Category: Speeches

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the coastguard response time was to the incident off Portobello in Edinburgh in the early hours of 15 May 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HM Coastguard were notified by the Scottish Ambulance Service of two persons in the water off Portobello in Edinburgh at 0237 GMT on 15 May 2016. The Coastguard Rescue Teams from Fisherrow and Queensferry were tasked at 0241 GMT and were on scene at 0257 GMT. The two persons in the water were recovered to dry land by the Police at 0304 GMT.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it is his Department’s policy to comply with the EU 2020 target on renewable energy.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    There will be no immediate changes to our relationship with the EU. Until we have left the EU, the UK will remain a member of the EU with all of the rights and obligations that membership entails.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to work with the Palestinian Authority to promote gender equality in the Palestinian territories.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office works closely with other government departments, including the Department for International Development (DFID), and with the Palestinian Authority to enhance gender equality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. DFID has supported interventions to tackle violence against women and girls by working with the Palestinian security and justice sectors. Under the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme, we attach great importance to gender sensitivity in project design and implementation. Our Consulate General in Jerusalem host events to celebrate the achievements of Palestinian women, including during last year’s International Day of Women.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answers of 6 July 2015 to Question 4511 and 12 October 2015 to Question 10567, if she will (a) request that OFGEM assess whether the use of conventional hydro-power in the north of Scotland offsets the extra cost per unit of supply and (b) instruct OFGEM to cancel the 2p per kW hour excess charge in that region.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Electricity supplied to consumers in the North of Scotland region is produced by a range of generation types traded in a competitive market across GB. The electricity price paid by consumers in any given region is not therefore determined by the predominant generation type in that region.

    Ofgem does not regulate energy prices – these are set by energy suppliers in competition with each other and so matters relating to the pricing of tariffs are a matter for each individual company.

    Ofgem addressed the differences in electricity charges between regions at paragraph 2.5 of their recent report on ‘Regional Differences in Network Charges’. This stated that the differences observed are not a ‘surcharge’, but reflect the different network costs in the region when shared out between customers consuming energy in that area. They also saw “no compelling case” to change these arrangements, from a regulatory perspective.

    The report also noted that electricity distribution charges in the north of Scotland are already cross-subsidised to an extent through the Government’s Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme. It is currently worth around £41 per annum per household in the north of Scotland, and means that consumers face lower network charges than they otherwise would.

    This report can be obtained at:

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/ofgem-report-regional-differences-network-charges.

    “

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average size of a cell is in (a) male and (b) female prisons.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2015 to Question 20339, what the repayment requirements are for universal credit advance payments; and whether interest is charged on those payments.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit (UC) Advance Payments of benefit are recovered from the UC award over a period of six months. In exceptional circumstances recovery can be deferred for up to 3 months.

    No interest is charged on advance payments of benefit.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether students qualify for the NHS Low Income Scheme.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The NHS Low Income Scheme provides income-related help with health costs to students, as for all other adults.

    The extent of any help is based on a comparison between a person’s weekly income and requirements at the date they apply to the NHS Low Income Scheme. For a student, income will include any maintenance grant or loan available, the assessment of which may be based on parental income, and the amount of parental contribution assessed by an education authority as payable. Any other income a student may have, such as non-assessed contributions from parents or earnings, will also be taken into account in calculating entitlement. Bursaries will not be included so long as they are clearly not intended for day to day living expenses.

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that online secondary ticket companies are properly monitoring and countering potential ticket touting, in compliance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Her Majesty’s Government issued guidance to business when the new ticketing provisions, contained in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, came into force.

    Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing the secondary ticketing provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant consumer protection legislation. Suspected or actual breaches of such legislation should first be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, following which Citizens Advice may refer cases to Trading Standards Services for appropriate action.

    Since the ticketing provisions contained in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 27 May 2015, an independent Review has been established (as required by the Act) to consider consumer protection measures in relation to online ticket re-sales. The Review is looking at the available evidence and will report by 26 May 2016.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    David Mundell

    Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d’affaires.

    The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

  • Lord Clark of Windermere – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Clark of Windermere – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clark of Windermere on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with National Grid in relation to the erection of pylons to carry power through the Lake District National Park from the proposed nuclear generation station adjacent to Sellafield.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    Government holds regular discussions with National Grid across a range of energy matters. Some of these include factual updates from National Grid on its proposed major electricity transmission projects. When this occurs, Ministers and officials do not provide any views to National Grid due to the role DECC Ministers would play in the determination of any development consent applications.