Category: Speeches

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average age of the child refugees they propose to take in from the conflicts in Syria and North Africa; what assessment they have made of the dominant religion of those children; whether it is their policy that priority should be given to Christian children; and, if not, why not.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Syrian Vulnerable Person’s Resettlement Scheme prioritises the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, including families with dependent children of any age. Of the 1,602 Syrians who arrived between October 2015 and March 2016, around half were aged under 18. The Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme, announced in April, will resettle vulnerable children under the age of 18 from the Middle East and North Africa region, with their families or carers where appropriate. One of the reasons for creating the scheme was to allow the inclusion of children at risk from nationalities other than Syrian, including, for example, Yazidis from Iraq.

    For both schemes, we work closely with the UNHCR, who identify refugees for resettlement using their established vulnerability criteria rather than seeking to include children of a particular age. While membership of a minority religion is not in itself one of the vulnerability criteria, members of minority religions may qualify under one of the vulnerability headings. It is important that we base our selection criteria on those most in need, rather than on the basis of membership of a particular religious group.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria determine whether personal independence payment assessors receive financial bonuses in addition to their salary.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Department does not prescribe providers with criteria on how they should pay salary or bonuses to their staff. That is purely a commercial decision for the assessment provider.

  • David Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Jones on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the (a) Iraqi and (b) Iranian authorities on the missile attack on Camp Liberty, Baghdad, on 29 October 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We strongly condemn the attack against the civilian residents of Camp Liberty in Iraq on Thursday 29 October. Officials from our Embassy in Baghdad raised the attack with the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office on 30 October and made clear the importance of an urgent and comprehensive investigation into the incident and ensuring that all those responsible are brought to justice.

    In all of our engagement with the Government of Iraq on this issue, including at Ministerial level and in our statements, we have emphasised the importance of the Iraqi Government doing everything possible to ensure the safety of the residents of Camp Liberty.

    It is the responsibility of the Government of Iraq to protect Camp Liberty. We have therefore not raised the attack with the Iranian authorities.

  • 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, how much of his Department’s budget has been spent on science and technology in each year since 2010.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Expenditure from the centralised Ministry of Defence Science and Technology Programme under the Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser for each year since 2010 (inclusive of non-recoverable VAT at current prices) is given below:

    Financial Year

    Defence Science and Technology programme expenditure (£million)

    2010-11

    422

    2011-12

    432

    2012-13

    444

    2013-14

    435

    2014-15

    436

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a timetable for disclosure of Cabinet papers for the 1986-1988 period.

    Matthew Hancock

    Cabinet papers for the period 1986-1989 1988have already been transferred to the National Archives. Transparency is at the heart of this Government’s agenda and we are publishing unprecedented amounts of information.

    “

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is his policy that a lump sum paid by a public sector employer to an employee’s pension fund to compensate the scheme for having to pay a reduced pension earlier than expected should be used as part of the calculation for the public sector exit payment cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill.

    Greg Hands

    The Government consulted on implementing a public sector exit payment cap in July 2015. The Government response to this consultation was published on 16 September 2015. This response provides detail on which organisations and types of payments the Government intends to capture within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap. This accords with the Government’s manifesto commitment to end tax payer funded six figure payoffs for public sector workers.

    The response document can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/464367/Public_sector_exit_payments_response.pdf

    The exit payment cap will apply to payments made as a result of an employee leaving their employment. It will not affect any pension a person has earned through their years of service or have any impact on accrued pension rights or pension lump sum entitlements on retirement. It will capture contributions, made by the employer, to fund early access to an unreduced or partially reduced pension. This is because such costs are ultimately funded by the tax payer.

    The Government has been clear that early retirements relating to ill health are outside the scope of the cap and will not be affected. Additionally, any payments directed by a Court or Tribunal will not be included in the scope of the cap.

    Exits on compassionate grounds are not such a clearly defined concept as exits related to ill health or redundancy. There will generally be a large degree of employer discretion on the terms of such exits, and on any payments. In these cases there will be discretion available to relax the cap in individual cases, subject to relevant Ministerial or local council approval, as will be set out in further detail in forthcoming Treasury guidance and directions.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost was of maintaining the defence attaché network in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15; and what proportion of the cost of that network was attributable to support for defence and security exports.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The following information shows Ministry of Defence funding for the Defence Attaché and Advisor Network for financial year (FY) 2013-14 and FY 2014-15.

    FY 2013-14

    FY 2014-15

    Attaché Costs

    £31,864,185

    £31,635,761

    FCO Platform Charges

    £9,919,278

    £13,302,918

    Total Cost

    £41,783,463

    £44,938,679

    Support for exports is one of the many roles carried out by Defence Attachés as part of the International Defence Engagement Strategy. The Defence Attaché network has no specific budget or post allocated to this task.

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why National Savings and Investments stopped the sale of Premium Bonds for cash in Post Offices and withdrew their brochures, forms and reply envelopes at the same time, and what assessment they have made of the effect of that decision on the sale of Premium Bonds.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    National Savings and Investments’ (NS&I) core remit is to provide cost effective financing for the Government. Over the past few years, NS&I has been moving its business to direct only channels – internet, phone and post – producing significant savings for the taxpayer.

    The end of Premium Bond sales and wider NS&I services at the Post Office was a commercial decision made by NS&I. This decision reflects the way that their customers are choosing to do business with NS&I and also the growth of the Post Office’s own range of savings products. The change followed the success of 65+ Pensioner Bonds, which saw over one million pensioners from around the country invest via direct only channels.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Question 33687, what funding and support (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have provided to integrate blood-borne virus testing into mobile digital radiology screening for active TB in line with NICE guidance NG33 of January 2016.

    Jane Ellison

    As yet, no funding has been allocated to include blood-borne virus (BBV) testing into mobile screening outreach services.

    NHS England has provided additional funding to the London ‘Find & Treat’ mobile health unit so that they can offer latent Tuberculosis testing and treatment. The Find & Treat service continues its discussions with the Hepatitis C Trust to work in partnership to provide on-the-spot screening for hepatitis C and onward care.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance NG33 published in January 2016 suggests that integrating BBV testing into mobile digital radiology screening services would be good practice. NHS England has expressed an interest to consider this further, and discussions continue with the lead London Clinical Commissioning Groups.

  • 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 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Written Statement of 26 May 2016, on BIS consultation, HCWS30, how much vacant office space there currently is at the 1 Victoria Street offices.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills actively manages occupancy of its office estate to ensure that offices are used effectively, and commensurate with health and safety and other statutory requirements. Given the recent Voluntary Exit Scheme, and our plans to re-organise the building to increase capacity, the Department estimates that additional London staff could be accommodated in 1 Victoria Street over the next year and a half. Our plan to reduce to 1,500 policy posts overall by 2020 will also create some additional capacity.