Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has been made of whether Niranjan Rasalingam, a British citizen jailed in Burma, has received a fair trial.
Answered by Mark Field
We have not made an assessment of whether Mr Niranjan has received a fair trial, as the appeals process in his case is ongoing. In the meantime we continue to liaise closely with his lawyer and representatives; and are providing consular and welfare support.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authorities in regulating taxi and private hire vehicles.
Answered by Sajid Javid
Local authorities must ensure appropriate standards to support safe and quality services for passengers. However, as part of exercising this duty, any licencing decisions should support open, competitive and functioning markets.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce the incidence of domestic violence.
Answered by Sarah Newton
This Government has introduced a new offence of coercive and controlling behaviour, rolled out new tools like domestic violence protection orders and committed over £100m to support victims.
We are firmly committed to doing everything we can to tackle domestic abuse which is why we have also announced that we will bring forward a landmark Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill to protect and support victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Burmese authorities on the prison sentence handed down to Niranjan Rasalingham; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Field
We have raised Mr Niranjan's case with the Burmese government on a number of occasions, including seeking clarity on the prison sentence handed down, and will continue to do so when appropriate. While we cannot directly intervene in the judicial process of another country, we will remain in close contact with Mr Niranjan and his lawyer as he decides what steps he wishes to take next and we will continue to provide consular assistance.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the recent rise in malaria cases in Delhi, India; and what support her Department is providing to tackle malaria in (a) India and (b) Asia.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The World Health Organisation reports that there have been 592 malaria cases detected in Delhi so far this year. The municipal corporations in Delhi are responding. The WHO is closely monitoring the situation and providing advice through its Regional and Country Offices.
DFID provides significant support to malaria control in India and Asia through our leading contribution to the Global Fund. Since 2002 the Global Fund has invested $1.9 billion in India for malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB. This support has included the provision of 3.71 million insecticide treated bed nets to prevent the transmission of malaria. The Global Fund also supports many countries in Asia, including, for example, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. In addition DFID has specific malaria programming to improve the quality of care and address the problem of sub-standard medication in Burma; and programmes in the Greater Mekong sub-region to tackle drug resistant malaria. DFID also supports research into new malaria drugs, and broader support to countries’ health systems to enable better identification and treatment of people affected by malaria.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure access to Government services for people with disabilities.
Answered by Caroline Nokes
Government has committed to ensuring that services are accessible for all users, including people with disabilities. The Government Digital Service provides guidance to support departments, has created a cross government accessibility community to enable collaboration, and reviews the services it assesses against accessibility requirements.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from the Mayor of London on capping the number of private hire licences in London.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Mayor of London has made no formal representations on capping the number of private hire licences in London to the Secretary of State or DfT Ministers.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the implications for his policies are of the interim report and recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, published on 16 March 2017; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We support the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission. I discussed the report with the Chair of the Commission, Kofi Annan, on 16 March. We stand ready to provide assistance to enable the Burmese authorities to implement its recommendations. We also look forward to the final report.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of people employed in English language colleges in each region and constituent part of the UK.
Answered by Robert Halfon
English language colleges are independent organisations that are responsible for their own staffing. My department does not hold any information on the numbers of people employed in such organisations in England.
As education is a devolved matter, any assessment of English language college’s staff numbers outside of England is a matter for the relevant devolved authorities.
Asked by: Paul Scully (Conservative - Sutton and Cheam)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the value to the economy of the teaching of English as a second language.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Findings from a 2016 study of the economic benefits of learning maths and English in Further Education,[1] show that adults who achieve ESOL qualifications secure an average wage premium of 6%.
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/522300/bis-16-180-maths-english-learning.pdf