Category: Speeches

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Office for Budget Responsibility has produced its own forecast of the consequences of the UK leaving the EU.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) prepares its forecasts on the basis of the current Government policy and does not look at alternative policy scenarios. Government policy is to remain within the EU. Therefore the OBR has not factored into its forecast the impact of a UK exit from the EU.

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft to help prove ownership of their vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    There are no plans to create a register of ownership for motor vehicles for victims of theft.

    The purpose of the vehicle register held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is to record vehicles and their keepers. The register is maintained to assist in revenue collection, road safety and law enforcement. It holds details of the keepers of vehicles and shows who is responsible for their day to day use. It is not a register of legal title or ownership of vehicles.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information the Government has provided to British citizens living abroad who are eligible to vote in the EU referendum on that referendum.

    Mr David Lidington

    Before the purdah period began, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supported the Electoral Commission’s global campaign to encourage eligible British citizens living abroad to register to vote, using its network of posts to reach British nationals around the world.

    The Government has made its position on the UK’s membership of the EU clear. It has published a number of papers analysing the choice facing the British people. These were made available on Gov.UK.

  • Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dominic Raab – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former overseas students of the Cambridge College of Learning were (a) deported and (b) not deported following that College’s closure.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office’s database that is used to record sponsorship data was introduced after the Cambridge College of Learning closed down.

    We are, therefore, unable to obtain details of the college’s former overseas students.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the national living wage on unemployment levels.

    Damian Hinds

    The National Living Wage has already given one million people a pay rise, helping build an economy that works for all. The Government will continue to consider expert advice on future increases in the National Living Wage from the Low Pay Commission.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy that no Department be permitted to (a) employ staff at wages below the living wage and (b) sign a contract with contractors who pay their staff less than the living wage.

    Matthew Hancock

    We are the first Government ever to deliver a National Living Wage. Every employer in the country will pay the National Living Wage, including all Government contractors, from April 2016.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the UK sought permission from the government of Syria to deploy manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft over Syria before he made his Statement to the House on 21 October 2014.

    Penny Mordaunt

    No. This activity is conducted as part of the international counter-ISIL/Da’esh Coalition in the self-defence of the UK and the collective self-defence of Iraq, under article 51 of the UN Charter, against the direct threat from ISIL’s heartland in Syria.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the expected lifespan of each bearskin and other associated headgear containing real fur used by his Department is before replacement is required.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not buy bear pelts; it buys ceremonial caps direct from suppliers who source pelts from animals culled as part of a programme to manage the wild population licensed by the Canadian government. Animal welfare standards relating to the bear cull are a matter for the Canadian government.

    The MOD also purchases coney skin (rabbit fur) for the Royal Engineers’ and Royal Signals’ busby and fox fur for the Royal Horse Artillery, Kings Troop Officers’ busby. The current contract requires a commitment to sustainable procurement.

    Depending on usage and maintenance, bearskin busbys can last for up to 50 years. The coney skin and fox fur busbys have indefinite lifespans if properly maintained.

    Calendar Year

    Cost of Bearskin Busby Headgear (£)

    Financial Year

    Cost of Coney Skin Busby Headgear (£)

    Cost of Fox Fur Busby Headgear(£)

    2005

    Not held

    2005-06

    1,532

    0

    2006

    Not held

    2006-07

    0

    1,472

    2007

    Not held

    2007-08

    0

    0

    2008

    31,319

    2008-09

    9,173

    406

    2009

    148,891

    2009-10

    0

    0

    2010

    131,886

    2010-11

    0

    0

    2011

    90,822

    2011-12

    0

    861

    2012

    126,087

    2012-13

    1,779

    861

    2013

    65,108

    2013-14

    0

    0

    2014

    136,671

    2014-15

    10,257

    1,899

    2015

    149,379

    2015-16

    2,558

    0

    All figures are rounded to the nearest pound.

    Calendar Year

    Number of Bearskin Busby Headgear

    Financial Year

    Number of Coney Skin Busby Headgear

    Number of Busby Headgear made of Fox Fur

    2005

    Not held

    2005-06

    4

    0

    2006

    Not held

    2006-07

    0

    2

    2007

    Not held

    2007-08

    0

    0

    2008

    35

    2008-09

    22

    1

    2009

    195

    2009-10

    0

    0

    2010

    158

    2010-11

    0

    0

    2011

    99

    2011-12

    0

    1

    2012

    126

    2012-13

    4

    1

    2013

    63

    2013-14

    0

    0

    2014

    127

    2014-15

    20

    2

    2015

    122

    2015-16

    5

    0

    Historically the MOD has undertaken a number of trials on synthetic alternatives to bear skin but none of these matched the properties of the natural material. No trialling has taken place since 2007. Information about costs of these trials is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In 2012 the Ministry of Defence loaned a sample bearskin to the animal rights organisation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to aid its research and development programme on a synthetic alternative.

    There has been no research and development carried out to find a synthetic alternative to coney skin or fox fur.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration the Financial Conduct Authority has given to ensuring that encryption keys to encrypted record keeping data between banks and financial service messaging platforms are held by a third party.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is a matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is operationally independent from Government.

    The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply directly to the Rt Hon Joan Ryan MP by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26406, how much is included in the Business Rate Retention Scheme funding stream to reflect the changes to the payment of Bus Service Operators Grant that were introduced in 2013.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Following the 2013 changes to the Bus Service Operator’s Grant (BSOG) system, the Department no longer pays BSOG in respect of bus services in London. Instead, the amount that had previously been paid out under the BSOG scheme (some £90m in 2011/2012) was taken into account in determining the amount of funding received by the Greater London Authority under the Business Rate Retention Scheme introduced in 2013. This money is not ring-fenced and it is a matter for the Mayor to determine how it is spent.