Tag: Roger Godsiff

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that Syrian children given asylum in the UK will be able to enter in time for the start of the school year in September.

James Brokenshire

The Syrian resettlement scheme has already provided safe haven to more than 1,000 vulnerable Syrians since the scheme was expanded in September 2015. More than half of these were children and we expect children to make up a significant proportion of the 20,000 resettlement places we are providing under the scheme.

In addition, we have committed to resettling up to 3,000 individuals from the Middle East and North Africa over the lifetime of this Parliament through the resettlement scheme announced on 21 April for children at risk and their family members. As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 May and now reflected in the Immigration Act 2016, we will also work to admit unaccompanied refugee children to the UK from elsewhere in the EU, where this is considered to be in the child’s best interests. Work has begun on how best to implement the legislation and we are committed to act as quickly as we can, while ensuring that we have the necessary services in place to care for these children alongside those who are already in the UK and have claimed asylum here.

We also continue to work closely with France and other EU Member States to ensure that arrangements for transferring asylum cases under the Dublin Regulation are operating as effectively as possible. A senior UK official was seconded to the French Dublin Unit to assist with the identification and transfer of cases and since February more than 20 children have been transferred to the UK from France and there are many other cases in train.

All Syrian and other children brought to the UK will be given the care, support and education they require.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mandatory reconsiderations of jobseekers’ allowance sanctions there have been in each of the last five years; and what the total cost was of processing such reconsiderations in each of those years.

Priti Patel

Mandatory Reconsiderations were introduced in October 2013. There were 1,100 decisions made from October to the end of 2013; 54,100 in 2014; and 18,500 in 2015.

This is the latest data available. The total cost of processing those reconsiderations is not available at the level of detail requested.

These figures are published here https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on proposals to ban the use by Russia of the SWIFT banking system related to Russia’s military action in Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan

The UK is not considering SWIFT sanctions at this time. Sanctions are one tool in the international community’s wider strategy for resolving the crisis in Syria. We are committed to doing all we can to keep the momentum on the political process so that we can find a long-term solution to the conflict in Syria.

We remain deeply concerned about Russia’s role in Syria. We continue to urge Russia to use their influence to restore the Cessation of Hostilities and enable humanitarian access to all those in need, as stipulated by the UN.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to change the staff headcount across the Civil Service in each of the next four years; and what the projected expenditure on staff is in that time period.

Ben Gummer

Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each department to determine based on their individual operational and policy requirements. Each department has their own spending agreements with HM Treasury for this Parliament and are responsible for ensuring they have the right workforce and capability in place to deliver their commitments.

Earlier this year, departments published their Single Departmental Plans, setting out the key programmes of work required to deliver the Government’s Manifesto commitments. Departments have been developing plans to ensure they have the workforce capacity and capability required to deliver their Single Departmental Plans.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if the Government will take into account that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have passed 400ppm when deciding on whether to overturn a decision by a local authority not to allow fracking.

Gavin Barwell

Planning law requires that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The National Planning Policy Framework including, where relevant, national planning policy relating to climate change, is a material consideration in planning decisions. In deciding called-in applications or recovered appeals, the Secretary of State will take into account all material considerations which are before him at the time of the decision.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much has been spent on (a) mental health services and (b) children’s mental health services in Birmingham in each of the last 10 years.

Nicola Blackwood

The information requested is not collected centrally.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of Bermuda’s progress in introducing a public register of beneficial ownership since June 2013.

James Duddridge

We have asked the Bermudian authorities to meet the following criteria: a) UK law enforcement and tax authorities must be able to access company beneficial ownership information without restriction, subject to relevant safeguards; b) These competent authorities should be able to quickly identify all companies that a particular beneficial owner has a stake in without needing to submit multiple and repeated requests; and c) Companies or their beneficial owners must not be alerted to the fact that an investigation is underway. We are continuing our dialogue with the Bermudan authorities on this and have offered any technical support that might be required as they develop their proposals My Rt Hon Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Philip Hammond MP), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met with Premier Dunkley on 26 August in London.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of her Department’s miscalculation of the amount of funding available for West Midlands Police on the adequacy of the provision of policing in Birmingham; and what steps she is taking to ensure effective policing in that city.

Mike Penning

The allocations provided to forces were indicative and intended to inform the consultation process. No funding to West Midlands Police or any other force was affected by this error.

The Government is now minded to delay the implementation of new arrangements. Funding allocations for 2016/17 will be determined using existing arrangements and will be set out in the Provisional Police Grant Report in December. It is a matter for Police and Crime Commissioners, working with Chief Officers to determine how to best manage their available resources.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how UK citizens living in the UK can apply for a visa for relatives living in Yemen.

James Brokenshire

UK citizens can submit visa applications on behalf of relatives living overseas via the following website – www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/home/welcome.

The applicant would then need to travel to their nearest Visa Application Centre (VAC) to verify the information provided and progress their application to the next stage.

There are no VACs in Yemen; guidance for applying for a UK visa from Yemen can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/yemen-apply-for-a-uk-visa/apply-for-a-uk-visa-in-yemen

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the UK no longer has a strategy on opposing the death penalty; and whether the Government plans to publish a new strategy.

Mr David Lidington

This Government is continuing its work to oppose the death penalty as part of its broader efforts to promote human rights. Our commitment to the Rules Based International Order underpins this work, including through bilateral and multilateral support to global efforts to abolish the death penalty. We do not intend to publish a new strategy specific to the death penalty; but we will be publishing a strategy for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund shortly, which will show how work to abolish the death penalty is important under all three of the strategy’s new themes. The FCO’s death penalty-related work will also be covered in future instalments of the FCO’s Annual Human Rights Report.