Tag: Thangam Debbonaire

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number of people who do not receive a national insurance number within 28 days of being granted refugee status.

Priti Patel

No assessment has been made of the number of people who do not receive a National Insurance number (NINo) within 28 days of being granted refugee status.

For those granted leave to remain as a result of a successful asylum claim, a joint fast track NINo application process operates between DWP and the Home Office. This process is applicable to the principal family member and the NINo is allocated 2 days after the receipt of the application; this process has been in place since 2005.

The current year to date processing time for all NINo applications is 11.3 days.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many transit visas for Syrian nationals have been (a) granted and (b) refused in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire

The information requested is shown in the attached table.

The latest quarterly Home Office immigration statistics on entry clearance visas are published in ‘Immigration Statistics, April-June 2015’, available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons her Department did not renew the Choices contract in detention centres; and what assessment the Government has made of the effect of that decision on the number of people in detention taking up voluntary return and being removed from the UK.

James Brokenshire

Additional packages of assistance for those detained pending removal to depart the UK were stopped in March 2014. This reflects the need for those who are here illegally to make a voluntary return at the earliest stage. This should occur before enforcement action and detention is required. Since this change, the overall number of illegal migrants whose voluntary departure is facilitated by the Home Office and its partners has continued to increase.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what her policy is on the purchasing of abortion medication on the internet; and what recent representations she has received on this subject.

Mr Ben Wallace

Any proposal to reform the law on abortion in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is also for the Northern Ireland Executive to determine what support women receive to travel to Great Britain to have an abortion. Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office have received no recent representations on the purchasing of abortion medication on the internet.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to eradicate violence against women and girls.

Richard Harrington

The United Kingdom has some of the strongest protections in the world to safeguard women and girls and the Government is wholly committed to protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims and survivors. Over the course of the previous Parliament our achievements included:

• making domestic abuse an offence to capture controlling and coercive behaviour;

• rolling out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme nationally;

• criminalising forced marriage;

• introducing new stalking laws;

• criminalisation of realistic depictions of rape and revenge pornography;

• strengthening the law on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), including mandatory reporting; and

• introducing new civil orders to manage sex offenders and FGM protection orders.

This Government will build on those achievements by doing more to intervene earlier in the abuse cycle including doing more to deter and rehabilitate perpetrators, as well as to continue to improve protection for victims and to bring offenders to justice. We recognise the importance of specialist services and will work with local authorities, the NHS and Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure a secure future for specialist Female Genital Mutilation and forced marriage units, refuges and rape support centres. The work will be set out in a refreshed version of the previous Government’s strategy, A Call to End Violence against Women and Girls, which will be published later this year.

The previous Government ring-fenced £40 million (£10 million per year) for services and helplines supporting women and girls who have suffered abuse. This Government has committed to continuing that funding to April 2016 and has provided an additional funding for this period: £10 million for refuges, a £3 million fund to boost the provision of domestic violence services including refuges and an uplift of £7 million for victims of sexual violence and child sexual abuse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that criterion 8 of the consolidated EU Licensing Criteria document is consistently applied to all export licences.

Anna Soubry

The Department for International Development (DFID) is responsible for assessing licence applications against Criterion 8. DFID considers export licence applications destined to all International Development Association eligible countries and may also ask to see applications in respect of other countries of concern. Further information on DFID’s role is given in the Government’s Strategic Export Controls Annual Report for 2014, which was presented to Parliament on 16 July 2015 and is also available on the gov.uk website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if the Government will make it its policy to eliminate all indirect and direct fossil fuel subsidies within the present Parliament.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK does not have any fossil fuel subsidies. The Government sees clear benefits from climate, domestic energy security and budgetary stability perspectives, of phasing out such subsidies internationally. Therefore, where helpful, we will continue to aid the global effort to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. The UK remains a strong supporter of the G20 commitment to rationalise and phase out, over the medium term, inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption. You may also be aware that my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced that the UK will support the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Communique – which is to be presented at the Climate Change negotiations in Paris later this year – calling for more action on this matter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if the Government will allocate infrastructure funding to support grid upgrades and enable a low-carbon future.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government recognises the vital role that networks play in meeting our low-carbon ambitions. It is for Ofgem, as the independent regulator, to allocate funding to network companies for grid upgrades. In the latest 8-year regulatory price controls Ofgem has allowed funding of up to £21.5bn [1] for electricity transmission and £24.6bn [2] for electricity distribution to expand, replace and maintain the networks.

[1] 2009-10 prices

[2] 2012-13 prices

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will bring forward proposals to change Ofgem regulations to allow distribution network operator companies to upgrade grid infrastructure speculatively, in order that they may plan ahead for new renewable energy.

Andrea Leadsom

Ofgem, as the independent regulator, has consulted on allowing greater anticipatory investment in electricity distribution networks. It expects to publish its views and next steps by the end of September. The consultation and responses are available at:

https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/quicker-and-more-efficient-distribution-connections.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2015-09-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if her Department will consult openly on what scheme will succeed ECO and the Green Deal, and in that consultation address the issues of (a) accessibility of funding for community groups, (b) fuel bill levies and (c) quality assurance.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is committed to working closely with industry and consumer groups on a new value for money approach to the future policy framework for energy efficiency, learning lessons from past approaches. The Government is also committed to keeping energy bills as low as possible as part of a long-term, coherent and affordable policy framework. The longer-term future of ECO will be part of these discussions around a new, better-integrated policy and we will formally consult on changes to ECO regulations at the appropriate moment. In the meantime we have been and will continue to engage with stakeholders about all aspects of a new policy framework including accessibility of funding for community groups. The Government has also commissioned an independent review led by Peter Bonfield to investigate consumer advice, protection, standards and enforcement of energy efficiency and renewable energy schemes and to ensure that the system properly supports and protects consumers.