Category: Speeches

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he plans to take to ensure the independence and neutrality of the Charity Commission Board when reappointing commissioners whose terms are due to end.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    By law, the Charity Commission for England and Wales is not subject to Ministerial direction or control, ensuring its operational independence. Several factors are considered in making appointments and reappointments to the Charity Commission board. These include taking account of the mix of skills and experience of the board as a whole, along with any conflicts of interest and any declarable political activity. For reappointments the performance of the relevant board member is also considered. Appointments and reappointments to the Charity Commission’s board are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Attorney General, what his policy is on offences under section 12 of the Terrorism Act 2000 being referred to the Court of Appeal on the grounds of undue leniency.

    Robert Buckland

    Neither of these offences are covered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and therefore the Law Officers have no power to refer sentences for these offences to the Court of Appeal.

    The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made in renegotiating the UK-Malawi tax treaty since January 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    As is usual in any negotiation, the text of a tax treaty remains confidential between the two governments during the negotiations. It is not therefore possible to comment on the contents of a treaty before it is signed.

    The majority of the UK’s double taxation treaties are based on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention. However, some developing countries prefer to follow the United Nations Model, whose provisions differ in some respects from the OECD Model, including in the “permanent establishment” article. Many of the UK’s treaties with developing countries contain at least some of these provisions. A treaty will be signed only when both governments are satisfied with its contents.

    It has long been the UK’s policy to include robust anti-abuse provisions in its tax treaties to ensure that they operate as intended and in particular that residents of third countries cannot indirectly benefit from their provisions.

    The text of the new treaty with Malawi was substantively agreed some time ago. However, in August 2016 Malawi raised some further points for consideration, which we will work together on. When that process is complete, and both countries are satisfied with contents of the new treaty, it will be signed and published. Parliament will scrutinise the revised agreement, as part of the affirmative Statutory Instruments procedures, before the treaty can enter into force.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the value of artwork and antiques held by local authorities.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The information requested is not available.

    However, the Department does collect information about total heritage assets held by local authorities which includes museum and gallery collections and works of art, as well as historical buildings, archaeological sites, military and scientific equipment of historical importance, historic motor vehicles, recordings of significant historical events etc.

    The latest local authority figures that have been published are for 2013-14 and can be found in the drop down table entitled “Capital outturn return (COR5) 2013 to 2014 receipts and fixed assets for England” at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-capital-expenditure-and-financing-in-england-2013-to-2014-individual-local-authority-data

    “

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average waiting time is for the return of disclosure and barring service documentation for applications made by people in East Dorset.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is undertaking a transformation programme to reform the way it delivers its services. Release 1 (R1) will improve efficiency with modernised IT solutions and business processes, making it more convenient and quicker for customers. This does not include using volunteers to operate the disclosure process, given the highly sensitive nature of the information involved.

    For applications received from individuals with a Dorset postcode between December 2014 and November 2015, the average processing time was 23.4 days. It is not possible to calculate the average figure for those from East Dorset specifically as this information is not collected.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to facilitate a process of credit card transfers for people in debt.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, which includes the credit card sector. Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.

    The FCA is currently undertaking a thorough review of the credit card market through its ‘credit card market study’. The market study is investigating three areas, including the extent of unaffordable credit card debt and how consumers can drive effective competition through shopping around and switching.

    On the 3rd November 2015 the FCA published its interim report which found that the market was working reasonably well for most customers. However, the FCA expressed concern about the scale of potentially problematic debt in this sector, and the incentives for firms to manage this.

    The interim report also included the FCA’s early thinking on potential remedies which include measures to give consumers more control over their credit limits, measures to encourage customers to pay off debt quicker when they can afford to, and proposals that firms do more to identify earlier those consumers who may be struggling to repay and take action to help them manage their repayments.

    The FCA also set out potential measures to allow consumers to open access to their credit card usage to other market participants, as well as clarifying standards for price comparison websites, in order to facilitate shopping around and switching. The FCA is currently asking for feedback on the findings and potential remedies.

    The Government is looking forward to the full report in the spring, and would encourage interested parties to give their views to the FCA to assist it in addressing the issues it has identified.

  • Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rebuck on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK economy of poor literacy skills on the part of 16–24 year-olds.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There are a number of ways in which the Government assesses the impact of poor literacy on the economy.

    On 28 January 2016, the OECD published its report ‘Building skills for all – a review of England’. The report was commissioned by BIS following the publication of the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills in 2013. Key findings from Building Skills for All are:

    • Nine million adults in England have poor basic skills.
    • Overall, in terms of proportion, this is average for OECD countries, but England’s young people lag behind other countries.
    • A third of 16-19 year olds in England have poor basic skills – three times the proportion than in high performing countries.
    • Eliminating the tail of low achievement could increase long term productivity growth by around 0.5%.

    The BIS Research Paper 195 ‘Estimation of the labour market returns to qualifications gained in English Further Education’, published in December 2014, shows that there are higher returns to qualifications achieved at younger ages and that English (and maths) Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications provide an additional wage uplift for achievers of higher learning aims. Increased earnings and employment rates following training provide an indication of the positive impact on the economy of improving skills.

    In 2012, when the PIAAC carried out the survey fieldwork for both reports, only 70% of 16-19 year olds were participating in education and training that leads to a formal qualification; compared to almost universal participation in some other OECD countries. Since then the participation age in England has been increased to age 18 and action has been taken to improve GCSE qualifications and raise standards in post-16 education. These reforms have been welcomed by the OECD in its latest report. .

    Since changing the requirement for all learners who did not achieve a Level 2 in English and maths by the age of 16 to continue to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 study programme, we have seen a positive effect on participation and attainment. In 2014/15, 97% of 16 to 19 year olds without GCSE A*-C English and/or maths attending an FE institution continued their study of these subjects. In 2015, for 17-year-olds and over, entries for English rose by 23% (30% for maths). As a result, last year there were over 4,000 more GCSE passes at grades A*-C in English by students aged 17 and over (7,500 more maths passes).

    On 5 February 2016 we published a new report on the impact of poor English and maths from the perspective of employers. Some key findings are:

    • The vast majority of employers surveyed reported no issues with the literacy of their employees.
    • Employers that do offer basic skills training reported positive impacts on aspects of work such as the number of errors (63%), better capacity to meet statutory requirements (58%), being able to introduce new processes (52%) and being able to produce higher quality products (51%).

    The full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poor-basic-literacy-and-numeracy-effect-on-employers

    “

  • Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to provide additional financial support for Jordan for the provision of (a) aid and (b) jobs for refugees in that country.

    Justine Greening

    The UK with other members of the international community agreed at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference a comprehensive approach to tackling the impact of the Syria conflict. This included continued humanitarian support in Jordan and a ‘Jordan Compact’ aimed at improving the investment climate and creating jobs for both Jordanians and refugees from Syria. Funding and implementation arrangements are currently being finalised.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that women are appropriately transferred from abortion clinics to hospitals at the earliest point in the case of emergencies.

    Jane Ellison

    In May 2014, the Department published updated requirements (Procedures for the Approval of Independent Sector Places for the Termination of Pregnancy (Abortion)) which the providers of independent sector abortion services must agree to comply with to be approved by the Secretary of State to perform abortions. This includes the requirement to have in place procedures and protocols to deal with emergencies and the transfer to specialist services. A copy of the guidance is attached.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the agenda for the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016 will include the issue of reverse burden of proof as it applies to senior managers across the financial services industry.

    Matthew Hancock

    The summit will include wide-ranging discussions of ways of tackling corruption, including corporate secrecy, government transparency, the enforcement of international anti-corruption laws and the strengthening of international institutions.