Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what metrics she uses in monitoring human rights abuse (a) by governments and (b) in countries in receipt of UK aid.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID works closely with the FCO to assess and monitor the civil and political rights context in the countries where it has programmes. DFID draws on the FCO’s annual Human Rights and Democracy Report, which takes international human rights obligations as its starting point, and assesses FCO country specific updates to that report. It takes into account the views of a range of sources including EU and other development partners, and civil society reports.

    DFID provides aid to governments when it is satisfied that they share Britain’s commitments to reducing poverty and to respecting human rights. Before providing aid to a partner government, DFID assesses their commitment to four Partnership Principles. These include a commitment to poverty reduction; respecting human rights and other international obligations; improving public financial management, promoting good governance and transparency, and fighting corruption; and strengthening domestic accountability.

  • The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Coventry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Coventry on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to assist the government of Iraq in its efforts to encourage post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction in areas now liberated from Daesh in Iraq.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    With our partners in the Global Coalition and the wider international community, the UK is supporting the Government of Iraq’s recovery efforts in areas liberated from Daesh.

    In the last year UN Development Programme (UNDP) report that these efforts have contributed to the return of 170,000 people to Tikrit, 49,000 people to Al Dour and 15,000 people to Mkeishifa.

    Specific UK support includes providing: £2.5 million for UNDP’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilisation, which supports community reconciliation and the rehabilitation of infrastructure in newly liberated areas of stabilisation; a stabilisation advisor for UNDP; a Communications Advisor to support the Governor of Anbar; and £225,000 to UN Mine Action Service to establish a coordination unit to assess the scope of explosive threats. During his recent visit to Iraq, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed with Prime Minister Abadi the importance of reconciliation and rebuilding the lives of all Iraqis.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the funding provided for research into the use of laser treatment for cancers from the science budget in the last five years.

    Joseph Johnson

    Research into cancer involving proton therapy and laser treatment falls within the remit of the Research Councils.

    I have asked the Chair of the Research Councils UK Strategic Executive to write to the hon. Member and I will place a copy of the letter in the Libraries of the House.

  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made in improving construction sector productivity since publication of the Government’s Productivity Plan in July 2015.

    Nick Boles

    Working with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the Government has identified skills, business models and innovation as the major sources of improved productivity in the sector.

    To promote increased investment in skills, an Apprenticeship Levy will be introduced in April 2017 on all companies with a pay bill above £3 million per annum. The CLC Review of the Construction Labour Model launched in January 2016, is examining the labour model in construction and will recommend measures which will help lead house-building and other construction firms to ensure they have the skills, and the skills pipelines, that they need.

    The Government Construction Strategy 2016-2020 published in March this year has a focus on smarter procurement, using Government’s position in the market to help drive improved productivity in construction and better value for the tax payer.

    Businesses need money to invest in productivity improvement, and a review of the practice of cash retention and of the effectiveness of the legislation covering construction contracts (Part 2 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996), is currently underway.

    Digital technology has great potential to drive productivity improvement through innovation in construction, and the UK is among the world leaders thanks to the Government’s support for the use and development of Building Information Modelling. In the Budget the Government announced support for the development of the next digital standard for the construction sector, Building Information Modelling 3.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s policy is on VAT on household energy bills.

    Jane Ellison

    Supplies of fuel and power for domestic use are eligible for the five per cent reduced rate of VAT.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has received representations on whether Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group was quorate at its meeting of 29 June 2016 when it awarded the contract for musculoskeletal services to Circle Holdings PLC; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The procurement of local health services by means of competitive tendering is a matter for the local National Health Service.

    The Department has not received any representations on the matter of whether Greenwich Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) was quorate at its meeting of 29 June 2016 when it awarded the contract for musculoskeletal services to Circle Health.

    We are informed by NHS England that the CCG follows standard NHS procurement procedures and these procedures were followed for this procurement.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures the Government plans to take to address the concerns expressed by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in his Annual Report for 2014-15, published on 15 July 2015; and what those measures will be on each of the four assessed outcomes referred to in the introduction to that report.

