Tag: Toby Perkins

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the civil war in Yemen of arms sold by the UK to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK supports the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition military intervention in Yemen, which came at the request of legitimate President Hadi to deter aggression by the Houthis and forces loyal to the former president Saleh. Saudi Arabia and the Coalition have played a crucial role and the priority now is for the Yemeni parties to agree a political solution through UN-facilitated peace talks to end the conflict. The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and UK’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia are made under pre-existing and long-standing government to government arrangements. The UK Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-10-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will ensure that at least 1,000 refugees are resettled in the UK before Christmas 2015.

Richard Harrington

The Government has committed to resettling 20,000 Syrian Refugees in the lifetime of this Parliament. The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 brought to the UK by Christmas.

The Government is working closely with local authorities; international delivery partners and the voluntary sector, putting in place the plans and structures to deliver this and ensuring the system is scaled up in a way that protects the interests of all concerned.

Details on numbers will be published in the regular quarterly immigration statistics.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-05.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking at EU level to make sanitary products exempt from VAT.

Mr David Gauke

I have, following the recent Parliamentary debate on this issue, written to the European Commission and other Member States setting out our strong view that Member States should have full discretion over what rate of VAT they can apply to these products, and that this should be considered in the context of the Commission’s Action Plan on VAT initiatives. That Action Plan is now expected to emerge in March 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the UK’s military presence in the Baltic region in each of the last three years.

Penny Mordaunt

The UK undertakes a wide range of operational, Defence Engagement and training activity within the Baltic region. While it is not possible to provide full information, costs exceeded £1.6 million in FY13-14; £13.5 million in FY14-15 and £4.1 million in FY15-16.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the petition entitled Introduce Helen’s Law, published on the change.org website, what steps his Department is taking to encourage prisoners to reveal information about the crimes they have committed.

Andrew Selous

Staff in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) work with individual prisoners on a daily basis to address their risks and needs. A vital part of that activity is encouraging prisoners to acknowledge their responsibility for all their previous crimes.

NOMS staff will also take appropriate action where prisoners disclose information either of additional offences or of aspects of their offences that were previously unknown.

The Parole Board already takes into account offenders’ co-operation in identifying the location of a victim’s remains when determining whether they should be released; however, Ministers have asked the Parole Board to consider whether its guidelines in this area should be strengthened.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what additional funding his Department plans to make available for walking and cycling initiatives as a result of the cycling and walking investment strategy.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government has made clear its intention to make this country a cycling nation. The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy will be published in the summer and will include details of how the £300m committed in the last Spending Review will be invested to support cycling and walking.

In addition to the dedicated cycling and walking programmes, there are a number of wider funding streams which are devolved to local bodies and which can and are being used to support cycling and walking projects. In particular, billions are available to Local Enterprise Partnerships and local authorities through the Local Growth Fund and Integrated Transport Block allocations.

In addition to the above, a record £6.1 billion has been allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, and this funding can help maintain footways and cycleways.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department plans to include measures as part of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights to promote ethical practices of UK businesses operating abroad.

Anna Soubry

The National Action Plan, to implement the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights, was published on GOV.UK on 4^th September 2013. This sets out the Government’s expectation of UK businesses to respect human rights wherever they operate.

We continue to update our action plan, reflecting the progress we have made as well as covering other related action taking place across Government such as the Modern Slavery Act.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to promote local authority sub-contracting to small local businesses.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Government is committed to ensuring there is a simple and consistent approach to procurement across the whole public sector, including local authorities, so that small local businesses can gain better and more access to public sector contracts – either directly or sub-contracted.

New reforms included in the Public Contract Regulations 2015 aim to make public contracts more accessible to businesses and in particular to small and medium enterprises. The reforms included the abolition of the pre-qualification questionnaire for low value tenders; advertising all contracts on Contracts Finder; and paying down the supplier chain in 30 days.

Alongside these reforms we continue to work with the sector, the Local Government Association and the Crown Commercial Service to identify further ways to remove excessive burdens on small businesses and make the public sector procurement process faster, more transparent and less bureaucratic.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the military threat to the UK posed by Russia.

Penny Mordaunt

As noted in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, Russia is mid-way through a programme of major investment to modernise and upgrade its military, including its nuclear forces. Its behaviour will continue to be hard to predict, and, though highly unlikely, we cannot rule out the possibility that it may feel tempted to act aggressively against NATO Allies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will ensure that people with coeliac disease can continue to get prescriptions for gluten-free foods.

Alistair Burt

Gluten-free foods are available on National Health Service prescription to patients with established gluten-sensitive enteropathies. The Department provides general practitioners (GPs) and other prescribers with a list of recommended gluten-free products to help patients, including those with coeliac disease, to manage their condition.

Prescribing decisions are a matter for GPs and other prescribers. They should always satisfy themselves that the medicines or other substances they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed and that patients are adequately monitored.