Category: Speeches

  • Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Mactaggart – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Mactaggart on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has recently discussed the Istanbul Convention with the (a) Welsh and (b) Scottish Government; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The previous Government signed the Istanbul Convention to show the strong commitment it placed on tackling violence against women and girls and this Government remains committed to ratifying it.

    The devolved administrations are responsible for implementing the obligations of the Convention in their territories and the Government continues to liaise with them about ratification.

    The UK already complies with the vast majority of the Convention’s articles but further amendments to domestic law, to take extra-territorial jurisdiction over a range of offences (as required by Article 44), are necessary before the Convention can be ratified. The Ministry of Justice is currently considering the approach to implementing the extra-territorial jurisdiction requirements in England and Wales and will seek to legislate when the approach is agreed and Parliamentary time allows. Ministry of Justice officials have been in contact with their counterparts in the devolved administrations about the requirements of Article 44.

  • Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to support (a) people with savings and (b) home ownership.

    Harriett Baldwin

    400,000 people have already opened a Help to Buy: ISA to buy their first home. At Budget 2016 the Chancellor also announced a Lifetime ISA which can be used by people under 40 to save for their first home and retirement.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the concept of parity of esteem as outlined by the Belfast Agreement 1998 applies to those who march on the streets of Northern Ireland in army uniforms but are not members of the army, in the same ways as to members of the recognised security forces.

    Lord Dunlop

    This Government understands the concept of parity of esteem, as set out in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, as placing a general obligation on the UK Government to treat people of different traditions in Northern Ireland fairly and with equal respect. In the Agreement it is clearly expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland.

    As a general obligation there is no definition of particular circumstances in which it does or does not apply.

    As I have set out in previous replies to the Noble Lord, this Government is firm in its commitment to the protection of people against any form of discrimination, and the promotion of opportunity for all, across the whole of our United Kingdom.

    In respect of the Noble Lord’s question about those who might march wearing army uniforms but who are not members of an army, the concept of parity of esteem clearly does not absolve people from upholding the law. This Government has made clear many times that we will never accept any form of equivalence between members of the security forces and those who engage in terrorism or other forms of paramilitary activity.

  • Lord Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sheikh on 2016-07-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure a positive and constructive role for Sudan as part of the Khartoum Process.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is engaging with the Sudanese Government to tackle the full range of migration issues. As part of the Khartoum Process, we are discussing the challenges faced by all countries in the region, including the Sudan, and we welcome the constructive contribution they have made so far, in particular in hosting a meeting on smuggling and trafficking in May.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to meet patient representatives to discuss the outcomes of the NHS England clinical policy prioritisation process for specialised services.

    David Mowat

    In July 2016 NHS England laid out its provisional investment plans for specialised services. However, owing to a current court case regarding pre-exposure prophylaxis these decisions are not yet finalised.

    As the decisions are still subject to change, Ministers have not yet arranged meetings to discuss the final outcomes.

    However Ministers continue to receive and respond to correspondence from a range of correspondents on the provisional investment decisions.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many pupils are known to be (a) victims, (b) perpetrators of domestic assaults; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many kinship care households they estimate will be affected by the combined impact of the proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill to limit child tax credit to two children and to reduce the benefit cap in each year between 2016 and 2021; what is their estimate of the cost of exempting kinship care households from those measures; and what impact assessment has been carried out as to how many potential kinship carers may be unable to afford to take on the children as a result of those measures and any consequential cost to the state of such children remaining in the care system.

    Lord Freud

    It is fair that families on benefits have to make the same financial decisions as families supporting themselves solely through work. These measures are being actively discussed in the Committee stage of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill (as the Minister informed the House) and there will be further discussion at the Report stage.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West are trained to use tasers.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold information centrally on the number of police officers who are trained to use Taser.

    Taser deployments in each police force area are an operational matter for Chief Officers. This includes decisions on the number of specially trained officers deployed with Taser, which is based on the assessment of threat and risk.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support Saudi Arabia’s internal inquiry into war crimes in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We encourage Saudi Arabia to investigate allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law, and for their investigations to be thorough and conclusive. Saudi Arabia has its own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January. This will include an independent team of skilled specialists who will assess and verify incidents of concern.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been transferred to the UK from (a) Italy, (b) Hungary, (c) Croatia, (d) France, (e) Belgium, (f) Austria and (g) Germany under (i) articles 6 and 8, (ii) articles 9, 10 and 11, (iii) article 16, and (iv) article 17 of the Dublin III Regulation in the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    Data on cases progressed under the Dublin III Regulation is recorded on the main immigration database. However, this data is not held in a way that allows it to be reported on automatically.