Tag: Roger Godsiff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) Syrian refugees and (b) vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North African region the UK plans to resettle in the UK over each of the next four years.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection and up to 3,000 vulnerable persons from the Middle East and North African region in the UK over the lifetime of this Parliament.

We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK.

We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of removing the 50 per cent cap on religious selection in free schools on the ability of parents to get their children into a local school.

Caroline Dinenage

We want a diverse range of schools to give parents greater choice and drive up standards. The proposals set out in our consultation, ‘Schools that Work for Everyone’, aim to increase local capacity by enabling a wider group of providers to establish new schools. The proposal to remove the 50 per cent cap on religious selection in new free schools has, for some faith groups, been a barrier to setting up new schools. The removal of the cap and the establishment of new faith schools will add to the overall stock of places and should increase choice for parents.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing the level of funding for decentralised renewable energy to improve access to electricity for the world’s poorest people.

James Wharton

The UK Government is already playing a leading role in improving energy access in developing countries through decentralised renewable energy. DFID’s energy work is aligned with the new Global Goals, particularly Goal 7, to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030. DFID’s priorities for how we will achieve this include through flexible technical assistance, catalytic investments and engagement with international partners. DFID’s assistance looks across the energy spectrum and covers both on-grid as well as decentralised off-grid renewable energy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consideration his Department has given to suspending the UK’s arms export licences to Saudi Arabia in the light of the conflict in Yemen.

Anna Soubry

All export licence applications are carefully 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 if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the Criteria.

We keep all licences under review in the light of changing circumstances in countries of destination for UK arms exports, including Saudi Arabia.

A political solution is the best way to bring long term stability to Yemen and to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. The UK is fully and actively supporting the UN’s efforts to achieve this.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what efforts are being made through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Scheme to assist refugees in (a) the Yazidi, Druze or Christian communities or (b) other communities who do not reside in the main refugee camps because of fears of religious persecution.

James Brokenshire

The UNHCR identifies people in need of resettlement based on the following criteria: women and girls at risk; survivors of violence and/or torture; refugees with legal and/or physical protection needs; refugees with medical needs or disabilities; children and adolescents at risk; persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity; and refugees with family links in resettlement countries. Individuals are not specifically identified for resettlement based on their membership of Yazidi, Druze, Christian or other communities but members of those communities may well meet one of the other vulnerability criteria set out by UNHCR.

The UNHCR identifies and proposes Syrian refugees for the Vulnerable Persons Scheme scheme from among the whole of the registered refugee population in the region, over 4 million people. This includes people in formal refugee camps, informal settlements and host communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the evidential basis which shows that cannabis is harmful, cited in the Government response to the epetition, We demand the British Government reschedule cannabis.

Mike Penning

The government relies on the evidence of the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, whose most recent report on cannabis, Cannabis Classification and Public Health, concluded that cannabis is a “significant public health issue and can unquestionably cause harm to individuals and society”. The full report can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/acmd-cannabis-classification-and-public-health-2008.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of reducing the work-related activity group employment and support allowance rate on the number of claimants who move into employment.

Priti Patel

The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in Bill on 20th July.

Ministers have considered impacts with regard to all relevant legal obligations when formulating the welfare policies announced in the Bill.

The intended impact of these reforms is to incentivise work and ensure work always pays.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-11.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 6 January 2016 to Question 21408, when the Government plans to reach a decision on funding for the National Illegal Money Lending Team.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is continuing to explore options to ensure that the England and Wales Illegal Money Lending Teams have the funding they need to ensure that consumers continue to be protected from illegal loan sharks as a matter of urgency.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether private outsourcing companies which take on NHS contracts and obtain insurance by paying into the NHS insurance scheme are required to contribute (a) full or (b) a partial cost of that cover.

Ben Gummer

The NHS Litigation Authority is responsible for administering all National Health Service risk pooling schemes. Since April 2013, independent sector providers of healthcare have been able to obtain indemnity cover under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). All CNST members are required to pay their actuarially assessed costs for each year that they are a member of the scheme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-05.

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Local Government Boundary Commission is under an obligation to ensure that proposals for boundary changes reflect representations it has received from people in the areas affected.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England informs me that the procedure for electoral reviews is set out in the Local Democracy, Economic Democracy and Construction Act 2009. The Act requires the Commission to publish recommendations and consider representations made on them.

In drawing up new ward or electoral division boundaries, Section 58 of the Act requires the Commission to take into consideration any representations made to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England within its consultation periods.

In practice, the Commission always conducts at least two phases of public consultation for every electoral review. First, in advance of drawing up draft recommendations, the Commission will invite local proposals for new ward or electoral division boundaries.

Following the initial consultation, the Commission publishes draft recommendations and consults on them before finalising ward boundaries and the wider electoral arrangements for a local authority.

After each phase of consultation, the Commission will consider all local representations against the statutory criteria which are set out in Schedule 2 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. The criteria oblige the Commission to have regard to delivering electoral equality for voters, to build electoral arrangements that reflect community interests and identities as well as ensuring that wards or divisions promote effective and convenient local government.

The Commission analyses all local representations to assess the extent to which they meet the statutory criteria. If submissions present a fair reflection of the criteria and can be accommodated within an authority-wide scheme, it will usually adopt them. In the event that multiple (but conflicting) submissions meet the statutory criteria, the Commission will choose the option which it believes most strongly reflects them. If no local representations provide a satisfactory reflection of the statutory criteria, the Commission will substitute its judgement and draw up its own pattern of wards or divisions for the area in question.