Tag: Paul Monaghan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps he plans to take to strengthen the protection of personal claimant data stored online.

Caroline Nokes

The Department adopts best practice to protect the data it stores as advised by other agencies and Government and industry standards; and in doing so uses a range of technologies that detect and prevent data breaches. The use of these technologies is based on a risk focused approach to security and is a continuing process.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many horses were exported for slaughter in each of the last 10 financial years.

George Eustice

Horses or ponies exported to another EU member state must be accompanied by a health certificate which specifies whether they are intended for breeding and production or slaughter.

Records for exports from Great Britain are only available from 2013. The Animal and Plant Health Agency have no record of any export health certificates where the intended purpose has been declared to be for slaughter.

There is no information available for the intended use of horses exported to countries outside of the EU.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to decriminalise drug use and encourage the implementation and enforcement of anti-discrimination and protective laws, based on human rights standards, to eliminate stigma, discrimination, social exclusion and violence against young people who inject drugs based on actual or presumed behaviours and HIV status.

Karen Bradley

The Government has no intention of decriminalising drugs in the UK. Decriminalisation would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families and communities.

The Government’s approach to drugs, based on our balanced 2010 Drug Strategy, remains clear. We must prevent drug use in our communities and support people dependent on drugs through treatment and recovery. At the same time, we have to stop the supply of illegal drugs and tackle the organised crime behind the drugs trade.

There are promising signs our approach is working, with a downward trend in drug use over the last decade and more people recovering from dependency now than in 2009/10.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic progress has been made by the international community in delivering peace in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

On 11 February, the Foreign Secretary took part in the latest round of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Munich. At that meeting ISSG foreign ministers discussed how to support the political process, including through confidence building measures and steps towards a ceasefire, as called for in UNSCR 2254.

The ISSG agreed the need to implement a cessation of hostilities within a week, to delivering humanitarian assistance to named besieged communities by the weekend of 13-14 February and to facilitate rapid progress in negotiations aimed at political transition. If implemented fully and properly by every ISSG member, this will be an important step towards relieving the killing and suffering in Syria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make it his policy to end arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application. A licence will not be issued for any country, including Saudi Arabia, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria.

The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Financial Conduct Authority takes to ensure the chairs and boards of directors of banks adhere to commitments made within their published customer charters.

Harriett Baldwin

This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government.

The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the hon Member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government is making on educating young children about rural affairs, animal welfare and how to care responsibly for a pet; in what ways the Government monitors that progress; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice

Millions of schoolchildren across England will have the chance to plant saplings in their communities as part of a Government-backed scheme to give free trees to schools in partnership with the Woodland Trust. This will give children the chance to learn about trees and understand and connect with nature whilst making their school grounds and neighbourhoods cleaner and greener.

The Government has published Codes of Practice on animal welfare and how to care responsibly for a pet, and animal welfare charities produce helpful information on this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data protection measures his Department has in place to ensure the safety of claimant’s personal information from a potential online data breach.

Caroline Nokes

The Department takes the security of personal information very seriously. The Department has a range of capabilities in place to ensure the safety of the data it holds and processes. Disclosing the exact nature of the measures it takes to prevent data breaches would be prejudicial to the Department’s ability to keep that data safe.

The Department works with other agencies, Departments and delivery partners to prevent online data breaches in support of the National Security Strategy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects the Coastal Communities Fund to reopen for a further round of funding.

Mr Marcus Jones

Details of future funding arrangements for the Coastal Communities Fund are currently being considered as part of the 2015 Spending Review. An announcement about the timing of future funding rounds is expected after the Autumn Statement.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 4551, if she will request that Ofgem consider whether, given that SSE’s cost of generating hydro power is comparatively lower than the cost of a gas-fired plant the additional charges being levied by SSE to maintain supply in the Highlands and Islands is appropriate.

Andrea Leadsom

Electricity supplied to consumers in the Highlands and Islands region is produced by a range of generation types traded in a competitive market across GB. The electricity retail price paid by consumers in the Highlands and Islands, or any other given region, is not therefore determined by the predominant generation type in that region.

The particular challenges of electricity supply in the Highlands and Islands – primarily related to the relatively large and sparsely populated terrain – mean that it costs more to distribute electricity here than elsewhere. There are two UK Government schemes which ensure consumers in this region do not bear an unreasonable burden of these costs. The Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme is providing an assistance amount of £57m in 2015/16 to all consumers in the North of Scotland, which is funded through charges on all licensed electricity suppliers across GB. The Common Tariff Obligation ensures electricity suppliers in the North of Scotland are not able to charge comparable domestic consumers different prices solely on the basis of their location within the region and protects consumers in remote rural areas from the relatively high costs of supplying electricity in these areas.