Tag: Rushanara Ali

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress the Government has made on reforming the EU Emissions Trading Scheme as a result of discussions with her EU counterparts and the recent COP21 climate conference.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government strongly supports reform to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Ministers and officials have discussed this recently with counterparts in other Member States, as well as with members of the European Parliament, the European Commission and industry representatives. At the recent COP21 climate conference in Paris in December 2015 Ministers also participated in a session to promote the EU ETS and strengthen links to other national and international ETS. Whilst the Commission has not indicated an intention to change its proposals for the next phase of the EU ETS in light of Paris, the global climate deal means robust reforms of the EU ETS are now even more important.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children in England have been detained in immigration removal centres in each year since 2015; how many of those children so detained have been deported; and how many children are still in detention.

James Brokenshire

In 2015, 133 children left detention, of which: 50 were removed, 81 were granted temporary admission or release and 2 for other reasons. As at 31 December there were no children held in detention.

The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. Information on those leaving detention is available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: January to March 2016, table dt_09 from GOV.UK on the statistics web pages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department is working with the Department for Energy and Climate Change to ensure that official development assistance funding provided for international climate projects is prioritised in policies aimed at reducing poverty.

Mr Nick Hurd

The UK’s International Climate Fund is jointly managed by DFID, DECC and Defra and has already directly supported 15 million people to cope with effects of climate change and given 2.6 million people improved access to clean energy.

The new UK Aid Strategy brings together the Government’s poverty reduction objectives with a commitment to tackle some of today’s biggest global challenges, including climate change. Tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development are two sides of the same coin – we cannot achieve one without the other.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from (a) Burma, (b) Afghanistan and (c) Syria are held in immigration removal centres in England.

James Brokenshire

As at 31 March 2016, the latest published statistics, there were 66 Afghan and 19 Syrian nationals in detention in the UK. There were no Burmese nationals held in detention on the 31 March 2016.

The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within Immigration Statistics. Information on those in detention by nationality is available in the latest release, Immigration Statistics: January to March 2016, table dt_13_q from GOV.UK on the statistics web pages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

We are currently not enforcing returns to Syria, although Syrians may be removed to safe third countries, for example where they have been identified as the responsibility of an EU Member State.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what proportion the rent for premises leased by Network Rail has increased for businesses based in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) London and (c) England in each of the last five years.

Claire Perry

I am unable to provide this information as it is held by Network Rail and is commercially sensitive.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding the Government has allocated to tackle domestic violence in each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley

The previous Government provided £40 million of dedicated funding for domestic and sexual violence services between 2011 and 2015 equating to £10 million per year. This funding was extended until April 2016, supplemented by an additional £10 million for refuges and a £3.5 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services.

As part of our new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy, we announced increased funding to £80 million from 2016 to 2020 to protect women and girls from violence, which includes support for refuges and other accommodation-based services, funding to national helplines, a further year of funding for Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference Coordinators and, from 2017, the launch of the VAWG Transformation Fund.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make it her Department’s policy to replace the Green Deal with a scheme to improve energy efficiency in able-to-pay households, in addition to the post-2017 Energy Company Obligation and extension to the Warm Home Discount announced as part of the Spending Review.

Andrea Leadsom

We intend to focus our efforts through ECO and the Warm Home Discount more effectively on the fuel poor and continue to deliver on our commitment to insulate 1 million more homes this Parliament.

We are also looking at a range of policy levers for driving take up of low carbon heat and energy efficiency in non-fuel poor households.

We have commissioned The Bonfield Review to ensure that the current quality and standards framework properly supports and protects consumers; a report will be published in Spring 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to (a) monitor and (b) improve the performance of police forces in completing applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Karen Bradley

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) provides a formal monthly performance report to the Home Office and Home Office Ministers. This includes updates on the performance of police forces in meeting the Service Level Agreement (SLA) standards for the time taken to complete local disclosure checks.

If police force performance falls below the standard agreed with the DBS, the DBS will work with the force concerned. Where appropriate, this may include implementing a recovery plan and providing additional resources to ensure that the plan is fully supported.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-03-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of visa arrangements for international students on the number of those students coming to study in the UK.

James Brokenshire

The student migration system we inherited was too weak, and open to wide-spread abuse, damaging the UK’s reputation as a provider of world-class education. The National Audit Office reported that in 2009/10 up to 50,000 students may have come to work, not study.

We have clamped down on immigration abuse from poor quality institutions selling immigration rather than education, and since 2010 we have struck off more than 920 bogus colleges. Visa applications for the further education sector, where abuse has been most prevalent over recent years, are down 75 per cent compared with 2010.

At the same time, we have maintained a highly competitive offer for international students who would like to study at our world-class institutions. This is borne out by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 16 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading Russell Group institutions are up by 39 per cent since 2010.

We will continue to reform the student visa system to tackle abuse and deliver an effective immigration system that works in the national interest.