    Andrew Selous

    The Ministry of Justice welcomed the scrutiny brought by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in his annual report published in July 2015. Steps have been taken at each of the prisons inspected during 2014-15 to address the specific recommendations made, and detailed action plans put in place. We are also seeking to address the Chief Inspector’s comments on each of the four outcomes of safety, respect, purposeful activity and resettlement, and we are tackling the risks of increased violence highlighted by the Chief Inspector.

    The National Offender Management Service is committed to running safe prisons. We are holding a more violent prison population; the number of people sentenced to prison for violent offences has increased by 30% in the last 10 years. In addition the illicit use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) has been a significant factor in fuelling violence in prisons. This Government has introduced two new offences through the Serious Crime Act 2015 for being in possession of a knife or other offensive weapon within a prison without authorisation, and throwing of items, including NPS over a prison wall without authorisation. This offence will help to control these substances in prison. We are also introducing an offence of possession of NPS in the prison estate.

    NOMS also operates a violence reduction project to gain a better understanding of the causes of the current levels of violence in prisons and to ensure that there is strengthened handling of it, in terms of both prevention and response. A joint national protocol between the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the CPS, and ACPO was published in February 2015 with the purpose of ensuring a nationally consistent approach to the referral and prosecution of crimes in prison.

    The Chief Inspector of Prisons found that “respect” (how a prisoner is treated) held up best amongst their four areas of inspection. We are continuing to take forward the strengths he highlighted which included: good staff/prisoner relationships, increased use of prisoner peer mentors and good practice in health care.

    We noted the Chief Inspector’s concerns about “purposeful activity”. We want prisons to be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and work. The hours worked by prisoners in industrial occupations has already risen from 10.6 million hours in 2010/2011 to 14.2 million hours in the 2013-2014.

    Finally in relation to resettlement (preparing prisoners for their release into the community) we have put in place an unprecedented nationwide ‘through the prison gate’ resettlement service, meaning most offenders are given continuous support by one provider from custody into the community. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) launched their ‘Through the Gate’ service on 1 May 2015. This service provides offenders with support to find accommodation and jobs, finance and debt advice, and support for sex workers and victims of domestic violence.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Susan Elan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss the effect of the reductions in funding to S4C proposed in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Stephen Crabb

    I have regular meetings with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which provide opportunities to discuss a range of issues, including matters related to funding of services across Wales.

    The Government is committed to Welsh language programming and to the future of S4C. The majority of S4C’s funding comes via the BBC and last week’s spending review settlement on the Government element of S4C’s funding therefore represents a modest reduction in its overall funding.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 19365, on housing benefit, (a) when the evidence review began, (b) who has been commissioned to undertake that review and (c) when he expects that review to be published.

    Brandon Lewis

    A copy of the specification for the review has been put in the Library of the House.

    The Review began in January 2015. The Department of Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities and Local Government commissioned Ipsos MORI in partnership with Imogen Blood and Associates and Housing and Support Partnership Limited to undertake the evidence review. The report will be published later this year.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps his Department has taken to protect people living in the vicinity of (a) Heathrow and (b) RAF Northolt from (i) drones and (ii) unmanned aerial vehicles.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    A cross government working group led by the Department for Transport is undertaking a detailed analysis of the range of risks posed by drones. This work is ongoing and kept under constant review. Further work is now proceeding to capture and evaluate potential mitigation measures and strategies. Initial guidance on tackling the risks has been provided to constabularies across the UK.

    Work is also underway to qualify the specific level of risk posed by small drones to commercial air transport. We are talking to both the Civil Aviation Authority and airports to find technical solutions to the problems around airports, these include mandated geo-fencing or frequency jammers. The CAA has also worked with major drone manufacturers on the geo-fencing capabilities of their products, which has included providing a list of locations such as airport control zones.