Category: Speeches

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to change fire safety regulations governing staffing levels and other procedures on London Underground.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Fire safety regulations on London Underground are a matter for Transport for London (TfL), who have no plans to change them. TfL will continue to ensure that there are sufficient staff in place to maintain each London Underground station’s security, congestion, control and emergency plans, including adhering to minimum staffing levels where they exist.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the HM Passport Office’s target is for identifying fraudulently obtained genuine passports.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not have a numerical target for identifying fraudulently obtained genuine (FOG) passports. The work on detecting FOGs is part of a wider programme which also has a significant focus on preventing passport fraud.

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effect on UK–Turkish financial services transactions of the reported collection by the Turkish government of client research carried out by Turkish brokerage houses following the attempted coup of 15 July.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government is aware of news reporting of Turkish brokerage houses’ research being sought by the Turkish authorities, but the impact on UK-Turkish financial services transactions is as yet unclear. It is not unusual for governments to refer to research undertaken by independent researchers and analysts. We have and continue to emphasise that the Turkish Government’s response to the coup attempt must be demonstrably lawful and proportionate. We will continue to engage with the Turkish Government on its response to the coup attempt and monitor the situation closely.

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on eradicating nuclear weapons through multilateral disarmament by means of the international framework provided by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review restated the Government’s commitment to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons in line with our obligations under Article VI of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We firmly believe that the best way to achieve this goal is through gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step by step approach and within the framework of the NPT. The Government sees entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and successful negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament as key steps towards multilateral disarmament.

  • Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Poulter on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many domestic customers (a) Scottish Power, (b) SSE, (c) E.on, (d) British Gas, (e) EDF, (f) Npower, (g) First Utility, (h) Ovo and (i) Cooperative Energy each have.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Ofgem publishes market share of energy suppliers based on monthly domestic customer numbers as part of its yearly Great Britain and Northern Ireland National Reports to the European Commission, most recently published in 2014. In this report smaller suppliers including First Utility, OVO and Co-operative Energy are grouped together as ‘Other Suppliers’.

    GB Domestic Energy Suppliers’ Market Share, December 2013

    Supplier

    Electricity Market Share

    Gas Market Share

    British Gas

    24%

    39%

    SSE

    18%

    15%

    E.on

    16%

    13%

    EDF

    13%

    9%

    Scottish Power

    12%

    9%

    RWE npower

    12%

    10%

    Other Suppliers

    5%

    5%

    First Utility, OVO and Co-operative Energy have released customer numbers on their websites. First Utility claim to have over 800,000 customers in July 2015, OVO claim to currently have 500,000 customers, while Co-operative Energy claim to have over 200,000 customers. The majority of these Customers will take both electricity and gas from their supplier.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Resolution 11.15 adopted by the Eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in November 2014, what (a) assessment she has made of and (b) information her Department has received on the extent and type of poisoning risk from lead ammunition in the UK in the last 12 months.

    Rory Stewart

    The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that no defendants were proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences under the Environmental Protection (Restriction of the Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 in England between 2011 and 2014.

    This return relates to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. Up to and including 2010, these regulations were part of a miscellaneous grouping, which could only be separately analysed at disproportionate cost. Data for 2015 is not yet available.

    In the last 12 months Defra has received:

    • the Lead Ammunition Group report,
    • a report submitted by those that resigned from the Lead Ammunition Group, and
    • papers from the Oxford Lead Symposium.

    The Government is considering this information and will respond as soon as possible.

  • Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Kevin Barron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Barron on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of removing generic medicines required to have a brand name by the MHRA from the Statutory Scheme of Control the Prices of Branded Health Service Medicines.

    George Freeman

    The Department consulted on options to amend the Statutory Scheme regulations which control the prices of branded health service medicines. Both the voluntary Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and the statutory scheme include all health service medicines with a brand name, including those required by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to have a brand name. The Department did not propose any changes to the scope of the statutory scheme in this respect and has not made an estimate of the cost of removing those branded medicines from the statutory scheme.

    The Department received responses from a range of organisations including National Health Service, independent bodies and pharmaceutical industry. The Department is currently analysing the responses from a range of organisations including NHS, independent bodies and pharmaceutical industry.

    The consultation and impact assessment can be accessed using the following link.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pricing-of-branded-health-service-medicines

  • Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Corri Wilson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Corri Wilson on 2016-02-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has target times for responding to written correspondence from members of the public; and what change there has been in the volume of written correspondence to HMRC from the public seeking information or assistance over the last three years.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) targets for responding to written correspondence received via post are to reply to 80% within 15 working days and 95% within 40 working days.

    The volume of written correspondence received by HMRC has decreased over the past three years, and is currently at around one million items per month. HMRC regularly publishes general performance reports on Gov.uk.

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of UK withdrawal from the EU on each policy area and function of local authorities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    None.

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

    Lord Mancroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mancroft on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether plans to introduce a hepatitis C improvement framework have been abandoned and, if so, why.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has been rapidly working on their plans for access to treatment during 2016/17 following enactment of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technical appraisal guidance and has committed to produce an operational framework for the treatment of hepatitis C during 2016/17. This will set out NHS England’s commitment to improving outcomes in hepatitis C across England.