Category: Speeches

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the (a) value and (b) volume of imports by sector, from non-EU countries that were exported to countries in the EU as (i) components and (ii) free standing items in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Jones

    My Department, working with officials across government, continues to undertake a wide range of data analyses to inform the UK’s position for the upcoming negotiations with our EU partners. We have been clear that we will not provide a running commentary that might undermine our negotiating position.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to include legislation for exceptional hardship pleas within the forthcoming review of motoring offences and penalties.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Information about drivers who have not been disqualified from driving as a result of a court accepting that disqualification would lead to exceptional hardship is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    The Government is committed to making sure that sentencing for those who kill or cause serious injury on the roads is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation on driving offences and penalties before the end of the year.

  • Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Stella Creasy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he has had with (a) the Low Pay Commission, (b) Which? and (c) members of the Trade Union Congress to discuss the payment and administration of service charges, tips, gratuities and cover charges on the income of employees.

    Nick Boles

    The Government’s Call for Evidence into tips, gratuities, cover and service charges closed on 10 November 2015. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received formal or informal evidence from the named bodies. Where any clarification is required or the Government wishes to seek further information, we will request further discussions with these bodies, where appropriate.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refugees have (a) died and (b) been injured during an attempt to reach Britain from the Calais refugee camp.

    James Brokenshire

    Data on migrants who have died or been injured is a matter for the French authorities and would be held by them.

    The UK and France are unified in our joint efforts to address the migrant situation in Calais, and are clear that migrants should not risk their lives by making dangerous journeys in order to attempt to enter the UK illegally.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people from other EU countries have been admitted to (1) work, and (2) live, in Northern Ireland in each year since 2010.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

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

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to investigate and address the role of the Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in London in evading UN Security Council sanctions in respect of their submission of vessel registration changes to the International Maritime Organisation in 2014; and what assessment they have made of the involvement of embassies of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea worldwide in sanctions evasion.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Vessel registration is a matter for Flag state action. The UK is not a Flag state for any Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) vessels, so has not been involved in investigating this issue. We have processes in place to verify the provenance of any vessel registered under the British flag.

    There are documented links between the DPRK’s diplomatic missions and its proliferation activity which are in breach of sanctions. For example, the UN DPRK Panel of Experts reported that DPRK Embassy officials in Cuba were engaged in making arrangements for the 2013 Chong Chon Gang shipment of conventional arms and related materials in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions. We have since worked with partners to encourage the need for vigilance over possible illicit activity taking place by DPRK diplomatic missions.

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent changes to benefits on levels of child poverty.

    Priti Patel

    The intended impact of the tax and benefit reforms introduced in the Summer Budget and Autumn Statement is to incentivise work, ensure work always pays, and to allow people to keep more of what they earn.

    The Government is committed to working to eliminate child poverty and improving life chances for children.

    Our new Life Chances measures will drive continued action on work and education, which will make the biggest difference to disadvantaged children, now and in the future.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Joint Intelligence Committee has revised its estimate of the number of non-extremist opposition fighters in Syria since 2 December 2015.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    The JIC regularly assess the numbers involved in fighting in Syria and their loyalties. The JIC has concluded that non-extremist opposition numbers have held up despite recent pressure. Numbers in groups fighting Daesh are likely to have increased.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding has been received from the European Social Fund via the National Offender Management Service Co-Financing Organisation to help set up and finance The Employers’ Forum for Reducing Re-offending.

    Andrew Selous

    Money received from the European Social Fund (ESF) by the NOMS Co-financing Programme is published in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts. No ESF funding has been used to finance employer roadshows at Sudbury, Drake Hall and Wayland prisons. Neither has any ESF money been awarded direct to HM Young Offender Institutions Werrington, Feltham or Cookham Wood.

    It is a condition of any award of core ESF funding to the NOMS Co-financing programme that it has to be spent on front line services for offenders (excluding the administration budget. Because of this, a separate application was made under the Technical Assistance grant to fund, among other things, the setting up and running of the Employers’ Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFRR). The aim of the Technical Assistance grant is to fund services that will support the objectives of the main programme – employability of offenders. The amount spent from the ESF Technical Assistance fund on the EFRR from 2010 to 2015 was £280,403.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the national Geological Disposal Facility to be ready.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The process to site a Geological Disposal Facility (GDF) is planned to launch in 2017 and will be driven by working in partnership with willing communities. The technical work to assess the geological suitability of a site and build a credible long-term safety case is the main determinant of the length of time that it will take. The Government has therefore not set a fixed delivery timetable but the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has a current planning assumption that the GDF will be available to receive the first waste in the 2040s.