Category: Speeches

  • Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Challenger 2 Battle Tanks are maintained in Germany; and what the state of readiness is of such tanks.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Challenger 2 is a highly capable Main Battle Tank and sits at the heart of the Army’s war fighting Armoured Infantry Brigades and is a key part of the UK’s capability. The current Challenger 2 fleet consists of 227 main battle tanks all of which would be available for operational use if required.

    The following Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps are equipped with Challenger 2: The King’s Royal Hussars, Tidworth; The Queen’s Royal Hussars, Germany and The Royal Tank Regiment, Tidworth. We do not routinely comment on specific levels of readiness and locations for individual capabilities as to do so would compromise operational security, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

    As at May 2016 the Challenger 2 fleet was assessed to meet 100% of the fleet size and deployability requirements as set out in the 2015-16 Army Readiness Order.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department will commit to maintaining or increasing funding that is allocated to eradicating violence against women in armed conflict, facilitating universal access to reproductive healthcare and supporting equal rights and opportunities for women and girls.

    Rory Stewart

    The UK has put the empowerment of women and girls at the heart of our international development work, and is delivering significant results for women and girls. We played an instrumental role in influencing the global agreement for Sustainable Development Goal 5 ‘to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls’. We also made firm commitments to support women and girls in the 2015 UK Aid strategy, underpinned by the 2014 International Development (Gender Equality) Act legislation, which ensures that UK Aid development and humanitarian work considers gender issues as a core part of everything they deliver. The UK is a global leader in promoting, protecting and supporting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), including neglected and difficult issues. The 2012 London Summit on Family Planning put the issue firmly back on the international agenda, and the UK is a core convenor of the FP2020 movement established at the Summit to drive forward progress.

    Full attainment of political, social and economic rights for women and girls is a UK priority, recognising its centrality to greater peace and stability. Violence against women and girls is one of the most systematic, widespread human rights violations worldwide. Globally, 1 in 3 women is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. DFID has made significant progress in scaling up efforts to address violence against women and girls, nearly doubling our programming from 64 programmes in 2012 to 127 in 2016 (including the £25 million ‘What Works to Prevent Violence’ programme). The UK and the new Secretary of State will continue to lead the global effort to improve the lives of women and girls, promoting gender equality and women and girls empowerment in all contexts.

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

    Lord Beecham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the number of Deprivation of Liberty orders sought by care home owners and the proportion which are rejected, whether they are considering taking steps to improve the system; and if so, when they will publish details of those planned steps.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department has commissioned the Law Commission to carry out a review of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The review is expected to be published at the end of the year.

    The Department will consider what steps may be necessary to improve the system in light of the review.

  • Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many people were granted release on temporary licence, and (2) what type of licence was granted in each prison establishment, in each month since January 2013.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice collates data on incidences of release on temporary licence (ROTL) rather than on decisions to grant ROTL. A decision to grant ROTL can relate to a single incidence of release, or to more than one incidence of release where, for example, an offender is regularly working in the community on day release. Annual statistics on the numbers of individuals granted ROTL is published on the gov.uk website.

    The attached tables provide the following information:

    Table 1: The number of individuals released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison;

    Table 2: Incidences of release on temporary licence per month between January 2013 and June 2015 by prison and by type of licence;

    Table 3: The number of individuals aged 50 to 59, and 60 and over released on temporary licence per quarter between January 2013 and June 2015.

    The Ministry of Justice collates data relating to the number of individuals released on temporary licence on a quarterly basis: it would only be possible to provide monthly data at disproportionate cost.

    Following changes to ROTL in 2013, there has been a 39% reduction in recorded instances of ROTL failure. This is the lowest failure rate since 2002.

    ROTL can be an important tool to help rehabilitate prisoners. ROTL is not automatic, but is only granted following rigorous assessment and with public protection as a primary consideration. The Government supports prisoners using temporary release to take work, training and educational opportunities that cannot be provided in prison, as well as for maintaining ties with their families.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full time equivalent staff were employed at the tax credit office in Preston in each year from 2010 to 2015; and what estimate he has made of the size of the workforce at that office in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

    Mr David Gauke

    The following table outlines the number of full time equivalent staff employed at the tax credit office in Preston at the start of each financial year.

    Financial year

    Number of full time equivalent staff

    April 2010

    2010

    April 2011

    1957

    April 2012

    1998

    April 2013

    2033

    April 2014

    1870

    April 2015

    1787

    The projected full time equivalent staffing levels in 2016, 2017 and 2018 are 2,050, 1,941 and 1,834 respectively.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on the rates for carbon price support in (a) 2020 and (b) 2030.

    Damian Hinds

    CPS rates have been capped at £18/tCO2 until 2019/20. An announcement on the rates beyond 2019/20 will be made in due course.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Sri Lankan and (b) UN Human Rights Council counterparts regarding the announcement by Sri Lanka’s President Sirisena that foreign judges will not be involved in the inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The British Government has always been clear that any accountability mechanism needs to be credible and meet international standards. I therefore welcomed the resolution on Sri Lanka adopted at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October 2015, co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, which called for the participation of Commonwealth and other foreign judges, defence lawyers, and authorised prosecutors and investigators, in Sri Lanka’s judicial accountability process. During my most recent visit to Sri Lanka on 14 to 17 January I discussed the importance of an international element in Sri Lanka’s accountability process with both Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Samaraweera. I also wrote to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 28 January to reiterate the UK Government’s commitment to working with the UN, Sri Lanka and our other international partners to ensure full implementation of the UNHRC resolution.

  • Iain Wright – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish his Department’s impact assessment of the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    HM Treasury published a Tax Information and Impact Note on 4 February 2016 at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy/apprenticeship-levy.

    “

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Wythenshawe and Sale East constituency who are existing universal credit claimants and who are in work will have their universal credit decreased as a result of changes to the work allowance taking effect in April 2016.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available because individual claimants’ circumstances can change as they move in and out of work or their earnings change. We have contacted all claimants who are in work and reporting earnings to make them aware of this change, which will affect a subset of that population.

  • 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 2016-04-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 18 April (HL7513), whether parity of esteem only applies to people who live in Northern Ireland or includes people who come from Northern Ireland and live elsewhere in the UK.

    Lord Dunlop

    In the Belfast Agreement the concept of ‘parity of esteem’ is expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. The Government is committed to treating people fairly and with equal respect wherever they live in the United Kingdom.