Category: Speeches

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many (a) expressions of interest and (b) applications Natural England has received for a badger control licence; and what the timetable for decisions is on applications received.

    George Eustice

    Natural England has received (a) 21 expressions of interest; and (b) 8 applications for badger control licenses. Decisions will be announced before the start of each year’s badger control operations.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made an assessment of the report by the Baha’i International Community published in October 2015 on the economic oppression of Baha’is in Iran; whether they plan to continue to make representations to the government of Iran about that issue and in particular about the return of confiscated properties; and whether they will ensure that the full facts of economic and religious persecution are reflected in guidance to interviewers and others dealing with asylum applications in the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials attended the UK launch of the October 2015 report by the Baha’i International Community on 19 July and delivered a speech highlighting the Government’s concerns over the Iranian government’s actions against the Baha’i community. We share the desire to see Iran fulfil its human rights obligations and cease harassment of all religious minorities. We have repeatedly raised our concerns about the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran with the Iranian government and will continue to do so. The Home Office has responsibility for carefully considering all asylum claims on their individual merits. Published guidance for Home Office staff on interviewing and consideration of asylum claims on religious grounds is regularly reviewed and takes into consideration the views of religious groups and other stakeholders.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on encouraging young people in deprived communities to pursue a career in medicine.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    We are increasing the number of medical training places available to students each year. Beginning in September 2018, the Government will fund up to 1,500 additional student places through medical school each year. Students will be able to apply for the extra places from next year in order to take them up from the academic year 2018/19.

    This increase will provide more opportunities for people from all backgrounds to study medicine, and will ensure the National Health Service will continue to have the right workforce to provide safe and effective patient care.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Stephenson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support women’s reproductive healthcare in Liberia.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Since 2008 DFID has been supporting the Government of Liberia to deliver health services and has committed over £28m. This includes an additional £6m funding announced at the UN conference on post-Ebola recovery in July 2015.

    Roughly half of our funding is specifically targeted towards health services for women and children, including during pregnancy and for childbirth, and to purchase drugs including contraceptives and other family planning products.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the higher education sector on extending the loan book to part-time students who wish to undertake a second degree.

    Joseph Johnson

    We have extended fee loans for those already holding a degree to students wishing to retrain in engineering, technology and computer science. We continue to examine what more we can do to support part-time including the availability of additional fee loans and are engaging actively with the sector on these issues.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect on small businesses and entrepreneurs of the closure of the Business Growth Service.

    Anna Soubry

    We do not expect closure of the Business Growth Service to have an impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs.

  • Lord Palmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Palmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 8 December 2015 (HL3861), what assessment they have made of why, when the UK ranks number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, nine other European countries have lower levels of smoking prevalence.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Countries use different ways to assess smoking prevalence within their population and there is variation as to whether they include daily, weekly, or occasional smokers within the figures. It is therefore not always possible to compare smoking prevalence rates directly between countries. In contrast, Joossens and Raws’s Tobacco Control Scale in Europe, which ranks the United Kingdom as number one in tobacco control activity of 34 European countries, uses a set criteria to assess the implementation of tobacco control policies across European countries, enabling a direct comparison to be made between the countries of tobacco control measures.

  • Caroline Flint – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Flint – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of her Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between her Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

    Karen Bradley

    a) The Home Office is not required to compile prompt payment data in respect of private companies. To calculate such a figure would incur disproportionate costs.

    b) In the financial year 2014-15, 88% of the total numbers of all invoices to every type of supplier were paid within five working days of receipt. The total number of invoices paid within 30 working days of receipt of invoice was 97%.

    For small and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the Home Office paid 80% of invoices within five working days of receipt of invoice. And 96% of invoices from SMEs were paid within 30 working days of receipt of invoice.

    i) The proportion of the number of contracts between the Home Office and SMEs is not readily available, except at disproportionate costs.

    ii) In 2014-15, the Home Office have reported 19.6% spend with SMEs. This figure is made up of 7.7% (£200 million) direct spend with SMEs and 11.9% (£310 miliion) indirect spend.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the 4th EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Mr John Hayes

    Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD), which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants. The Government will be setting out its view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

    The changes proposed under 4AMLD must not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Home Office and Treasury regularly raise these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate risk-based approach when applying these measures.

    To that end, following the Adjournment Debate on 20 January 2016 on this issue, along with the Economic Secretary to the Treasury I have recently met representatives of the banking sector to make clear concerns. The banks now clearly understand the importance of this issue and a way forward has been agreed. Should further problems arise we will re-emphasise what we expect.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US and Japanese counterparts about nuclear tests by North Korea.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I raised this issue with US colleagues in Washington last week. The UK condemns the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) continued development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. We have regular contact with key partners on this issue, including the US and Japan. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) discussed the issue with his counterparts at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Hiroshima on 11 April. The G7 issued a joint communiqué [http://www.mofa.go.jp/files/000147440.pdf] which strongly condemned the DPRK’s nuclear tests and called upon the international community to enforce the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions to respond to the clear and continuing threat to international peace and security that is posed by the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.