Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will increase support to Redbridge Council to combat homelessness and rough sleeping in Ilford.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
Redbridge has been allocated £5,280,506 for 2018-19 as part of the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant. The Rough Sleeping Initiative have also allocated Redbridge £485,250 for 2018-19 with a further £500,000 provisionally allocated for 2019-20 to tackle rough sleeping specifically. In addition, both the Move On Fund and Cold Weather Fund are open to local authorities for proposals to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
The Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough and that is why, this summer, we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to it's consultation on the draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill; and what the timetable is for further steps to be taken in relation to that Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to it's consultation on the draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill; and what the timetable is for further steps to be taken in relation to that Bill.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
On 8 March we launched a 12 week public consultation on proposals for a landmark domestic abuse Bill and a supporting package of practical action to transform the response to domestic abuse. The consultation closed on 31 May. Over 3,200 responses to the consultation were received. The responses to the consultation are being considered and a draft Bill will be published later this session.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will ensure that any agreement in respect of the UK withdrawal from the EU does not extend to Spain an exclusive right to determine or veto the future commercial and trading status of Gibraltar between (a) UK and Gibraltar and (b) Gibraltar and the EU; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
As the Prime Minister has made clear and was set out in the Department for International Trade’s White Paper ‘Preparing for our future UK trade policy’, after we leave the EU the UK will operate an independent trade policy. It will be exclusively for the UK and Gibraltar to determine our future bilateral commercial and trading relationship. In terms of the UK’s and Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU, these are subject to negotiations and we have been clear throughout that we are not going to exclude Gibraltar from our negotiations for either the implementation period or the agreement for the future.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the implementation phase of the UK leaving the EU will be the same for Anguilla as the rest of the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
Both the EU and the UK have been clear that the Implementation Period will be agreed under Article 50 and be part of the Withdrawal Agreement. Both sides have also been clear that the Overseas Territories, including Anguilla, are covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and our Article 50 exit negotiations.
In these negotiations, we are seeking a deal that works for the whole UK family, including Anguilla.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union :
To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the implementation phase of the UK leaving the EU will be the same for Gibraltar as the rest of the UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
Both the EU and the UK have been clear that the Implementation Period will be agreed under Article 50 and be part of the Withdrawal Agreement. Both sides have also been clear that Gibraltar is covered by the Withdrawal Agreement and our Article 50 exit negotiations.
The Prime Minister said clearly in the House on Monday that as we negotiate these matters we will be negotiating to ensure that the relationships are there for Gibraltar as well. We are not going to exclude Gibraltar from our negotiations for either the implementation period or the future agreement.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many settlement applications were processed by Sheffield Visa Section between May and August 2016.
Answered by Brandon Lewis
The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.
Published data on the numbers of visas processed is published online at the following address:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/international-operations-transparency-data-august-2017 (then listed by publication date under ‘UK Visas & Immigration’).
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to extend the voting rights of UK citizens who are resident overseas in UK elections and referendums.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the Member for Halifax (Ms Lynch) on Thursday 7 September 2017 to written question 6973.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to guarantee votes for life in UK elections and referendums for all UK citizens living abroad.
Answered by Chris Skidmore
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the Member for Halifax (Ms Lynch) on Thursday 7 September 2017 to written question 6973.
Asked by: Mike Gapes (The Independent Group for Change - Ilford South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department gave to the Secretary of State for International Development during his visit to Israel in August 2017.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not provide any assistance to my right hon. Friend the member for Witham (Ms Patel), former Secretary of State for International Development, during her private visit to Israel in August 2017.