Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are being taken in the UK to safeguard moderate Muslims from Islamophobic crime, in the light of the recent terrorist attacks around the world.

    Lord Bates

    The Government takes the safety of the Muslim and all other communities extremely seriously, and deplores all forms of hate crime. We are concerned by reports of increased attacks against Muslims in recent weeks, and we are working with the police and community groups on monitoring the situation and taking appropriate action where required.

    The police constantly review events and potential threats to ensure everything is being done to protect our communities from terrorism, hate crime and the impact of public protest.

    After the attacks in Paris the police have increased their presence on some streets and at some locations, and they will be intensifying their approach at events in big cities. Officers are working closely with London’s communities and businesses to provide advice and reassurance. Government officials are also speaking to community organisations such as Tell MAMA to ensure that we are aware of the current issues around anti-Muslim hatred and to ensure that we increase reporting of it.

    The Government is committed to tackling hate crime. That is why we have announced a new cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan. This will be taken forward in partnership with the communities that it seeks to protect, and will include a range of actions across Government. We have also announced that from 2016, police forces will be expected to record data on hate crimes against Muslims and members of other religious groups, to allow us to properly assess the scale of the problem we are facing.

    Our Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October, outlines how we will further protect British Muslims, including communities worried about Neo-Nazi groups who may be planning crimes such as attacks on Muslims.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on river dredging as a means of reducing flood risk.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government’s flood risk management work focuses on where it delivers the greatest flood risk benefit to people and property. Dredging and other kinds of conveyance work form an important part of the Environment Agency’s maintenance regime. The effectiveness of dredging in managing flood risk varies substantially for each stretch of river. The Environment Agency is spending a total of £21m on dredging in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) assaults and (b) serious assaults on prison officers were recorded at HMP Cardiff during each of the last three years.

    Andrew Selous

    Statistics for assaults on staff by prison are published on an annual basis by calendar year in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin annual assaults tables (see table 3.15 at the link below). https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495430/safety-in-custody-assaults-dec-2014.xls.

    “

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish details of the Global Challenges research fund announced in the Government strategy paper, UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest, published on 23 November 2015.

    Joseph Johnson

    I will publish further details of the Global Challenges Research Fund alongside allocation of the Science Budget shortly.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many cheques have been drafted by government departments and executive agencies in each year since 2010.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HM Treasury does not hold this information. Each government department and executive agency will hold this information for their own bank accounts. Public sector organisations should follow guidelines set out in “Managing Public Money”. The key points within these guidelines are that public sector organisations should generally use the cheapest, safest and quickest means of moving public funds, depending on the context, and a hierarchy of money transmission services is provided.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2016 to Question 30100, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of preparing and publishing the Shaw Report: Final Report and Recommendations, published on 16 March 2016.

    Claire Perry

    The Department’s estimated incremental cost of preparing and publishing the Shaw Report is £875,919.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that greenbelt land is only built on in exceptional circumstances.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that development in the Green Belt should not be permitted except in very special circumstances. A Green Belt boundary may be adjusted by local planning authorities in exceptional circumstances, using the Local Plan process involving consultation with local people and rigorous examination by the Planning Inspector. Planning guidance is clear that constraints such as Green Belt may limit the ability of a local planning authority to meet its full housing needs.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Nick Gibb

    All directly employed staff, agency workers and outsourced contractors who work for the Department for Education and its executive agencies are paid at least the Living Wage Foundation rate.

    No staff or agency workers are employed via zero-hours contracts and only 23 of 164 outsourced contractors are employed on this basis.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what loans have been issued for what purposes to Business Improvement Districts in each (a) region of the UK and (b) local authority area in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Percy

    The Government is committed to Business Improvement Districts and the impact they have on their local areas.

    We are keen to see the setting up of more Business Improvement Districts and we recognise that their development requires up front expenditure. In October 2013 we launched a £500,000 recyclable loan fund and have supported 20 areas with loans totalling £658,555. In the last two years the following loans have been issued to areas requesting support in setting up a Business Improvement District:

    Area

    Amount

    Region

    Local Authority

    Cheltenham

    £35,000

    South West

    Cheltenham Borough Council

    Eastbourne

    £41,000

    South East

    Eastbourne Borough Council

    Hastings

    £31,400

    South East

    Hastings Borough Council

    Hexham

    £40,000

    North East

    Northumberland County Council

    Leicester

    £50,000

    East Midlands

    Leicester City Cuncil

    Lichfield

    £20,000

    West Midlands

    Lichfield District Council

    Milton Keynes

    £35,000

    South East

    Milton Keynes Council

    Oxted

    £30,000

    South East

    Tandridge District Council

    Poole

    £42,000

    South West

    Poole Borough Council

    Purley

    £10,000

    Greater London

    London Borough of Croydon

    Runcorn

    £27,000

    North West

    Halton Borough Council

    Watford

    £49,822

    East of England

    Hertfordshire Borough Council

    York

    £30,000

    Yorkshire and Humber

    York City Council
  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to promote Energy Efficiency Week; how her Department has worked with non-governmental organisations on such initiatives; and what the cost to the public purse was of those initiatives.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Big Energy Saving Week is a Great Britain wide consumer awareness raising campaign run ahead of winter in partnership with respected partner organisations Citizens Advice and the Energy Saving Trust (EST), with around £300,000 funding provided by DECC.

    The campaign was delivered 26-30 October 2015 and focussed on supporting consumers to understand how they can save money by switching tariff, supplier and payment method and improving energy efficiency, through hundreds of face to face outreach events run by Citizens Advice offices and a national, regional and social media campaign delivered by EST.

    The last campaign in October 2014 was a big success with over 500 events nationwide reaching an estimated 100,000 consumers face to face or through dedicated helplines with many millions more reached through a complementary media campaign.