Category: Speeches

  • Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, under what circumstances documents associated with (a) asylum applications and (b) other forms of visa application are retained by her Department after verification.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Documents associated with an asylum claim will be retained when :-

    1. The claim is ongoing, if a claimant is subsequently granted leave their passports or identifying documents will be returned to them at that point.

    2. When a negative decision is made we will retain documents that may be required to facilitate removal, the power to do this comes from Section17 of the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of claimants Act, etc) 2004.

    3. Any documents verified as being non genuine will be retained for disposal by the National Document Fraud Unit.

    4. In EEA/EU asylum claims if removal, deportation or extradition is being pursued, any documents must be retained until a decision is taken. If removal is not being pursued, for example if the claimant is exercising their free movement rights, any documents should be returned.

    A document that has been submitted with a visa application will be retained for 10 years if the document has been verified as being false and has been relied upon in a refusal decision. If it has been verified as being genuine, copies will be kept for up to 2 years. A copy of the application form is retained electronically with the case record.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government had with the Chinese government during the state visit to London in October 2015 on reducing restrictions on the Christian minority in China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Religious freedom was not raised during the recent State Visit. However, the Prime Minister my Right Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) was very clear during his wide-ranging discussions with President Xi Jinping of the importance that the UK attaches to human rights as part of our wider relationship with China.

    We believe that freedom of religion or belief is a fundamental human right. I therefore remain concerned by the restrictions placed on Christianity in China. We are aware of reports of the closure or demolition of churches, the removal of crosses from buildings, and that individuals are being harassed or detained for their beliefs.

    We raise the range of our human rights concerns directly with China. We do so during the annual UK-China Human Rights Dialogue, most recently in April 2015. We also highlight them publicly in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy (www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk). We will continue to pursue our concerns both privately and in public fora.

  • Graham Stuart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Graham Stuart – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Stuart on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK students attend universities in Latin America.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UNESCO Institute of Statistics estimates for every country the number of outbound tertiary students studying in different regions of the world. Their most recent figures refer to 2013 and are published at the link: http://data.uis.unesco.org/

    The estimated number of UK students attending universities in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2013 was 234.

    “

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to ensure that businesses which contribute to the Construction Industry Training Board Levy scheme do not also pay the apprenticeship levy; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    The apprenticeship levy is economy wide. It will apply to all employers with a pay bill over £3,000,000 including those in the construction and engineering construction sectors.We are aware that the industry is concerned about the potential impact of paying two levies. We are working closely with the Industry Training Boards who will consult with their members ahead of the introduction of the apprenticeships levy on how their existing arrangements will be affected.

  • Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Addington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Addington on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government where the criteria for standards in initial teacher training can be found, and whether there are any specific legislative instruments enforcing those criteria.

    Lord Nash

    The Teachers’ Standards were published in 2011 and apply to all teachers. They define the minimum level of practice expected of teachers. The document can be found on the GOV.UK website, and has been attached to this answer.

    The standards refer to:

    • Schedule 2 of The Education (School Teachers’ Qualifications) (England) Regulations 2003

    • The Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012

    As such, the Teachers’ Standards apply to:

    • Trainees working towards Qualified Teacher Status;

    • All teachers completing their statutory induction period (newly qualified teachers [NQTs]); and

    • Teachers in maintained schools, including maintained special schools, who are covered by the 2012 appraisal regulations.

    The National College for Teaching and Leadership will use Part Two of the Teachers’ Standards, which relates to personal and professional conduct, when assessing cases of serious misconduct, regardless of the education sector in which the teacher works.

  • 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 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom regarding the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry’s 2014 report on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that persons who are forcibly repatriated to the DPRK are commonly subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, summary execution, forced abortions and other sexual violence; and the Commission’s recommendation that countries should respect the principle of non-refoulement and abstain from forcibly repatriating any persons to the DPRK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not made specific bilateral representations to the Russian Federation Government on the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) report.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many staff in his Department were in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; and what the cost to his Department was of providing that allowance for staff based (i) in the UK and (ii) overseas in each such year.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The figures requested are attached and as follows:

    Number of Staff

    Cost CEA Home

    Cost CEA Overseas

    Total

    2012/2013

    442

    £8,736,957

    £6,189,104

    £14,926,061

    2013/2014

    378

    £6,727,304

    £6,435,519

    £13,162,823

    2014/2015

    370

    £7,193,211

    £5,749,923

    £12,943,134

    It is a condition of their employment that members of the diplomatic service must be prepared to serve anywhere in the world at any time during their career, sometimes at very short notice. Those with children have a legal obligation as parents to ensure that their children receive a full-time education from the age of five years. Most parents prefer to take their children with them abroad, but in some of the 168 countries where the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has UK based staff, we do not permit staff to take their children for health or security reasons. In others, local schools of an acceptable standard are not available. It is longstanding practice that the FCO helps staff by providing financial support for their children’s education in the UK where staff choose this, or are obliged to do so given local conditions in the country to which they are posted.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has made to Volkswagen on establishing a compensation scheme for vehicle owners in the UK affected by that company’s use of defeat devices.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government expects Volkswagen to treat its UK customers fairly and adequately address their concerns. We continue to press Volkswagen on the issue of compensation for UK consumers and the Secretary of State has summoned the Managing Director of VW UK to a further meeting this week to discuss the issue.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who holds responsibility for (a) funding, (b) commissioning and (c) regulating the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception.

    Jane Ellison

    No specific discussions have been held about the training of healthcare professionals to fit intra-uterine methods of contraception. The continuing professional development of doctors and nurses is the responsibility of individual employers. Health Education England has a role in ensuring employers remain committed to continuing professional development and in developing the overall strategy for workforce skills and development in their areas.

    Funding and commissioning of contraceptive services outside of the GP Contract is the responsibility of local authorities though the ring-fenced public health grant. Local authorities are mandated to ensure the provision of open access contraception services that enable reasonable access to a broad range of contraceptive substances and appliances (including intra-uterine methods) and advice on preventing unintended pregnancy. While not directly comparable because of changes in data collection, intra-uterine contraception fitted in sexual and reproductive health services increased from 65,300 in 2004/05 to 121,900 in 2014/15.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times his Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    David Mowat

    The breakdown for the last three financial years 2013-14 to 2015-16 for both the Department’s cost and how many times it has used the services of Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers are all contained in the attached table.

    Spend for all four firms is taken from cash receipted amounts against purchase orders in line with Crown Commercial Services definitions and is not comparable with consultancy costs data published annually by the Department, where all now reported as resource (accruals) based.

    Any further information would incur disproportionate cost to provide.