Category: Speeches

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which sites owned by his Department he plans to sell in 2015-16.

    Mark Lancaster

    In the current financial year, 2015-16, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) expects to sell the Old War Office Building, Islington TA Centre, a part of Shorncliffe Garrison, Canterbury TA Centre and around 70 smaller sites throughout the UK which are mainly small parts of larger establishments.

    The MOD is committed to reducing the size of its estate holding to the most appropriate size and lay down required for our Armed Forces. As set out in Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 the Department intends to reduce the built estate by 30% with the aim of providing a smaller more sustainable estate in support of Military capabilities.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to Answer of 9 December 2015 to Question 18558, how many families in receipt of tax credits in 2013-14 who benefited from the income rise disregard saw their income rise by over £2,500 but no more than £5,000 during the course of the year.

    Damian Hinds

    As announced in the combined Autumn Statement and Spending Review, the amount by which a tax credit claimant’s income can increase within the year before their tax credit award is adjusted (the income rise disregard), will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,500. This makes the tax credit system fairer so claimants on similar incomes will receive similar awards. Currently two families on precisely the same earnings at the end of the year can receive significantly different awards.

    The change returns the disregard back to the level it was between 2003 and 2006 – something the tax credit system is now operationally better able to cope with now that it has more up to date information on people’s earnings through Real Time Information. HMRC are also making it easier to report changes quickly online, so that people will less often receive overpayments. Claimants can contact HMRC if they are suffering financial hardship and are having difficulty paying back an overpayment.

    The change will bring forward some of the benefits of Universal Credit so that the tax credit award reflects a claimant’s recent earnings and the system responds more quickly to changes in earnings.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have suffered a six-month or longer period of sickness in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Department for Work and Pensions does not routinely capture management information on the number of people who have suffered a six-month or longer period of sickness.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when British military liaison began with Saudi Arabia regarding its intervention in Yemen.

    Earl Howe

    The UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have a long history of defence co-operation and this involves an ongoing defence engagement relationship.

    In addition, we have deployed a small number of military personnel serving as liaison officers in Saudi headquarters to provide insight into Saudi operations in Yemen. These liaison officers are not involved in the targeting process – whether it be selection, decision-making or directing.

    The first of these liaison officers was deployed in May 2015.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to ratify the 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The UK has not ratified and will now, with the entry into force criteria so close to being met, accede to the Convention once it enters into force.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will support the draft UN resolution on protection of medical facilities in conflict and investigations into incidents when such facilities are attacked.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    Medical personnel and facilities are entitled to respect and protection under specific provisions in international humanitarian law. We are concerned at the growing number of attacks on medical personnel and facilities in conflict situations. The UK is working with other members of the Security Council on a draft resolution on this issue, and it hopes that a text emerges that all Council members can support. The UK would like the text to reinforce the need for the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence in the provision of humanitarian assistance to be respected.

  • Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kinnock on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for failure by employers to pay the National Minimum Wage have been undertaken since the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 came into force; what plans they have to improve the legal enforcement of the National Minimum Wage; and when those improvements will come into effect.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Since the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) Act there have been 9 prosecutions for NMW offences.

    However, prosecutions are not necessarily the best approach in most cases. Criminal sanctions against companies mean that employees – the ultimate beneficiaries of enforcing the NMW – end up waiting longer for their lost earnings to be paid back.

    From April this year we increased the civil penalties incurred by non-compliant workers to 200% of the arrears owed to the worker, up to a maximum of £20,000 per worker – having recently increased the penalty cap from £5,000 per employer. We have also increased the enforcement budget for the National Minimum and Living Wage to £20 million for this year, up from £13.2 million in 2015/16. The additional funds will be used to bolster HMRC’s resources through an increase in the number of compliance officers available to investigate NMW abuses, as well as to conduct risk-based enforcement in sectors or areas where there is a higher risk of workers not being paid the legal minimum wage.

    We will also continue to publically name and shame eligible employers in Government press notices. We expect this tobe a deterrent to employers who would otherwise be tempted not to pay the NMW, but also an incentive for all employers to make sure that they are consistent with the law.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) mechanisms and (b) timescales are for securing input into his Department’s work on negotiations for withdrawal from the EU from (i) non-governmental organisations and civil society, (ii) opposition political parties and (iii) other interest groups; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Davis

    The Government is committed to listening to all those with a view on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union; Parliament, the devolved administrations, NGOs, and other groups will all have important ideas to contribute. The new Department for Exiting the European Union will lead this engagement.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the people responsible for the massacre of political prisoners in Iran in 1988 are brought to justice.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Government opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and takes any allegations of extrajudicial killings seriously. The Iranian Government has repeatedly denied that a mass execution took place, though we are aware that between July 1988 and January 1989 executions did take place. However, even with the recording and media reporting on the incident, we have no confirmation of the numbers involved. Although we have no plans to pursue this specific matter we will continue to take action with the international community to press for improvements on all human rights issues in Iran, including ending the death penalty.

  • Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Chris Evans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Evans on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 on the number of pitbull terriers in the UK.

    George Eustice

    No estimate has been made of the number of dogs humanely destroyed under section 1 of the 1991 Act. There are 3,222 dogs on the list of exempted section 1 dogs in Great Britain. These are dogs assessed by the courts not to be a danger to public safety including, since 13 May 2014 in relation to England and Wales, assessed as being in the charge of a fit and proper person. Guidance for enforcers of the law on dangerous dogs was issued in March 2009 and is available on line via the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69263/dogs-guide-enforcers.pdf

    “