Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the case of Abdullah al-Zaher.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Government is very concerned about the case of Abdullah al-Zaher. We have raised this case 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 isn’t deemed “the most serious”. We take every opportunity to make the Saudi authorities aware of our views.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with local businesses and LEPs on the economic effect of the area reviews for further education.

    Nick Boles

    Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) have a central role to play in supporting area reviews and are contributing to the analysis of the current and future economic and educational needs of their area. They are also supporting the review process through their wider economic development role and use of their potential resource leverage including capital funding and other related funding streams like European Social Funding. Being impartial and economically driven, LEP involvement is allowing the business voice to feature largely in discussions and to ensure there is a full understanding of employer demand.

    There is regular contact with the LEP network and with individual LEPs through the local steering group arrangements. In addition local employers are being actively engaged in each area review through the wide range of stakeholder engagement taking place.

    LEPs and the British Chamber of Commerce are also represented on the National Area Review Advisory group which is influencing how the area reviews are taken forward.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for financial system resilience of the Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed rules on ringfencing; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government is confident that the Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed rules on ring-fencing are beneficial for financial system resilience. These are fully consistent with the Banking Reform Act (2013), and are necessary to ensure the full and timely implementation of the legislation.

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

    Lord Turnberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have assessed the plans of NHS England for provision of mandated research in the NHS.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department of Health formally holds NHS England to account on its delivery against the research objective in the NHS Mandate, a process which will be rolled forward during 2016/7.

    Progress has been made in the areas of participation of National Health Service organisations in research, with 98% of NHS trusts recruited into National Institute for Health Research Clinical Research Network Portfolio studies during the course of 2014/15, and 78% of NHS trusts recruiting to commercial contract studies in the same year. In addition, recruitment of participants into such studies increased in 2014/15 compared to the previous year to 618,453 participants. Recruitment into commercial contract studies is at an all-time high, with 34,885 participants in 2014/15; a 35% increase from 2013/14.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, which women’s organisations the Minister for Women has met since May 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities and I have met with many representatives from women’s organisations since taking on our roles as Ministers for Women and Equalities. This includes attending and speaking at conferences and events, including a women and equalities stakeholder event held in July 2015, and our pre-CSW NGO event organised by the Government Equalities Office in November 2015, which was attended by representatives of approximately 40 women’s organisations.

    Meetings are a matter of public record, and can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-ministers-quarterly-returns and www.gov.uk/government/collections/moj-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings. Some of the meetings we have held with women’s organisations include:

    • Women’s Aid

    • Agenda

    • 30% Club

    • Rights of Women

    • Birth Companions

    • Women’s Business Council

    • Brighton Women’s Centre

    • One Small Thing

    • Women’s Breakout

    “

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will initiate a resolution of the UN Security Council related to whether genocide is being committed against religious minorities in Syria and Iraq.

    James Duddridge

    As the Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (David Cameron) has said, there is a very strong case for saying that the atrocities committed by Daesh amount to genocide, but recognition of genocide should be a matter for international courts, not political bodies.

    When an attempt was made in 2014 to have the UN Security Council refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We have no reason to believe another referral would deliver a different outcome.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2016 to Question 42551, if he will take steps to improve take-up of the Accelerate programme by disabled members of staff.

    Ben Gummer

    If the Accelerate programme runs in future years, then the Cabinet Office will promote take-up of the programme through the intranet and will support disabled applicants through the Cabinet Office Disability Network.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in cases when someone in receipt of a state pension passes away, (a) whether their family is automatically notified on any pensions payments owing, (b) how long such payments take to process and (c) how many people are currently waiting for such a payment to be made.

    Richard Harrington

    When someone in receipt of a state pension passes away:

    (a) The death arrears payee would be notified of any arrears by letter. The death arrears payee is normally a family member but can also be another body such as a solicitor.

    (b) Payments owing are normally made within 15 days following confirmation of the correct payee.

    (c) There are 4,092 customers who have confirmed the correct payee currently waiting for such a payment to be made.

  • Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many statutory Fire Safety Inspections were carried out by English fire and rescue services in 2013-14.

    Mike Penning

    I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

    Fire and rescue services carried out almost 67,300 Fire Safety Audits / Inspections in 2013/14.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of courts and tribunal buildings in England and Wales have wifi access.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    One of the main projects within the Criminal Justice Efficiency Programme was to introduce Wi-Fi throughout the criminal courts, allowing professional court users access to their home systems and the internet, improving their productivity and efficiency of flow of cases in court. With 158 courthouses already connected, the Programme is on track to deliver to all criminal courts well before summer 2016. Further courts may come into scope depending on the outcome of the consultation on the court estate which is currently underway. In addition to the wifi provided for professional court users many courts have commercially provided BT wifi solutions to allow court users to access the internet. These have been installed locally and no central record is held on the exact number of courts where this is available.

    We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.