Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Uddin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Uddin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to ensure that all academy schools, their leaders, boards of directors, advisers and heads of department, adhere to all aspects of equality legislation in the UK.

    Lord Nash

    Academy trusts, and the academies they run, are required to adhere to all aspects of equality legislation. The Department’s model funding agreement for academy trusts, available on GOV.UK, states that the academy trust must ensure the academy promotes principles that support equality of opportunity for all. The Education Funding Agency is responsible, on behalf of the Secretary of State, for holding academy trusts to account for meeting the terms of their funding agreements.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 846, Use of explosive weapons and human rights violations in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports on alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Yemen by the Coalition, including alleged airstrikes resulting in civilian, including child casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, and take these very seriously. We have regularly raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities and received assurances that they are complying with IHL. We continue to engage with Saudi Arabia on those assurances and have offered advice and training to demonstrate best practice and to help ensure continued compliance with IHL.

    We are also concerned by reports of alleged IHL violations by Houthi-Saleh and pro-government forces, including attacks on civilians in Aden and Taiz; intimidation of UN ships attempting to dock at Aden; the use of schools and hospitals for military purposes; the use of child soldiers; and the targeting of aid workers and restrictions on humanitarian access. We have also raised the importance of compliance with IHL with the Houthis.

    The UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent export control regimes in the world. All exports of arms and controlled military goods to Saudi Arabia are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Licensing Criteria.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to launch its planned consultation on increasing the transparency of property ownership by foreign companies.

    Matthew Hancock

    In due course.

  • Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gavin Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to promote the consumption of cranberry products to prevent simple infections such as urinary tract infections.

    Jane Ellison

    The research database, Cochrane, published a study in 2012 which assessed the effectiveness of cranberry products in preventing urinary tract infections in susceptible populations. Researchers found that there is no objective evidence for the benefit of cranberry juice in preventing urinary tract infections. Therefore the Department has not taken steps to promote the consumption of cranberry products.

    The UK five year Antimicrobial Resistance strategy set out the need to stimulate the development of new antibiotics, rapid diagnostics and novel therapies. The DH commissioned the Wellcome Trust to undertake a review of alternative treatments in 2014. The review concluded that while many approaches have potential, there is a continued need for conventional antibiotics to treat the majority of infections for the foreseeable future.

    A paper, summarising the review “alternatives to antibiotics – a pipeline portfolio review” was published in the Lancet in January 2016. This is available at the following link:

    http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00466-1

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the oral contribution of Lord Bridges of Headley, of 25 February 2016, Official Report, column 396, on public bodies: Israel, what the Government’s policy is on whether the Occupied Palestinian Territories are a territory of Israel under the definition of the World Trade Organisaiton.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The World Trade Organisation does not define the territory of its members. The UK does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. We therefore do not consider the Occupied Palestinian Territories to be part of Israel.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to paragraph 1.59 of the Budget 2016, from which projects and programmes the £650 million reduction in Official Development Assistance will come.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The £650 million reduction to the ODA budget will be from DFID’s baseline budget. DFID’s baseline budget includes transfers to other government departments and funds. Decisions on the allocation of reductions will be taken on the basis of the impact of expenditure and strategic fit with government objectives.

  • Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keir Starmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) single adult men, (b) single adult women, (c) families and (d) single-parent families were in receipt of support under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 at the end of 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office publishes statistics on those supported under section 95, as at the end of each quarter, in the quarterly Immigration Statistics release.

    Of the 34,363 main applicants that were supported under section 95 as at the end of December 2015, 12,561 were single adults. Where the gender of the main applicant is recorded, 9,987 were males and 2,135 were females.

    There were 6,456 families supported under section 95 as at the end of December 2015. It is not possible to identify single parent families from the published statistics.

    The figures provided are published in table as_17_q, in volume 4 of the Immigration Statistics asylum data tables. The data provided by gender are a subset of published figures. The latest release, Immigration Statistics September to December 2015, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2015

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to her speech of 18 November 2015 on a new direction for UK energy policy, when the terms of reference of the review into coal will be published; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We remain committed to consulting on how we will we fulfil the Government’s commitment to phase out unabated coal and will be launching the consultation shortly.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to introduce independent oversight of the Service Police.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Service Police are already subject to independent oversight by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabularies and their reports are placed in the public domain. We also remain committed to the introduction of independent oversight of complaints made against the Service Police and work continues in order to identify the most appropriate means of achieving that.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether NHS Improvement will consider further applications from NHS trusts to become foundation trusts.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We will continue to discuss the role of foundation trusts (FTs) in the National Health Service with the leaders of NHS Improvement as the organisation moves to a more aligned approach to the regulation and oversight of FTs and NHS trusts.

    The clinical and economic sustainability of all trusts is of paramount importance, and NHS Improvement will continue to support NHS providers to determine the most appropriate means of securing their long-term future.

    The NHS Trust Development Authority is continuing to refer organisations to Monitor for FT authorisation decisions. No decisions have yet been made about how this activity will be undertaken by NHS Improvement from 1 April 2016.