Category: Speeches

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Pakistan on increasing trade between the UK and (a) Pakistan and (b) Azad Kashmir.

    Anna Soubry

    I have held no discussions with the Federal Minister for Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan, about increasing trade between the UK and Pakistan or Pakistan Administered Kashmir.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to the timetable for work to commence on building the new Type 26 Frigate on the recruitment and retention of workers in the affected shipyards.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer I gave during Defence questions in the House on 27 June 2016 to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier).

    The Government have already invested £1.6 billion in the Type 26 programme. We will only enter into a contract once we are confident of the delivery schedule and the ability of the contractors to meet that schedule on a cost effective basis.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure the protection of single crew police officers.

    Brandon Lewis

    Individual chief constables are best placed to assess the risks to their force and decisions about patrol policy must remain with them. Chief Constables, working with directly elected police and crime commissioners, have a duty to manage and support the police workforce effectively, ensuring the welfare of all officers and staff. Chief constables keep their patrol policies under regular review and decide how best to respond to their local circumstances.

  • Richard Burgon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Richard Burgon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provision of high-speed broadband infrastructure on productivity.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    SQW Consulting’s UK Broadband impact study in 2013 estimates that the availability and take-up of faster broadband speeds will add about £17 billion to the UK’s annual Gross Value Added (GVA) by 2024.

    This Government is helping increase productivity across the UK by investing in and widening access to key digital infrastructure. We are on track to deliver our commitment to provide superfast broadband coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2017.Our£40m Broadband Connection Voucher Scheme was taken up by over 55,000 small and medium sized businesses – who employ a million people right across the UK and are already reporting, on average, a £1,300 per year increase in profits and a new job being created for every four new connections. ThePrime Minister recentlyannounced plans to ensure that every home and business can have access to fast broadband by the end of this Parliament.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what support her Department provides for community solar projects.

    Andrea Leadsom

    This Government is proud to support the community energy sector. We have provided £2m to support over 100 community groups through the Urban and Rural Community Energy Funds and community solar projects are able to access funding. We also provided £885,000 to Bristol City Council to develop a Local Authority Best Practice Programme, including community solar projects. The DECC-funded online Community Energy Hub helps communities across the UK share knowledge and information on community energy projects.

    Community solar projects, up to 5MW in capacity, can also currently seek support through the Feed-in Tariff scheme. The scheme provides a generation tariff for the electricity generated by the installation and a tariff for electricity exported to the grid. These payments are in addition to bill savings for those projects that consume electricity generated onsite.

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

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate will be the percentage of gross domestic product spent on (1) the NHS and public health, (2) publicly financed adult social care, and (c) both of those, following the allocations and economic forecast in the 2015 Spending Review.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department is unable to provide estimated spend figures as a percentage of United Kingdom gross domestic product.

    The Department reports on health expenditure in England but we are not in a position to provide equivalent health estimated spend figures from the devolved administrations.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of North Korea on the arrest of Mr Otto Frederick Warmbier, and the detention of Hyeon Soo Lim and Kim Dong Chul.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are aware of the cases of the US and Canadian nationals who have been arrested and detained by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Sweden, which has consular responsibility for these individuals, is providing assistance.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 28406, for what reasons the governments within the EU that support further political integration are not listed in that Answer.

    Mr David Lidington

    It is for other national governments to explain their own approaches to further European political integration. A government may, for example, be in favour of greater integration in some areas of policy but not in others. As I said in my responses to PQ 27033 and 28406, there is clearly support in some governments within the European Union for further political integration, but there are other, more sceptical voices too. The Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, on 18 and 19 February 2016, makes clear that the Treaty references to an ‘ever closer union’ are “compatible with different paths of integration and do not compel all Member States to aim for a common destination”.

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

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of progress on the NATO Readiness Action Plan.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Readiness Action Plan (RAP), agreed at the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, is progressing well and it will deliver enhanced NATO Response Forces, including the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), by the time of the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016. The UK has played a leading role in the implementation of the RAP: we have committed to spending 2% of GDP on Defence, and 20% of that on new equipment; we will lead a capable and credible VJTF (Land) Brigade in 2017; we have increased our commitment to NATO’s Standing Naval Forces this year; and will continue to provide Airborne Early Warning, Air to Air Refuelling, Tornado and Typhoon aircraft to the VJTF (Air).

    Considerable work on survivability, sustainability and readiness of NATO forces has been undertaken. The RAP includes a commitment to generate an enhanced NATO Response Force (eNRF) including a VJTF. To enhance survivability, the eNRF has been designed from the outset as a Joint, Multi-National force with an appropriate quantity and balance of forces needed to effectively conduct the full range of potential operations. Integral logistic structures, which include the newly created Multi-National Corps Headquarters in Poland and a Multi-National Division Headquarters in Romania, ensure the sustainability of the enhanced NRF and VJTF. Enhanced NRF forces are designed to meet the readiness timelines that are laid down in NATO’s strategic planning documents, including the Alliance’s Graduated Response Plans.

    Considerable work on Interoperability has also been undertaken since the end of combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of 2014. This has built upon NATO’s Connected Forces Initiative to ensure that NATO’s Multi-National forces force are able to continue to operate together effectively beyond the end of combat operations in Afghanistan. For our lead of the VJTF (Land) in 2017, the British Army will operate alongside the armed forces from 13 contributing nations.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding has been awarded to the UK from the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme for the period 2014 to 2020; what action grants have been so awarded; and to which Departments and under what headings any such funding has been awarded.

    Dominic Raab

    The information requested which relates to projects which have secured funding can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/grants1/closed-calls/index_en.htm. Funding is provided to projects themselves as opposed to countries or government departments; projects may list UK based bodies as an applicant or as a partner in the project.

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