGM Prevention Programme is focused on improving the response of NHS to FGM, and through its Innovation programme, the Department for Education is funding the Local Government Association and Barnardo’s to develop a centre of excellence and outreach to support local authorities.

  • Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Judith Cummins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Judith Cummins on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits to Bradford and the wider regional economy of electrifying the Calder Valley line.

    Andrew Jones

    Later this year the rail industry will present its initial advice to Government on investment needs for the national network, drawing on the outputs of Network Rail’s long term planning process, including its refresh of the national electrification strategy. Taking account of this advice and other inputs – including from Transport for the North – the Government intends to articulate its emerging priorities for improvement to the national network during 2017.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff employed by his Department are non-UK nationals.

    Mr David Jones

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

    Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Stephen Tim – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Tim – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Tim on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of crimes committed by people with gambling problems.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office has made no specific assessment of the number of crimes committed by people with gambling problems.

    The most recent crime statistics published by the Office for National Statistics showed that overall crime fell by 8% in the year to June 2015, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. Crime has now fallen by more than a quarter since June 2010, with just over 2.9 million fewer crimes a year.

    It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to decide crime priorities at a local level, and the most appropriate response in their areas.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will offer military resources to assist with the refugee crisis (a) in Lesbos and (b) elsewhere.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence is already supporting the Home Office in its work with refugees. In the Mediterranean, Royal Navy medics and a Royal Marine force protection team are deployed on board the Border Force chartered vessel MV VOS Grace currently in the Aegean Sea, supporting the EU’s FRONTEX-led search and rescue operation. The Ministry of Defence has also supported HM Government’s Syrian Resettlement Programme through the provision of medical escorts on board some of the charter flights that recently brought Syrian refugees to the UK.

    HMS ENTERPRISE is also deployed to the EU Naval Force operation in the Mediterranean tackling the migrant smugglers who profit from the perilous journeys made by migrants across the Central Mediterranean. Royal Navy assets operating in this operation and the earlier search and rescue operation in the summer, have rescued over 7,500 persons in the Mediterranean since May.

  • 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 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential financial implications for small businesses with 100 employees or fewer of the Apprenticeship Levy.

    Nick Boles

    Employers with a pay bill of less than £3m will not have to pay the levy. This is more than 98% of all employers. Small employers will continue to have access to government funding to support apprenticeships. Until the levy comes in, the apprenticeships scheme will continue to operate as it does now.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the (a) budget and (b) total spend was on the disabled facilities grants scheme in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

    Brandon Lewis

    Information on the annual budgets provided by the Government for the Disabled Facilities Grant and additional funding by local authorities, which adds up to the total spend for the Grant, is given in the table below.

    2009-10 (£m)

    2010-11 (£m)

    2011-12 (£m)

    2012-13 (£m)

    2013-14 (£m)

    2014-15 (£m)

    Government Funding

    157

    169

    200

    220

    180

    185

    Local Authority contribution

    139

    137

    98

    60

    88

    84

    Total

    296

    306

    298

    280

    268

    269

    Data on local authority contributions is provided by local housing authorities in their annual LOGASnet returns. LOGASnet is the Department of Communities and Local Government’s web-based data capture and payments system. The data is not audited centrally.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to promote regional growth in (a) East Yorkshire and (b) North Lincolnshire.

    Anna Soubry

    We are promoting growth in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire by investing £240m through the Humber and Greater Lincolnshire Growth Deals. This includes up to £19m available to support growth projects in my hon. Friend’s constituency. We also announced at Spending Review 2015 an expansion to the Humber Enterprise Zone programme, including accelerating the development of employment land around the Port of Goole.