Category: Speeches

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 28059, whether representatives of ex-intraveneous drug users and former sex-workers will be invited to sit on the working group being formed by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs as part of its review of blood donor selection criteria.

    Jane Ellison

    Stakeholder representation on the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood Tissue and Organs’ Donor Selection Criteria Working Group consists of the Terence Higgins Trust, National Aids Trust, Patients Association, Sickle Cell Society, Thalassemia Society and the LGBT Consortium. A Stakeholder meeting is planned alongside the first meeting of the Working Group and a wider range of stakeholders is to be invited. Relevant stakeholder representatives such as former sex workers and ex-intravenous drug users will be invited to attend the Working Group when it is considering particular aspects of donor selection criteria.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to review the operation of the National Planning Policy Framework before the end of the current Parliament.

    Brandon Lewis

    The National Planning Policy Framework, written clearly and simply, has made the planning system more accessible and replaced over a thousand pages of national policy. We keep policy in the Framework under constant review. A consultation on specific changes to the Framework, aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations, closed on 22 February. We are analysing the responses.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when the Government plans to publish its response to the December 2015 HM Revenue and Customs’ consultation on increasing VAT for domestic solar.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK has applied a reduced rate on 11 different types of energy saving materials since 2001. That remains in place and remains unchanged.

    HMRC are currently considering the responses to their consultation on energy saving materials and they will respond in due course.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans the Government has to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Prime Minister has said she will not trigger Article 50 until we have a UK approach and objectives, and Article 50 should therefore not be invoked before the end of this year. The process for leaving the EU and determining our future relationship will be a complex one, so we need to take time to think through our objectives and approach. We want to ensure the best possible outcome for Britain and the future UK-EU relationship.

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues about proposals for a North Wales Growth Deal.

    Alun Cairns

    The door is open to a growth deal for North Wales. The Government is looking carefully at proposals which have been developed by local partners in North Wales which could help to strengthen the region’s economy and make the most of its connections to the Northern Powerhouse.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on tackling doping in sport.

    Tracey Crouch

    I will be meeting the World Anti-Doping Agency in the near future to discuss current doping issues. In addition, both my Department and UK Anti-Doping engage regularly with international counterparts on a range of sporting matters, including tackling doping in sport.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Saudi Arabia in relation to the death sentence imposed on Abdullah ah-Zaher; and whether they will consider taking action in the event of representations on this, and similar cases, going unheeded.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government is very concerned about the case of Abdullah al-Zaher. We have raised these cases at a senior level in the Government of Saudi Arabia. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which is not deemed “the most serious”. We take every opportunity to make the Saudi authorities aware of our views.

  • 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 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their policy of transparency applies to the Belfast Agreement 1998, and if not, why not.

    Lord Dunlop

    This Government is committed to transparency across a range of areas, including in respect of its role in the implementation of successive political Agreements in Northern Ireland.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effect of fixed odds betting terminals on levels of crime; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not collect information centrally on the reasons why police officers are called out to specific locations. The Home Office has no plans for a formal assessment of the impact of fixed odds betting terminals on levels of crime.

    It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to decide crime priorities at a local level, and the most appropriate response in their areas.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in immigration detention of each nationality have been convicted of a criminal offence in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    As of December 2015 there were 1,274 foreign national offenders in immigration detention.

    The Home Office does not provide nationality specific data. The data is withheld where disclosure would be likely to prejudice diplomatic relations between the UK and a foreign government and where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice the operation of immigration control.

    Caveats

    (1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

    (2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office’s Case Information Database, and may include individuals with asylum cases.

    (3) Figures relate to main applicants only and are a snapshot of cases as at the end of December 2015 taken from the Case Information Database (CID).