Category: Speeches

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answers of 25 February 2016 to Questions 27493 and 27494, and with reference to Article 29 of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, what the evidential basis is for the Government’s conclusion that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership does not automatically apply to British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government’s position, set out in the answers to Questions 27493 and 27494, is based on the wording of the treaties (Article 52 of the Treaty on European Union, Article 355 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the 1972 Treaty of Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the UK to the European Economic Community) and the longstanding practice of the UK.

    Article 29 of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is not relevant to the status of British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that “Unless a different intention appears from the treaty or is otherwise established, a treaty is binding upon each party in respect of its entire territory.” The British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies are not part of the UK, and the UK has consistently adopted the position that treaties made by the UK do not extend to British Overseas Territories or the Crown Dependencies, unless this is done expressly. The first expression of this position was set out in the “Bevin Despatch” (Foreign Office Circular 118, 16 October 1950).

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answers of 7 April 2014 to Questions 194734 to 194737, what checks were made on the provenance of the funds used to purchase Brompton Road underground station.

    Mark Lancaster

    In accordance with normal practice the independent marketing agents analysed the leading bids and bidders. Mr Firtash was regarded as a high net worth individual capable of meeting the contractual obligations.

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) took a 10% deposit (over £5 million) on exchange of contracts and later a legal charge at completion to secure payment obligations. In addition, all funds were paid to the MOD through UK regulated solicitors, in accordance with normal practice, to ensure that appropriate financial checks were made on their client.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fully-trained staff are based at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham.

    Mr John Hayes

    Her Majesty’s Coastguard currently have a total of 58 staff who are qualified Coastguards at the National Maritime Operations Centre in Fareham. There are an additional 12 staff who are communication/systems trained, but awaiting to complete their final training and assessments, who are able to undertake watchkeeping tasks commensurate with their training.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the level of financial protection available to investors in mini-bonds not covered under the financial services compensation scheme.

    Simon Kirby

    The government is committed to regulating only where there is a clear case for doing so, in order to avoid putting additional costs on lenders that would ultimately lead to higher costs for businesses and consumers.

    The marketing and promotion of mini-bonds is subject to financial promotion restrictions set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA). Firms that fail to meet any of these requirements may be subject to enforcement action by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on tax credits since 25 October.

    Damian Hinds

    Treasury Ministers have regular discussions with Ministers of the devolved administrations and with politicians of all parties on a range of topics.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of particulate matter pollution; and what account her Department took of such trends when developing its air quality plan.

    Rory Stewart

    There has been a long term decrease in the emissions of all air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM). This trend can be seen in our recent statistical release, Emissions of Air Pollutants in the UK 1970 to 2014, published on 17 December 2015. Emissions of PM10 have fallen by 72.6 percent since 1970 and emissions of PM2.5 have fallen by 76 percent. The UK plan for improving air quality is designed to fulfil our requirements in relation to nitrogen dioxide. Many of the sources of nitrogen oxides are also sources of particulate matter. A number of the solutions identified in the plan to address nitrogen dioxide will also have an impact on emissions of particulate matter and will contribute to this downward trend.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the patent box tax arrangement on the economy.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information is not held in the form requested. The estimated amounts of Patent Box relief can be found at the link below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487119/Dec15_expenditure_reliefs_Final.xlsx.pdf

    “

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) publications, (b) consultation documents and (c) circulars her Department has issued since August 2012; and what the title was of each such publication, consultation document or circular.

    Nick Gibb

    Since August 2012 the Department for Education has issued: 997 publications[1] and 121 consultation exercises. Since 2012 a digital-by-default policy has applied to departmental publications and consultations. These are available on GOV.UK.

    The department no longer uses the term circulars as a publication type. The department issues emails to schools and local authorities periodically to draw their attention to information and guidance that has been published on GOV.UK. 321 such email newsletters were issued in the period in question. These are referenced by the date issued and audience, and so there is no list of titles available.

    • Attachment A shows the titles of DfE publications since August 2012.

    • Attachment B shows the titles of DfE consultations carried out since August 2012.

    [1] This information has been sourced from GOV.UK. It is possible that some records may be incomplete for the period prior to the migration to GOV.UK (August 2012 to August 2013).

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many care leavers as identified through the self-identified marker used by his Department between the ages of 18 and 25 had their (a) jobseeker’s allowance and (b) employment and support allowance sanctioned in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested in respect of care leavers is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Mike Weir – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mike Weir – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the efficiency of the National Consumer Council pension scheme in discharging its duty to ensure payment to new pensioners on attainment of scheme payment eligibility.

    Nick Boles

    The National Consumer Council participated in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), which is managed by the Cabinet Office. Administration of the PCSPS is contracted out to MyCSP Ltd. MyCSP’s performance in administering the PCSPS is monitored by the Supplier Management team within Civil Service Pensions in the Cabinet Office; the performance of MyCSP is also reported to the Civil Service Pensions Board on a regular basis, which is independent of the Cabinet Office team.

    Contact details for MyCSP are available from the Civil Service Pensions website: www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/contact-us/.

    “