Category: Speeches

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the rights of UK citizens living and working elsewhere in the EU to continue to benefit from freedom of movement in the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I have been holding, and are continuing to hold, discussions with our EU counterparts since the referendum. As the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) said in his statement to the House on 27 June, there will be no immediate changes in the circumstances of UK citizens living in the EU. Future arrangements will be something for the next Prime Minister and their Cabinet to decide in the context of negotiations with EU Partners.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the progress made by the eight Competent Authorities recognised as relevant bodies under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 and the amending regulations to ensure consistency across their respective jurisdictions.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government supports the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to help businesses and consumers save time and money when dealing with complaints. Approved ADR is available for every consumer to trader dispute in the UK.

    We have not estimated what proportion of retail businesses have a designated ADR provider as it is open to the retailer to choose a different ADR provider with the necessary skills and experience to deal with a particular dispute.

    The Chartered Trading Standards Institute acts as the lead competent authority and has held working groups and individual meetings with the other competent authorities to ensure consistency of approach.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance has been issued to Jobcentre Plus staff on the application of benefit sanctions where a parent is unable to comply with the conditions for that benefit because of lack of suitable childcare.

    Priti Patel

    This Government spent £5bn on childcare in 2014-2015 – more than any previous administration and an increase of £1bn since 2010. We are now going further still, with a new package of support designed to improve the affordability and accessibility of childcare for working families. We are extending the free entitlement for 3 and 4 years from 15 hours to 30 hours per week for working parents, from September 2017, worth £5,000 per child per year. We are also introducing Tax-Free Childcare for working parents from early 2017, with a Government contribution of up to £2,000 per child.

    Guidance for Jobcentre Plus staff makes it clear that the Jobseeker’s Allowance requirements should be tailored to the individual circumstances of each claimant and may be varied if those circumstances change.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for implementing his Department’s policies for combatting climate change and decarbonising electricity generation of the Trade in Services Agreement.

    Anna Soubry

    The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiation is ongoing. A full sustainable impact assessment is being conducted on the TISA. The terms of reference of the report include analysis of the impact of the TISA on climate change. The final inception report can be found on the EU’s website.

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not carried out any additional assessments in relation to the impact of the agreement on wider climate change policies, but works closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change on the content of the Agreement to ensure it aligns with the UK’s wider policy objectives.

  • Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on how many occasions her Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials in each of the last two years.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID is not aware of any notifications from external consultants, or other third parties, of breaches to its Information Security Management Controls in the past two years.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why no safe areas have been established in Syria, in particular in Idlib, Darra, Jazira, and Afrin.

    Baroness Verma

    At the Syria conference in London on 4 February, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will more than double our support in response to the Syria crisis from £1.12 billion to over £2.3 billion, our largest ever humanitarian response to a single crisis. We will consider any option compliant with international law that might save lives in Syria. However, experience suggests that so-called ‘safe’ areas can prove difficult to demilitarise and protect against all threats. In fact, there is a risk that they can become targets.

    For a safe area to work, all parties to the conflict and relevant regional authorities would need to agree to its establishment. In the absence of such consent, this would require foreign military intervention, authorised by a UN Security Council Resolution. Any party seeking to establish a safe area would need to ensure sufficient military capability to guarantee safety from both aerial and ground attack, including by unconventional means. Credible measures would also be needed to prevent human rights abuses and to provide humanitarian assistance within the protected area. In addition, the existence of a ‘safe’ area near an international border should not be used to repatriate refugees against their will, or to deny access to asylum.

    The UK plays a key role in ensuring humanitarian access to Syria. By 31 January 2016, at least 257 shipments of cross-border aid had been delivered as a direct result of the UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258 which enables the UN to deliver aid into Syria without the consent of the regime. We continue to call on all sides to the conflict to respect International Humanitarian Law and ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make representations to the Post Office on providing free business banking services to small and medium-sized enterprises.

    George Freeman

    The provision of services at post offices is the operational responsibility of the Post Office. Post Office offers a Retail (consumer) Bank Account direct to its own customers and, like any other business, can only offer services which are commercially sustainable for the business. The Post Office does not offer a Business (SME) type Bank Account direct to small businesses.

    In addition to its own consumer financial services, the Post Office has offered access to ‘basic bank branch’ services for business and personal banking customers of almost all high street banks for a number of years. The banks charge their customers at the applicable rate agreed in their customer terms and conditions. The Post Office provides the services free to the customer at the counter, based on a series of commercial agreements with the banks. These agreements have recently been reviewed and discussed as part of the industry response to the Government sponsored ‘Access to Banking Protocol’ from March 2015.

    The Post Office believes that personal and business customers of all banks would benefit from being able to continue to access existing basic banking services at Post Office branches, making sure that all communities can access banking services locally.

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings or other communications took place between Mr Sheridan Westlake, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, and Mr Chris Snowdon of the Institute of Economic Affairs relating to government funding of voluntary organisations in the 12 months prior to the announcement on 6 February of the new clause in grant agreements restricting the use of government grants for lobbying purposes.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Institute of Economic Affairs’ written research into the misuse of government grants was acknowledged at the time that the clause was first introduced by the Department of Communities and Local Government before the last general election, and also by the Cabinet Office when it published its guidance on the new clause.

    Details of Cabinet Office Ministers’ meetings, and those of the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretaries, are centrally collated and routinely published in transparency returns available on the Gov.uk website.

    Information relating to the meetings and communications of Cabinet Office civil servants, including special advisers, is not routinely collated and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the case for including (a) biomass energy and (b) biomass conversions from former coal-fired stations alongside offshore wind in future Contract for Difference auctions; and what assessment has been made of the case for evaluating bids in such auctions on a whole system costs basis.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Biomass can be used as a feedstock in Dedicated Biomass with CHP, Advanced Conversion Technologies and Anaerobic Digestion plants. Those three technologies are already eligible to compete alongside offshore wind in the CFD allocation pot for “less established” technologies.

    The Government will consider whether it is appropriate for biomass conversions to compete alongside offshore wind or the allocation pot for “established” technologies in due course.

    DECC recognises the importance of considering the whole system impacts (both costs and benefits) of different electricity technologies when formulating future government policy, since it is a crucial element in delivering secure, clean and affordable energy to consumers.

  • Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate funding is directed to local mental health bodies to reduce waiting times for child mental health care.

    Alistair Burt

    In total the Government has made available an additional £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament to support significant transformation in children and young people’s mental health so that there is easy access to the right support from the right service when it is needed.

    The key mechanism in delivering this transformation programme, as set out in the Future in Mind report, are the Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) that all clinical commissioning groups covering all local areas have produced. These plans should meet the needs of all the local population and cover the full spectrum of services needed to ensure that children and young people can access services when they need to.

    NHS England’s Local Transformation Planning guidance issued in August 2015 and the robust assurance process around it, backed by a programme of regional and national support, are in place to ensure that the additional money will be spent for the purposes intended and that locally determined key performance indicators will be met. NHS England will continue to support local areas to refresh their LTPs to take and merge into the wider Sustainability and Transparency Planning process.