Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many reports of sanctions breaches were made to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) in each year since 2009-10; how many of those alleged breaches concerned businesses in HM Revenue and Customs’ large business database; in how many such cases (a) the OFSI identified wrongdoing and (b) made a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service for prosecution in each such year.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation was established on 31st March 2016 however breaches of financial sanctions have previously been reported to HM Treasury. There are 441 records of alleged breaches reported to HM Treasury between September 2013 and December 2015. There are no records prior to September 2013.

    HM Treasury does not hold the requested information regarding HMRC’s large business database.

    HM Treasury does not determine wrongdoing but works closely with UK law enforcement to deal with suspected breaches. It is a matter for law enforcement to make any referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent assessment has been made of the access to clean drinking water and adequate water supplies for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Territories.

    Baroness Verma

    Water and sanitation facilities in Gaza are declining. Demand for water exceeds supply by nearly four times and 96% of extracted water currently fails WHO safety standards. 40% of Gaza’s population receive just 5-8 hours of water every 3 days. In the West Bank the Joint Water Committee has not met for a number of years, which continues to stall agreement of water projects. In the West Bank, there are reports of reduced water supplies in large parts of the West Bank during Ramadan.

    UK officials are in regular dialogue with Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA), the UN, World Bank, EU and other development actors on energy and water issues in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We continue to press both parties to reconvene the Joint Water Committee to facilitate approval of projects that will improve Palestinian access to water. Through the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, DFID has invested up to £1.24m to help vulnerable rural farmers in Area C and improve irrigation efficiency by rehabilitation of water systems. The UK supports partners such as the UN Works and Relief Agency, who provide basic services and repair water infrastructure in Gaza. Through the Climate Action for Middle East and North Africa programme, DFID has provided €600,000 to develop project preparation documents for the Gaza Desalination Plant.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 40083, what recent assessment her Department made of the feasibility of air drops of humanitarian aid in Syria.

    Rory Stewart

    My department’s assessment is that aid delivered by road, by trusted humanitarian partners who can ensure it gets to those who need it most, remains the best way of getting help to affected populations. The use of air drops to deliver aid is high risk and should only be considered as a last resort when all other means have failed, and if it is an effective way of getting humanitarian supplies to people. Air drops require certain conditions to be met for successful delivery that are difficult to meet in most of Syria; ideally including clear drop zones, safe air space and access for the intended recipients, and co-ordination with authorities on the ground to oversee distribution.

    We therefore continue to deliver the majority of our supplies by road, although our partners have made occasional air-drops in the past.

  • Jim Dowd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Dowd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Dowd on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to review the Pet Animals Act 1951.

    George Eustice

    Defra is reviewing the Pet Animals Act 1951 as part of a wider review of some of the animal related licensing schemes. We are looking to consult on a set of proposals shortly.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the construction of a road tunnel to replace the A628 which connects Barnsley to Manchester.

    Andrew Jones

    In November, the Secretary of State received the interim report of the Strategic Study into a potential Trans-Pennine Tunnel. This early work has shown that a tunnel is technically feasible, and that there is a clear strategic case for linking Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire.

    However further work is needed into the costs and economic benefits of such a tunnel before any judgement can be reached about whether or not it will be value for money. The full report of the study, due in 2016, should address these issues.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to releasing parts of one or both of the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus to facilitate a political settlement on the island.

    Earl Howe

    The UK will continue to support the efforts of President Anastasiades and Mr Akinci to reunite Cyprus through a just and lasting settlement. The UK has made a generous offer that, as part of a comprehensive settlement, we will cede a significant proportion of the land mass of the Sovereign Base Areas. However, the Sovereign Base Areas continue to have a significant operational value for defence that is expected to endure for the long term.

  • Lord Rea – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Rea – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rea on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent studies of driver impairment after drinking alcohol, and whether those studies support the current alcohol limit for drivers.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Sir Peter North’s 2010 Review of drink and drug driving made an assessment of various studies. The Coalition Government responded in March 2011 by setting out its position on maintaining the current limit. This Government agrees with that assessment and we do not believe any further studies have provided sufficient evidence to change that position. There are therefore no plans to change the current laws.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Bates on 2 March (HL Deb, col 824), what qualifications they consider to be adequate for persons conducting the substantive interviews of asylum applicants, with authority to recommend acceptance or rejection of their claims; and what assessment they have made of whether gap-year and undergraduate students, after five weeks of training, have sufficient maturity and empathy to take such decisions.

    Lord Bates

    Decision makers working on asylum casework are graded at Executive Officer level except in the suspended Detained Fast Track operation where the predominate grade is Higher Executive Officer due to the requirement on some decision makers to also present appeals. The general entry requirement for direct recruitment to either grade is a minimum of 2 GCE A Level passes A-C and 5 GCSE passes including Mathematics and English. We have also employed staff on temporary contracts but have required them to have a minimum 2:2 Degree, preferably in law.

    We recruit high performing students from various universities as asylum decision makers on fixed term appointments and since 2009 have employed 11 law undergraduates of whom 2 are still employed. Applicants send in their CVs, and these are used to inform an initial sift of applications. Successful candidates are then invited to a competency based interview with Home Office staff which tests their maturity and suitability to carry out the role.

    At the end of the 5 week training, that all decision makers receive, there is a six month period of mentoring, continued assessment and quality analysis of newly qualified decision maker’s work that identifies whether an individual is performing the role to the required quality standards. Before any individual is signed off their initial probationary period and confirmed in role they must be considered to be performing the role to the previously referenced quality standards.

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s contribution of 9 September 2013, Official Report, column 700, what the evidential basis is for the statement that none of the UK’s overseas territories or Crown dependencies are tax havens.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for Islington North (Mr Corbyn), on 13 April 2016, Official Report, column 344-345, and to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Moray (Mr Robertson) on the same day, Official Report, column 347.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people in a high-risk group for contracting HIV.

    Jane Ellison

    The PROUD trial was launched in 2012, coordinated by the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit and Public Health England (PHE). The number of people enrolled in the trial, was 544.

    Based on evidence from the PROUD study, PHE has made an assessment that of the 100,000 men who have sex with men who attend genito-urinary medicine clinics annually, 8,000 can be identified as being at ‘high-risk’.

    The Department has not yet made its own assessment.