Category: Speeches

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 27522, on child benefit: immigrants, and with reference to the Answer of 22 October 2012, Official Report, columns 619-20, on child benefit: EU nationals, and the Answer of 6 September 2010, Official Report, columns 189-90, on benefits: British nationals abroad, how many child benefit awards there were for children living in each non-UK country in each year since 2012.

    Damian Hinds

    Around 7m people are receiving Child Benefit. To extract and collate the value of all payments made to EU migrants for children living outside the UK in the format requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    Information relating to the number of Child Benefit claims paid to families with children living overseas is available in the Government publication , “The best of both worlds: the United Kingdom’s special status in a reformed European Union”. This publication is available on Gov.uk

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-best-of-both-worlds-the-united-kingdoms-special-status-in-a-reformed-european-union

    The Government’s new settlement between the UK and the EU means that EU nationals whose children live abroad will ultimately receive Child Benefit at a rate that reflects the conditions – including the standard of living and child benefit paid – of the country where their child lives. This will restore fairness to the system.

    “

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will raise with his Algerian counterpart threats of legal proceedings being instituted against a church in the North Eastern province of that country for conducting religious services.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of the Algerian investigation of two Protestant house churches in the north eastern area of Algeria, known as the Kabylie, in January 2016. We understand that the issue has been resolved and that the churches continue to conduct their business.

  • 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 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the criteria are for the Government to recognise a Palestinian state.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK’s position on recognition of Palestine is that we will recognise a Palestinian state when we judge it can best help bring about peace. We continue to be one of the principal supporters of Palestinian state building efforts, assisting them to tackle poverty, build institutions and boost their economy.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what child protection steps have been taken to prevent self-employed adults with violent or sexual convictions providing extracurricular activities for children when no governing body exists for that sport or activity.

    Edward Timpson

    Schools are aware of their responsibilities in ensuring that any self-employed individual who is providing extra-curricular classes or sessions on their behalf has been subject to the necessary and appropriate checks, which could include checking individual status with the relevant sports or activity governing body.

    If those checks reveal convictions for violence the school will then determine the appropriateness or otherwise of allowing that individual to continue to provide classes or sessions.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral contribution by the Secretary of State for Defence, of 18 January 2016, Official Report, column 1118 on how many occasions the Government has considered evidence from (a) non-governmental organisations, (b) Airwars, (c) White Helmets and (d) other organisations working in Syria on the collection of data on civilian (i) casualties and (ii) injuries in Syria from 2016 to date; and on how many occasions the Government has considered such evidence as credible.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has reviewed four batches of information collated by Airwars in relation to possible civilian casualties in Syria and Iraq, where they wished to establish whether RAF aircraft might have been involved. There was no credible evidence that RAF aircraft were responsible in any of these incidents. MOD officials have also met Airwars to outline the process used by the UK to assess the outcome of RAF airstrikes.

    All RAF airstrikes are subject to an assessment of their outcome. Whilst there can be no guarantees in a complex air campaign like this one, our airstrikes are planned meticulously with the objective of minimising the risk of causing civilian casualties.The MOD continues to be prepared to consider credible evidence on this issue from any source.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has received representations from the Nigerian government on the licensing of Radio Biafra.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    We have received no representations from the Nigerian government about Radio Biafra.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will expand the Targeted Affordability Fund to assist with changes to housing benefit in the social sector announced in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Targeted Affordability Funding will be based on recycling around 30 per cent of the savings from the measure to freeze LHA rates, which was announced in the Summer Budget. The funding will be available from 2017/18 onwards and will be used to support areas where higher rent increases are causing a shortage of affordable accommodation. The amounts of funding which will be available each year and the plans for how we will distribute it, will be announced in due course.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they respond to the chief executive of Shell, who claims that oil and gas companies would be negatively affected in the event that the UK leaves the EU.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom – so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian non-governmental organisations and projects have received Conflict Pool funding in each of the last five years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Details on which non-governmental organisations and projects costs that have received Conflict Pool funding in each of the last five years are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Livermore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Livermore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to respond to the recommendations set out in the State of the Nation report by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission published on 17 December 2015.

    Lord Nash

    The Government is grateful to the Commission for its wide-ranging and comprehensive report. We are committed to publishing a new Life Chances Strategy, and the Department for Work and Pensions is leading on this. That Strategy will set out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity. It will focus on the root causes and human dimensions of child poverty. Our proposals in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill introduce a new duty for the Government to report annually on children in workless households and children’s educational attainment in England. This is because the evidence shows that educational attainment and worklessness are the most significant factors driving children’s life chances. The Strategy will also include a wider set of measures that look at the root causes of poverty, including family breakdown, problem debt and drug and alcohol dependency. These will drive real action to transform the lives of the most disadvantaged children and families.

    The Government looks forward to working with the reformed Social Mobility Commission, which will continue to play a very important role in the drive to promote and increase social mobility in the years to come.