Category: Speeches

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many employers were (a) charged with and (b) convicted of a criminal offence by the Crown Prosecution Service for non-compliance with minimum wage legislation in each of the last five years.

    Robert Buckland

    Data held centrally by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), together with information provided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which has responsibility for enforcing the law in relation to the National Minimum Wage (NMW), shows that in the financial year 2010 – 2011, no employers were charged with a criminal offence for non-compliance with minimum wage legislation but one employer was convicted from an earlier charge. One charge was made in the financial year 2011 – 2012 and one conviction was made in 2012 – 2013. No cases were charged or convicted in 2013 – 2014 and one case was charged in 2014 – 2015.

    The majority of employers identified as paying below the National Minimum Wage pay arrears on receipt of a formal Notice of Underpayment. Where they do not do so, HMRC pursues recovery through the civil courts. For deliberate non-compliance or obstructive behaviour HMRC operates a policy of selective and exemplary criminal investigation action as part of a wider enforcement strategy.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what change there has been in the number of passport applications waiting for more than two months to be processed between 1 July 2013 and 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    Due to the way that data on passport applications is captured, it is not possible to show the proportion of applications taking over two months to process. However, the numbers and proportions of straightforward properly completed passport applications taking over 20 days are represented in the table below.

    Period

    Total Processed

    More than & equal to 20 days

    % more than & equal 20 days

    August 2013- July 2014

    3,896,735

    197,110

    5%

    August 2014-July 2015

    4,448,436

    91,101

    2%

    Overall

    8,345,171

    288,211

    3%

    Days are working days and exclude bank holidays Straightforward cases are those that do not involve a complex nationality decision and where the customer has provided a complete application with all required documentary evidence Non-straightforward applications are not included in the figures above.

    “

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

    Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dholakia on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of individuals diagnosed with hepatitis C within prison who will commence treatment (1) within prison, and (2) upon release.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England collect data on the offer, uptake and outcome of testing for hepatitis C for people in prison using a system of metrics co-designed with Public Health England (PHE) called the Health & Justice Indicators of Performance (HJIPs). This dataset includes information on whether those requiring treatment were referred to specialist services but does not record details of the treatment provided.

    PHE has been working with NHS England and Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) and others on a dataset which would allow for more detailed monitoring of treatments but these have not yet been introduced. Therefore, we do not currently have any data on the number of individuals commenced on treatment for hepatitis C within a prison or other prescribed place of detention in the last 12 months. Further, we do not have data on those former prisoners commenced on treatment in the community.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the regulations relating to frozen state pensions.

    Baroness Altmann

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained consistent for around 70 years: UK state pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have a reciprocal agreement that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this.

    Details of the numbers of people in receipt of the state pension, and whether they live in countries where the state pension is frozen or uprated, is included at Annex A. Countries where the UK state pension is up-rated are identified by an asterisk by the name of the country.

    The Government’s view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off in a reformed EU. Of course there is uncertainty about how a vote to leave the EU could impact on access to pensioner benefits for UK pensioners living in other parts of Europe. These questions would need to be answered as part of the process of negotiating the UK’s exit if there is a vote to leave. We could only consider the detail of access to pensions and benefits for people in receipt of UK state pensions who are resident in Europe as part of the process for leaving the EU.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the recommendations of the Pitt Review on the 2007 floods, whether her Department plans to (a) change building regulations to make homes more resilient in flood risk areas and (b) increase the adoption of sustainable drainage systems in order to better manage urban flood risk in the long term.

    Rory Stewart

    Building regulations were updated in 2013 and enable the incorporation of flood resilience measures into building work. In addition, the British Standards Institution published BS8550 in November 2015. This is a technical standard addressing resilience and resistance issues. We continue to promote better resilience and support innovations in this field.

    On 6 April 2015, planning policy was strengthened to ensure that sustainable drainage systems are provided in new major developments where appropriate, and that clear arrangements are in place for ongoing maintenance over the lifetime of the development.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department’s non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority by 2020.

    Mr Mark Francois

    No jobs have been abolished or relocated since 2010, or will be abolished or relocated by 2020, in East Cheshire Local Authority in my Department or its Arms Length Bodies.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff working at (a) Queen’s Hospital in Romford, (b) Whipps Cross University Hospital and (c) King George Hospital in Goodmayes are nationals of other EU countries.

    Ben Gummer

    The Health and Social Care Information Centre collects data on the number of staff working in National Health Service hospitals and community health services (HCHS) in England. Nationality is a self-reported field within the electronic staff record system. Data is only available for people working in NHS trusts.

    The following table shows the number of HCHS staff by nationality working at Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust and Barts Health NHS Trust as at 29 February 2016.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Public Health, Jane Ellison, on 1 June (HC38011 and HC38012), which members of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s (HFEA) Executive who provided administrative support to the work of the expert panel convened by the Authority might have in turn passed on any unredacted information that was provided in confidence to the expert panel to non-members; and whether each of the individuals concerned continue to be employed by the HFEA in a similar capacity.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) convened Expert Panel is comprised of scientific experts in the relevant fields and supported by a small team of Authority staff. The HFEA has advised that in order for the Panel to carry out its work it is essential for members of the Panel and Authority staff to be able to exchange information.

    It is entirely proper that all involved in reviewing the information have access to all the relevant documentation. All HFEA staff who were involved in supporting the Expert Panel continue to work for the Authority and have the full confidence of the Chair and the Chief Executive Officer.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of NHS England’s decision not to fund second stem cell transplants on the long-term outcomes of patients.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Decisions related to the commissioning of National Health Service treatments in England are made by NHS England using a published process that involves an impact assessment. The Department has not made any further assessment of the decision related to the commissioning of second stem cell transplants.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Stephen Doughty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Prime Minister, when he last discussed the issue of state aid for the UK steel industry with (a) the President of the European Commission, (b) the Presidency of the European Council and (c) other EU member state governments.

    Mr David Cameron

    I have raised the issues facing the steel industry with my counterparts, including most recently with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU Presidency.

    The Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills is also engaged with the European Commission and our European partners. He has spoken with a number of European Commissioners in Brussels; Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom (Trade), Commissioner Elsbieta Bienkowska (Internal Market) and Vice President Jyrki Katainen (Jobs and Competitiveness), and stressed the importance of this issue. He has had positive talks with the Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager on progressing the approval of the UK’s Energy Intensive Industries compensation scheme.

    In addition, the Secretary of State has raised the issue with his EU counterparts, including those in Luxembourg, France, Italy and Spain. He called for an urgent EU Council meeting on steel, and I am pleased that the Luxembourg Presidency has scheduled a Competitiveness Council on 9 November specifically to discuss the EU steel industry.