Category: Speeches

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to transfer the Army Air Corps’ Islanders and Defenders to the RAF in 2018; and what plans his Department has for 5 Regiment’s Army Air Corps command organisation.

    Harriett Baldwin

    It has been agreed that the governance of the Fixed Wing Manned Aerial Surveillance Capability will be transferred from the Army to the RAF. Detailed implementation plans, including timescales and the implications for 5 Regiment Army Air Corps, or other Units have yet to be finalised.

  • Michelle Thomson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Michelle Thomson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Thomson on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the average amount people spent on visa applications before being granted entry to the UK in the last year for which figures are available.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not analyse the average amount people spend on visa applications before being granted entry to the UK. The Home Office provides a wide range of visa products and services and takes into account a range of factors when setting fees, so there is no typical fee amount.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there would be new trade barriers between the UK and the Republic of Ireland in the event of the UK ceasing to be a member of the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), believes Britain’s best future lies within a reformed EU. He is focused on addressing the concerns of the British people and is confident that the right agreement can be reached.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK has identified any people or ministries responsible for human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We have strongly supported the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The UN Commission of Inquiry documents serious human rights violations committed by the state in the DPRK and we have urged the DPRK authorities to respond in detail to the contents of the report. The report, which can be found at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/CommissionInquiryonHRinDPRK.aspx, includes details of human rights violations committed by officials from a number of state institutions and ministries. There must be no impunity for those accused of serious human rights violations.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of preventing civil society organisations from submitting complaints about school admission arrangements on the transparency and accountability of the admissions system.

    Nick Gibb

    I refer my honourable friend to the answer to parliamentary question number HL5704.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of freedom of information requests (a) granted and (b) refused by his Department in each of the last five years; and what the total cost of processing these applications was in each such year.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 25 February 2016 (PQ 26939).

    https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/34348

    The processing of Freedom of Information requests is part of staff responsibilities across the Department. The number of hours spent on this activity, and therefore the total cost of processing applications, is not recorded.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that ex-offenders are helped into work or education upon the completion of their sentence.

    Caroline Dinenage

    We want prisons to be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and employment opportunities.

    We already work with a wide range of employers in prison through One3One Solutions and engagement by Prison Governors. But we want Governors to do more so we are putting the tools to drive this change in the hands of those at the frontline who best know what works.

    We are keen to increase the number of employers who can provide valuable vocational work for offenders while in prison and who are able to offer them support in preparation for release and employment opportunities following their release. I regularly meet businesses across the country, to encourage them to get involved and new businesses are now coming on board as a consequence. The Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending brings together employers willing to employ offenders and provides a range of advice and support to new employers considering working with offenders and provides business to business mentoring to members of the Forum. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the involvement of more businesses. The Prime Minister has also announced changes to recruitment practises across the civil service to ensure that people are considered on their merits and not on their criminal conviction and we want to encourage more employers to do the same.

    Separately, the Secretary of State for Justice has commissioned a review of prison education led by Dame Sally Coates.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35165, on Personal Independence Payments, what changes his Department has put in place to take account of the finding that 75 per cent of successful appeals resulted from additional oral or documentary evidence being submitted.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The 75% can be broken down as follows:

    Cogent oral evidence – 66%

    Cogent documentary evidence supplied at the appeal – 9%

    These figures are from internal DWP systems, where only one of possible multiple reasons can be recorded, and are derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard.

    The Department encourages claimants to provide as much relevant evidence as necessary to support their claim. The “How your disability affects you” form and accompanying guidance sets out the range of information that can help the Department reach a decision. The guidance for Health Professionals also sets out sources of further evidence which could help inform their advice to the Department.

    At the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, again claimants are encouraged to provide any further evidence about their disability. Following the first independent review of Personal Independence by Paul Gray, the Department is reviewing all communications (including those used by Assessment Providers) it has with claimants throughout the claim, assessment and reconsideration process to ensure that claimants clearly understand the importance of providing sufficient evidence to support their claim and application.

    Further, once a claimant has submitted their claim, the Department has created a new Standard Work Instructions (SWI) for its decision making staff to gain further evidence, where appropriate. For Mandatory Reconsideration, the SWI puts a process in place to establish what the areas for dispute are, consider any gaps in the evidence, ensure any expected further medical evidence is received and referring that to the Assessment Provider. “

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance has been provided to the Legal Aid Agency about section 47 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Lord Chancellor has the power to issue guidance or directions to the Director of Legal Aid casework under section 4 of LASPO. No such guidance or directions have been issued in respect of legal aid available as a result of section 47 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to receive the £2 billion green dividend that the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food announced before the EU referendum on 23 June 2016.

    George Eustice

    Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union (EU) and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation and receive funding under the Common Agriculture Policy. The Government will work with stakeholders and NGOs to design new domestic policy arrangements to be put in place after we leave the EU.