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  • Baroness Berridge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Berridge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Berridge on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to respond to anti-Ahmadiyya hate literature in the UK in the light of recent reports that leaflets endorsing the execution of Ahmadi Muslims were found in Stockwell Green mosque on 10 April.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Religiously motivated hate crime and hate speech has absolutely no place in British society. This Government is clear that everybody should be free to live their lives free from fear of attack simply because of what their beliefs are, and that tragic events such as the recent murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow will not be tolerated. We have a strong legal framework in place against discrimination on the basis of religion, and criminal penalties for offences such as racially or religiously aggravated assault and criminal damage. Those who perpetrate hate crimes of any kind will be punished with the full force of the law. This Government has done more than any other to tackle anti-Muslim hatred. As of 1 April 2016, police forces in England and Wales are disaggregating religious hate crime data to reveal the true scale and nature of the problem. The Government also plans to publish its new Hate Crime Action Plan in the summer, which will set out our approach to tacking all forms of hate crime, including Islamophobia. This will build on the success of ‘Challenge It, Report It, Stop It’, which was published in 2012 and updated subsequently in 2014.

  • Baroness Berridge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Berridge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Berridge on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the murder of Asad Shah in Glasgow, what action they are taking to restrict access to websites that espouse extremism in Pakistan.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The tragic murder of Asad Shah demonstrated the powerful influence of extremist online content. In the UK, the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) is responsible for the referral of terrorist-related content to online communication service providers (CSPs) for removal. Upon receipt of a referral, CSPs remove material on a voluntary basis where it breaches their terms and conditions.

    Referrals made to CSPs by CTIRU have led to over 160,000 pieces of terrorist-related content being removed to date world-wide, including websites, user accounts and videos. Overall, removals at the request of CTIRU have increased from around 60 items a month in 2010, when CTIRU was first established, to over 4,000 a month in 2016.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement will be subject to ratification by both Houses of Parliament and the US Congress.

    Lord Price

    We expect the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be a “mixed” agreement, covering areas of both EU and Member State competence, to which the US, EU and all EU Member States will be parties.

    In that case, it will be subject to agreement by each EU Member State, the EU Council and the European Parliament. As part of this process in the UK, before the Government can ratify the agreement, the complete draft text of the agreement will initially be laid before Parliament for scrutiny for at least 21 sitting days. During this time MPs and Lords may debate the treaty in either or both Houses and vote on the proposed ratification.

    In the US, both Houses of Congress would have to ratify legislation to implement the agreement, but not the agreement itself.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether it is legal for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to advertise and provide access to the Government’s referendum leaflet on its main website and whether any costs involved are additional to, or part of, the total spending on producing and distributing the leaflet.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Gov.uk provides a range of Government information, including links to the eureferendum.gov.uk website which sets out information for the public in order to ensure they are able to make an informed decision on 23rd June.

    It is legal for Government to do so and there are no additional costs associated with this. These links will be removed at the start of the restricted 28 day period.

  • Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gavin Newlands – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK Erasmus students, lecturers and research fellows in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    Over 200,000 British Students have been able to study abroad on the Erasmus programme. Access to this programme is just one of the many reasons why the Government believes we are safer, stronger and better off inside a reformed EU.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that customers who were sold cashback warranties by PowerPlan and who did not receive their cash deposits having not claimed against those warranties receive compensation.

    Anna Soubry

    The liquidation of the companies involved in the cashback scheme is ongoing. The liquidators have the right to take action against the company if they consider the cashback scheme created an obligation to fund any liabilities.

    My hon. Friend from Grantham and Stamford is meeting the Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to discuss their findings shortly.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assistance his Department provides to prevent job losses in highly-skilled manufacturing businesses.

    Anna Soubry

    We are creating a highly competitive business environment to make the UK an attractive location for advanced manufacturing investment, boosting skills and protecting spending on innovation and cutting edge manufacturing technologies. This drives the strong productivity growth, and exports, that will sustain the UK as a leading manufacturing nation.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to address skills shortages in the workforce.

    Joseph Johnson

    This Government is committed to giving young people the skills they need to succeed in life.

    We are supporting 3 million more apprenticeships in this Parliament, and we are ensuring that employers play a leading role in the design of our new Degree Apprenticeships. Following our Higher Education Green Paper, we will be launching a technical consultation on the Teaching Excellence Framework, which will ensure our universities continue to focus on helping their students into employment.

  • Richard Graham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Richard Graham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Graham on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to encourage businesses to take on apprentices.

    Nick Boles

    Later this month, we will launch a communications campaign that will promote the benefits of apprenticeships to employers.

    From next April, the apprenticeship levy will put funding in the hands of employers and encourage them to take on more apprentices.

    We are also supporting smaller businesses taking on young apprentices through the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers; and removed the requirement for employers to pay National Insurance contributions for apprentices aged under 25.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the privatisation of the Land Registry on the effectiveness of its service.

    Sajid Javid

    I am pleased to say we are consulting on this very issue at the moment.

    We want to accelerate the transformation and digitisation of the Land Registry, improving the service it offers.

    However, we would only proceed with any change if we were convinced it would provide a continued appropriate level of service.