Category: Speeches

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many civil law suits have been brought against her Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many such suits were settled out of court before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements have cost the public purse since 2010.

    Andrea Leadsom

    When the Human Rights Act came into force, no specific arrangements were put in place by the then government to record cases in the way requested.

    Litigants in civil cases can rely on arguments based wholly or partly on the Human Rights Act 1998. In some cases, the Act is relied on in addition to other claims. Neither Government Legal Department (GLD) records nor the County and High Courts case management systems distinguish between cases where the Act is invoked and cases where it is not. As a result, there are not currently data published which distinguish between cases where the Human Rights Act was or was not invoked.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether transitional protection where entitlement is lower will begin as soon as tax credit recipients start migrating to universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    No-one already on existing benefits or Tax Credits whose circumstances remain the same will lose out in cash terms as a direct result of being moved on to Universal Credit. These claimants will be given transitional protection to avoid cash loss at the point of change.

  • 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 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on taking steps to tackle recent reductions in the number of employers posting apprenticeship vacancies.

    Nick Boles

    Latest data shows that whilst the number of employers advertising vacancies has fallen, the number of apprenticeship opportunities posted on the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website has increased each year from 71,060 in 2010/11 to 200,460 in 2014/15.

    The Apprenticeship Delivery Board and Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network work with employers to champion apprenticeships and increase the number of places on offer. The Skills Funding Agency also works closely with the National Employer Services Team in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to encourage employers to offer apprenticeships.

    We are launching a new apprenticeships communications campaign in May, jointly designed with DWP, which will promote the benefits of apprenticeships to young people, parents and employers. This will build on National Apprenticeship Week 2016, which saw more than 30,000 apprenticeship places pledged by businesses.

    We also work closely with DWP to ensure that information about apprenticeship vacancies is available to jobseekers through Universal Jobmatch.

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has demonstrated the capability of Certified Predator B for the duration of the Protector programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Following an extensive Assessment Phase, the Department has concluded that the GA-ASI Certified Predator B is the only platform capable of meeting the Protector Programme’s Key User Requirements. Certified Predator B is a modification of the highly successful Predator B platform which incorporates a number of safety and capability enhancements.

    The Demonstration Phase of the Programme, which will follow approval of the Programme’s Main Gate Business Case, will subject Certified Predator B to a comprehensive Test and Evaluation Plan to demonstrate the system’s ability to meet the Department’s requirements for the capability through its expected in-service life.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fully-trained staff are based at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham.

    Mr John Hayes

    Her Majesty’s Coastguard currently have a total of 58 staff who are qualified Coastguards at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham. There are an additional 12 staff who are communication/systems trained, but awaiting to complete their final training and assessments, who are able to undertake watchkeeping tasks commensurate with their training.

  • Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Temple-Morris on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 October (HL1831), how many arrests of illegal immigrants, and how many arrests for immigration offences, there were in each of the last five years; and how many of those arrested in each year (1) were deported from the UK, (2) remained in custody, and (3) were released within the UK.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    It is not possible to provide information specific to the number of arrests for illegal immigrants because immigration offences cover a wide range of activities and the data specific to arrests for illegal immigration cannot be separated from arrests for other immigration offences. Additionally, an individual may be arrested for committing more than one offence, but as only one offence per arrest is recorded in a format that can be reported on centrally it is not possible to provide complete figures on arrests by individual offences type.

    Information on arrests – either by an Immigration Enforcement or Police Officer – for committing an immigration offence is available. For the period 2011/12 to 2015/16, our records indicate that there were 119,730 arrests.

    Data on the custody or detention status of those arrested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost because checks of individual records would be required.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current waiting time for processing of (1) Spouse Visas, (2) Visitor Visas, (3) Student Visas and (4) Entrepreneur Visas.

    Lord Bates

    The average global processing time for the period July 2014 to June 2015 and the most recent data – which covers the month of June 2015 – on global processing times for spouse, visitor, student and entrepreneur visas are set out in the table below.

    Type

    Category

    Average processing time
    (working days) – (Jun-15)

    Average processing time
    (working days) – (Jul-14 to Jun-15)

    Non-Settlement

    Visit

    7

    7

    Non-Settlement

    Student

    6

    8

    Non-Settlement

    T1 Entrepreneur

    11

    11

    Settlement

    Spouse

    35

    54
  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has been made of potential changes in local council tax required to maintain overall police spending in real terms.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office worked closely with policing partners and other Government Departments as part of Spending Review preparations to ensure flexibility on council tax is a key part of the Spending Review settlement for the police.

    The Spending Review makes provision for overall police spending to be protected in real terms, when council tax income is taken into account. The ten Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England with the lowest precept levels in each year will be able to raise their police precept level by up to £5 per year over the Spending Review period, compared to the usual two per cent. These provisions are an integral part of the overall Spending Review settlement for the police.

    It is right that PCCs, in consultation with local taxpayers, should decide the level of police precept in their area each year.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people were diagnosed with primary refractory acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia in each of the last five years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of (a) unauthorised entries to military bases and (b) thefts or losses of classified material between 2014 and 2015.

    Mark Lancaster

    The apparent increase in incidents is attributed to security awareness programmes and a strengthened reporting regime. These have led to an increasing readiness to report even minor breaches and do not represent systematic failings in security protection.