Tag: Shabana Mahmood

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which contractors have been sanctioned for breaching contractual obligations in relation to accommodation for asylum seekers in (a) Birmingham, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in the last two years; when each such contractor was sanctioned; and what each sanction so applied was.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The COMPASS contracts include Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for monitoring and measuring performance against required standards.

If a breach of the contractual obligations in relation to accommodation is identified then the Provider has a set timescale in which to rectify the breach. Should this not be rectified within that timescale then a KPI failure is recorded and may result in the application of a Service Credit. A ‘Service Credit’ is a rebate / money deducted from the Providers monthly invoice.

There were no service credits recovered from providers of the COMPASS accommodation in a) Birmingham, b) the West Midlands and c) England in the last two years, in relation to accommodation standards.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects the report on progress on recommendations regarding child detention in Palestine by the delegation of lawyers visiting Palestine in February 2016 to be published.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The visit is currently scheduled for February 2016 and the report will be published in due course. The original report that produced these recommendations was released in June 2012, following a visit in September 2011.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England on reducing medical indemnity costs for GPs.

Alistair Burt

The Department is having ongoing discussions with NHS England to review the way in which indemnity costs in primary care are funded and will bring forward proposals for discussion in July 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to Israel of the implications of its obligations under the Geneva Convention for the practice of forcible transportation of child prisoners from Palestine to Israeli jails.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

As I made clear on 6 January during a Westminster Hall debate, the UK remains concerned about the detention of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons.

On 23 November 2015, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised our concerns about the treatment of Palestinian minors in Israeli military detention with the Israeli Chief Military Prosecutor. We welcome recent improvements made by the Israeli authorities, including increasing the age of majority from 16 to 18 years old. However, we remain concerned at the number of Palestinian minors held in Israeli detention. We will also fund another visit of the delegation who authored the independent report on Children in Military Custody in February to report on further progress.

We continue to push for further measures to ensure that international standards are upheld in regards to the treatment of Palestinian children detained.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-05-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to increase the level of funding allocated for staffing in GP practices.

Alistair Burt

General practitioner (GP) practices are independent businesses and best placed to make the decisions about staffing numbers and skill mix to meet the needs of their patients. Funding for staffing is not allocated separately but forms part of a practice’s core funding allocation.

The GP Forward View, published by NHS England on 21 April 2016, sets a commitment to increase overall funding for general practice by £2.4 billion a year by 2020/21. This includes core funding for practices, as well as funding for a range of national programmes to support general practice. As part of this investment, £206 million will fund a programme of measures to increase the general practice workforce.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-01-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of (a) the extent of differential treatment of Palestinian and Israeli child detainees by Israel and (b) whether that differential is consistent with Israelis international human rights obligations.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We remain concerned about the use of a dual court system whereby Palestinians, except East Jerusalem residents, are subject to the Israeli military court system, irrespective of the charge, whereas Israeli citizens are dealt with by the Israeli civil justice system. We are clear that Israel has legal obligations as an Occupying Power with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories under applicable international law. We regularly discuss with the Government of Israel implementation of those obligations and raise our serious concerns regarding such issues as the treatment of Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-05-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Complex Casework Directorate resources to manage the application for renewal of asylum-related discretionary leave to remain; and what the average time taken is for such application renewals to be processed.

James Brokenshire

The Home Office has an internal target to consider all new Further Leave applications within six months of application. The resources in place in Complex Casework Directorate for Further Leave applications from failed asylum seekers granted Discretionary Leave to Remain is based around meeting this internal target. Our records indicate that the average time taken to decide such applications is 186 days.

Note: This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has had discussions with the Indian authorities on the use of section 7 of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the last 12 months.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Armed Forces (Jammu & Kashmir) Special Power Act, 1990, has not been raised in bilateral discussions within the past 12 months. We are aware of concerns on the use of section 7 of the Act regarding immunity from prosecution. Any allegations of human rights abuses must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will estimate the number and proportion of British violent extremists who were radicalised by people promoting (a) non-violent extremism and (b) views that conflict with British values.

Karen Bradley

Research shows that there is no single pathway into terrorism or extremism, nor is any one influence likely to be solely responsible for an individual?s radicalisation. It is a unique process for each individual, and the drivers are varied. However, analysis of case studies indicate that certain background factors, when combined with radicalising influences and an ideological opening, and in the absence of protective factors (such as supportive family or friends) can result in an individual being vulnerable to radicalisation.

The Prevent strategy safeguards vulnerable individuals by building resilience to extremist ideologies, countering the ideology that terrorists espouse, and removing access to terrorist propaganda online. We work in partnership with families and communities to support and safeguard vulnerable individuals. We are working with internet industry partners to remove more terrorist material, and are supporting civil society groups to deliver counter-narrative campaigns.

Our Channel programme provides support for those most at risk of radicalisation. It is voluntary and confidential, and support is only provided following careful assessment by experts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on the number of Palestinian children imprisoned in (a) Palestine and (b) Israel in 2015.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold information on this issue. However, according to the Israeli Non-Government Office (NGO) Military Court Watch, 422 Palestinian children were held in Israeli military detention as of 31 December, 2015. According to figures provided by the Israeli Prison Service, 148 children are being held inside detention facilities inside of Israel and 274 children are being held in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. According to the Palestinian human rights NGO, Addameer, there are no children being detained as Palestinian prisoners.

We are concerned about the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons. We funded an independent report on Children in Military Custody.