Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take following the announcement that the government of Israel is to end its diplomatic links with the EU.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    It is not our understanding that the Government of Israel is ending its diplomatic links with the EU. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, discussed this issue with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on 30 November. Prime Minister Netanyahu clarified that Israel will continue to work with the EU on the Middle East Peace Process. In December 2009, the UK introduced voluntary guidelines to enable produce from Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories to be specifically labelled as such. We therefore also welcome the EU’s ‘Interpretative notice on the indication of origin of goods from the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967’, a technical clarification of existing rules, adopted on 11 November.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is being done to overcome the low level of exports contributing to the UK’s trade deficit.

    Lord Maude of Horsham

    I refer the noble Lord to the written statement I made on trade on Tuesday 19th January

    The statement outlines a new, whole-of-government approach to expanding the number of exporters and the value they generate for the British economy. This will be delivered through a transformed UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), focused on priority markets and sectors. We will develop better digital platforms, work more closely with partners (including in the private sector) and make sure that our services match the needs of companies.

    UKTI will co-ordinate and review the UK’s export performance on behalf of the Cross-Government Exports Implementation Taskforce, led by the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 January 2016, Official Report, column 18, what the baseline year is for the commitment to train 10,000 more nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals over the course of the Parliament.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government has committed to remove the cap on the number of students studying nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions from 2017/18. This will enable universities to offer up to 10,000 additional places for students to start these courses by the end of the parliament.

    The Department of Health, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with health and education partners will work together prior to implementation in 2017 to determine how these additional places are appropriately baselined (and monitored) against those commissioned for National Health Service workforce planning purposes.

  • Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Chief Constables, or equivalent, in England and Wales are (1) female, and (2) members of the BME communities, and how those figures compare to those on 1 March 2011.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is clear that increasing diversity in our police forces is not an optional extra. It goes right to the heart of this country’s historic principle of policing by consent. We must ensure that the public have trust and confidence in the police, and that the police reflect the communities they serve.

    The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of chief officers by gender and ethnicity on the Gov.uk website, using self declared diversity data. As well as chief constables, the chief officer group also includes assistant chief constables and deputy chief constables, and their equivalents in the Metropolitan police and City of London police. The data is provided in the attached tables (The Association of Chief Police Officers referred to in the data has been replaced by the National Police Chiefs’ Council).

    The statistics do not separate chief constables from the chief officer cohort, therefore we are unable to provide a breakdown relating to chief constables specifically.

    The Home Office does not collect information about how many chief constables, or equivalent, in England and Wales have a university degree.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to provide additional emergency accommodation for homeless people in London.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We recently provided an additional £5 million for local authorities facing the greatest pressures in moving people out of temporary accommodation and into a settled home. 21 local authorities in London received a share of this funding.

    We invested in the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond in London, which aimed to turn around the lives of 830 entrenched rough sleepers. So far, over half have achieved positive outcomes. We have also supported the roll-out of No Second Night Out through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund, which has also helped fund more than 30 London based projects aimed at tackling homelessness. The Greater London Authority No Second Night Out project has helped new rough sleepers in London off the street quickly and prevented them from becoming entrenched.

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 December 2015 to Question 19309, if she will publish a summary of the recovery plan drawn up for Dorset Police.

    Karen Bradley

    The operational performance plans of police disclosure units are matters for Chief Constables in association with Police and Crime Commissioners. The Dorset recovery plan is addressing a number of challenges which have affected performance levels, including the implementation of an upgraded IT system and the recruitment of additional staff to enable it to improve its disclosure turnaround times. Of disclosure certificates dispatched to individuals with a Dorset postcode between December 2014 and March 2016, 16% were not completed within 60 days.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service were made by people living in London in the last 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    The total number of certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service to applicants with a London postcode in the year ending 31 May 2016 was 720,832.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has conducted surveys with asylum seekers accommodated under her Compass contracts on what they felt about their (a) housing and (b) treatment by staff.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The overarching purpose of the COMPASS Inspection Regime is to ensure that the accommodation provided is safe, habitable, fit for purpose; that the overall service described in the COMPASS contracts is being delivered and to ensure that Service Users feel safe, secure and know how to raise concerns should they occur.

    Following on from the audit into asylum seeker accommodation in Middlesbrough, UKVI have trialled various methods of gathering, recording and responding to service users’ feedback relating to service delivery as part of improving their inspection regime.

    Following analysis from the trials conducted UKVI intends to agree a formal process which is to be rolled out across all provider Regions.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs in England have a specialism in mental health.

    David Mowat

    This information is not collected by the Department.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reintroduce charges for museum entry in the next year.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    This Government is committed to maintaining free admission to the permanent collections of major museums and galleries, as set out in the 2015 Conservative Party general election manifesto.