Category: Speeches

  • James Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    James Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Gray on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where he expects the two-star headquarters of the Ultra Rapid Reaction Corps to be located.

    Penny Mordaunt

    NATO does not have an Ultra Rapid Reaction Corps. I believe the hon. Member is referring to NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (Land element), which the UK will lead in 2017. When not deployed, its assigned one-star Headquarters, 20 Brigade, will be based in Sennelager, Germany for the duration of this rotational commitment. In response to crisis, the headquarters would move to the most appropriate location.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential savings for Government departments due to the falling price of oil over the course of this Parliament.

    Damian Hinds

    No such estimate has been made.

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response the Government has made to the recent announcement from the government of Argentina on a UN report on the extent of Argentinian rights over the continental shelf in South Atlantic.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) has no jurisdiction to consider areas subject to competing claims and therefore has no locus to make recommendations in relation to the Falkland Islands. The UN itself has acknowledged that the CLCS could not consider those parts of the original Argentine submission of 2009 that were subject to dispute. This would include the Falkland Islands.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on the number of pregnant women who have been detained for immigration purposes since central recording statistics on such cases began and the outcomes of their detention.

    Karen Bradley

    The detention of pregnant women under Immigration Act powers occurs only in very limited situations, either where there is a clear prospect of early removal or in very exceptional circumstances. Very few pregnant women are detained. Central recording of the number of detained women who have disclosed their pregnancy started in August 2015. Options for the collection of wider data on pregnant women is being considered as part of the Immigration Act 2016 implementation.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the removal of nursing bursaries on the living costs of nursing students who live outside their parental home.

    Ben Gummer

    A preliminary Economic Impact Assessment and Equality Analysis was published alongside the public consultation launched on 7 April 2016. These documents address the proportion of repayment expected, the impact on students with different characteristics, including those who live outside the parental home and the benefit that extra support will have for those on low incomes and from disadvantaged backgrounds.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the total value was of all reclaimed equity loans in UK residential property where the holder was a government department in each of the last five years.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) operates and administers a number of current and past equity loan and equity share schemes for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

    The HCA has received the following funds in redemption of equity loans in each of the last five years:

    2011-12 £4.020 million

    2012-13 £12.141 million

    2013-14 £34.731 million

    2014-15 £70.952 million

    2015-16 £182.916 million

    They include loans from several schemes: Help to Buy: Equity Loan, FirstBuy, HomeBuy Direct and First-Time Buyers’ Initiative.

    The Ministry of Defence operated a scheme: Affordable Homes Ownership scheme (AFHOS) until March 2014. AFHOS receipts to date are:

    Receipts during period 2011-15: £1.457 million

    Receipts during financial year 2015-16: £1.896 million

    The Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive also operate equity loan and equity share schemes for home ownership, on which they can provide information.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will hold discussions with the National Association of Retired Police Officers on steps to support national security.

    Mike Penning

    Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

    Policy engagement with external organisations is a matter for Chief Constables to take locally in conjunction with their democratically elected Police and Crime Commissioners.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to assess the condition and future requirements for maintenance of the local roads network.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport regularly publishes Official Statistics on the proportion of roads where maintenance should be considered by region in England. The latest available published data are for the financial year 2013/14.

    Road maintenance is a matter for individual local highway authorities, and it is for them to prioritise work according to local need. However, we are providing local highway authorities with record funding of £6 billion for local highways maintenance plus a £250 million pothole action fund as recently announced by the Chancellor on top of this.

  • Meg Hillier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Meg Hillier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to enable special circumstances to be taken into account when making the decision to withhold housing benefit from people who are away from their homes for a period of more than four weeks.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The temporary absence rules allow Housing Benefit to continue where under the normal conditions of entitlement it would not do so. They are therefore extensions of entitlement rather than withdrawals of it.

    It is the intention from April 2016, that Housing Benefit claimants who leave Great Britain for longer than 4 weeks will no longer be able to get Housing Benefit while they are away. This aligns the Housing Benefit rules with other benefits including Universal Credit.

    We intend that the period of 4 weeks could be extended in exceptional circumstances (for example, if their reason for being abroad is due to the death of a family member).

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s policy is and what guidance it issues to civil servants on the acceptance and declaration of corporate gifts.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Department’s rules on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality state that every head of Division or Commanding Officer must maintain a hospitality log in which to record contact with persons, firms or organisations holding, or seeking to obtain, Government contracts. All offers of gifts, complimentary vouchers, other incentives, and hospitality made to Crown Servants whether accepted or declined must be recorded in the log. Senior management are responsible for undertaking regular reviews of the hospitality log. The guidance is set out in the "Defence Business Services Gifts, Reward, and Hospitality Policy" documents which are available on the Department’s intranet site.

    The Department’s policy is based on the rules of standards and conduct found within the Civil Service Code and is consistent with approaches taken by other Government Departments.