Category: Speeches

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the meeting on 9 February between the original member states of the EU, and the re-commitment by those member states to an ever closer union” and a “two-speed Europe”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    At the February European Council the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the UK a special status in a reformed EU. The agreement sets out that the Treaties will be changed to “make it clear that the references to ever closer union do not apply to the United Kingdom” and acknowledges “different paths of integration being available for different Member States and do not compel all Member States to aim for a common destination.”

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what further plans they have to assist reconstruction in Gaza, and what is the timescale and financial commitment for that further assistance, if any.

    Baroness Verma

    As part of its Bilateral Aid Review, DFID is in the process of agreeing future multi-year support for Palestinian development, which will include support for Gaza. This will include access for reconstruction materials, basic service delivery, support to the private sector and assistance for the most vulnerable.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how far superfast broadband coverage was extended geographically in 2015; and which counties received the most investment in their superfast broadband coverage in that year.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Superfast broadband coverage in the UK increased from 75% to 83%, according to the latest Ofcom report. Recent independent analysis from Think Broadband has indicated that 90% of UK premises now have superfast broadband (measured at 24 +Mbit/s). In addition all premises which cannot currently get 2Mbps will be able take advantage of a subsidised satellite broadband service which can deliver speeds of 10Mbps or more.

    BDUK has allocated all of its funding to the local authorities in England and the three Devolved Administrations, which are responsible for the delivery of the superfast broadband programme. Until the programme ends, additional grants will be paid to those local bodies when a delivery milestone has been achieved. Indicative government funding allocations for each project area are published at:https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zwLLqmDnfnjA.khRmsBv2kR70

    “

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken was to extradite suspected criminals from countries covered by the provisions of European Arrest Warrant scheme (a) before and (b) in each year after the Extradition Act 2003 came into force.

    James Brokenshire

    The European Arrest Warrant is designed to speed up the process of extradition. As set out in Command Paper Cm 8897 (Decision pursuant to Article 10(5) of Protocol 36 to The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), in terms of average time taken for surrender from the UK to another country, it takes on average about three months to extradite someone under a European Arrest Warrant. Extradition to relevant non-EU countries takes on average about ten months but can, and often does, take considerably longer. Time limits are shorter under the European Arrest Warrant than under the European Convention on Extradition, resulting in shorter times in custody overall.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2016 to Question 40488, on civil service recruitment, who has been appointed the board level diversity champion in his Department.

    Joseph Johnson

    Gareth Davies, Director General for Business and Science, is the Department’s board-level diversity champion.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to help the Local Government Association prevent children being taught in illegal schools.

    Lord Nash

    We are determined to keep children safe in and out of school and have made it very clear that it is an offence to operate an unregistered independent school. In January 2016, we announced funding for Ofsted to establish a dedicated team of specialist inspectors to investigate such settings and since that time, there has been a significant escalation of Ofsted investigations.

    The Department for Education and Ofsted are working closely with local authorities to identify and tackle illegal schools, and close collaboration has resulted in the closure of many such settings.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she intends to lay before Parliament her report on the steps she will take in relation to the powers conferred by section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act on independent child trafficking advocates.

    Karen Bradley

    Section 48(7) of the Modern Slavery Act requires the Government to lay before Parliament a report setting out the steps it proposes to take in relation to independent child trafficking advocates within nine months of Royal Assent of the Modern Slavery Act. The Government will publish this report by 16 December, whilst Parliament is sitting.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the timescale for the delivery of the HS3 rail scheme, and what budget is allocated to it.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Since March, the government and Transport for the North have undertaken significant work to develop options for transformational improvements to the North’s rail network; building on committed upgrades in the North of England and integrating with HS2.

    By March 2016 we will conduct an initial prioritisation of options to focus further work and inform the development of an appropriate timeline for implementation.

    The government has also established a new £300 million Transport Development Fund, which following advice from the National Infrastructure Commission, could support the development of proposals such as Northern Powerhouse Rail (HS3).

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

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the costs, rather than the tariff, of a cancer molecular profile using (1) a whole tumour-normal pair using Illumina technology at 70× tumour coverage, and (2) a deep sequenced next-generation sequencing panel test, as deployed in most major NHS teaching hospitals; and if those figures are not available, why not.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This information is not held centrally by NHS England. Where the cost of these tests falls outside of tariff, costs will vary according to commissioning arrangements, the systems in place and the technology used.

    Further information on the costs to the National Health Service of whole genome sequencing in cancer and rare diseases will be derived through the 100,000 Genomes Project. The intended NHS re-procurement of Regional Genetic Laboratories will aid in defining the costs of genomic tests.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about allowing Mohammed Al -Qeeq to transfer to a hospital in Ramallah from Afula Hospital; and what further representations they plan to make concerning the use of torture in Israeli prisons.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made any representations on this specific case, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv are following this case and those of the other hunger strikers closely and have spoken to Amnesty International about them. Officials from our Consulate General in Jerusalem maintain a dialogue with the relevant Palestinian organisations about the condition of the hunger strikers. The EU in Jerusalem recently issued a local statement on administrative detentions, including the case of Mr Al Qeeq. We have been informed that Mr al-Qeeq is in a stable condition and has not been forced-fed as alleged.

    We remain concerned about Israel’s extensive use of administrative detention which, according to international law, should be used only when security makes this absolutely necessary rather than as routine practice, and as a preventive rather than a punitive measure. We also have concerns about mistreatment of Palestinian detainees and about Israel’s respect of its obligations in this regard as an Occupying Power under applicable international law. We have raised concerns over treatment of Palestinian detainees with the Israeli authorities on many occasions, including at Foreign Minister, Attorney General and National Security Adviser levels.