Category: Speeches

  • Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff in his Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether his Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether his Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if he will make a statement.

    Dominic Raab

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Warrington and (b) Warrington North constituency in supported housing are in receipt of housing benefit.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This information is not available.

  • David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department last consulted medical authorities on the potential merits of making the meningitis B vaccine available on the NHS for all children; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    National immunisation programmes are introduced on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters. JCVI’s recommendations are based on a comprehensive and careful review of a wide range of evidence including information from medical experts.

    JCVI reviewed the available evidence on meningitis B vaccine and recommended a national Meningococcal B (MenB) immunisation programme for infants. The MenB vaccine is first offered to babies at 2 months of age, with further doses offered when they reach 4 and 12 months of age.

    MenB was introduced into the NHS programme in September 2015. JCVI keeps the eligibility criteria of all vaccination programmes under review and considers new evidence as it becomes available. If JCVI provides further advice about the programme, we will consider this.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which companies have been issued with more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) visas in a calendar year for each of the last five years; and how many visas for each such company were issued.

    James Brokenshire

    A list of the sponsors that have assigned more than 50 Tier 2 (ICT) Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) in a calendar year for each of the last five years, which also provides the figures of how many of those CoS were used in support of an individual Tier 2 (ICT) application, are to be placed in the House Library.

    To break these figures down further into in and out of country applications, and whether the application was successful would require manual intervention and would exceed cost limits.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Executive Remuneration Working Group’s conclusions that executive pay is not fit for purpose” and that extensive reform is needed to allay “widespread scepticism and [the] loss of public confidence”.”

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has noted the views set out in the interim report of the Executive Remuneration Working Group.

    Government reforms introduced in 2013 provide a significantly more transparent and robust governance framework for executive pay. The reforms give shareholders a binding vote at least every three years on company pay policies and an annual vote on the remuneration report which sets out exactly what directors have been paid. The annual vote is advisory but if the shareholders vote down the report, the company has to bring a revised pay policy to the next Annual General Meeting.

    These reforms give shareholders effective powers to challenge excessive executive pay and to hold boards to account on pay policies and it is now for investors and companies to engage constructively to ensure that pay policies are fit for purpose and that they align the interests of executives, shareholders and companies.

    Evidence from the current round of Annual General Meetings is that the reforms are having an impact and that shareholders are increasingly willing to use these powers where they are dissatisfied. BP and Smith and Nephew’s shareholders, for example, voted against their companies’ remuneration reports and the shareholders of Weir Group voted against that company’s remuneration policy in a binding vote. There have been significant shareholder votes against the remuneration reports at a number of other companies.

    The Government has no current plans for further legislation or regulation, but expects to see companies liaising effectively with shareholders and adjusting pay policies where there is shareholder dissatisfaction.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will seek assurances from the government of Iran that Nazanin Ratcliffe will be granted access to a lawyer and due process rights.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We regularly lobby the Iranian government on all of our consular cases; requesting consular access for our officials, and to ensure that they have access to lawyers and are receiving appropriate medical care. Most recently the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the issue with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 17 May, and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), raised the subject with the Iranian Charge d’Affaires in London on 18 May. The Iranian government do not recognise dual nationals of any country, therefore we cannot gain direct access to dual nationals held in custody.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what preparations have been made for the UK having its own representative at the World Trade Organisation.

    Greg Hands

    The UK has been a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in its own right since the establishment of the WTO in 1995. The UK Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO is currently Julian Braithwaite.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the levels of the use of (a) illegal drugs and (b) legal highs in prisons in the UK in each of the last 5 years.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Prisons should be places of safety and reform. The increase in psychoactive substances in prisons has contributed to a rise in prison violence, making offenders more volatile and their reactions more difficult to judge and manage. Improving safety and decreasing violence is an urgent priority for the Government.

    We have introduced legislation to restrict the supply and possession of psychoactive substances in prisons, and put in place new penalties for possession of a psychoactive substance in custody. Following a successful trial in 34 prisons over the summer, we have introduced an innovative new programme of mandatory drug testing for psychoactive substances in all prisons.

    Mandatory Drug Testing (MDT) figures for prisons in England and Wales are published by financial year on gov.uk. MDT for psychoactive substances began in September 2016 and figures will be published in due course.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its report, Is Britain Fairer, published in October 2015, that the employment gap between the oldest and youngest age groups has increased.

    Priti Patel

    The employment rate of young people who have left full-time education is 73.9% – its highest level in more than a decade and above the UK working age average. The rate for young people not in full-time education is the highest for over ten years

    Over time participation in education has grown, and the majority of young people in full-time education are outside the labour force. The proportion of all young people who have left full-time education and are unemployed is 6.2% – below where it was before the recession and close to the lowest on record. The UK performs well internationally, with the fourth highest youth employment rate in the European Union.

    The employment rate for young people fell during the recession and, as a result, unemployment rose. The EHRC report did not take full account of the recovery in the labour market, including the youth labour market that has since taken place.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the proportion of libraries which have reduced their opening hours in the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the effect of such changes on (a) library users and (b) community groups who use library premises.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Each local authority is responsible for providing a comprehensive and efficient library service that meets the requirements of their communities, including consideration of opening hours.