Category: Speeches

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the conclusions of the report The lawfulness of the authorisation by the United Kingdom of weapons and related items for export to Saudi Arabia in the context of Saudi Arabia’s military intervention in Yemen by Professor Philippe Sands QC and others, published on 11 December 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application.

    A licence will not be issued, for any country, if to do so would be inconsistent with any provision of the mandatory Criteria, including where we assess there is a clear risk that it might be used in the commission of a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law. The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many citizens of other EU countries work in his Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    The Aliens’ Employment Act 1955 makes it an absolute requirement that all staff recruited to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on UK terms and conditions must be UK nationals. The FCO therefore employs UK-based staff who are UK Nationals, or dual nationals where one of those ​nationalities is the UK. Our executive agency, FCO Services, applies the same recruitment principles. Neither FCO nor FCO Services hold details of any additional nationality held by UK members of staff.

    Other FCO agencies do not record the information centrally. However, our non departmental public bodies have a total of 10 EU nationals.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much his Department spent on (a) temporary agency staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising (i) in 2014-15 prices and (ii) as a proportion of his Department’s expenditure in each year since 2010-11.

    Alun Cairns

    The Wales Office spend on (a) temporary staff, (b) consultants, (c) non-payroll staff, (d) administration and (e) marketing and advertising as a proportion of Wales Office expenditure in each year since 2010-11 is shown in the table attached.

    The numbers shown are actual spend as published in the Wales Office Departmental Annual Report and Accounts.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel about oil and gas reserves off the coast of Gaza.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The gas fields off the coast of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories are a commercial matter. We remain in regular contact with British Gas, the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel about the exploration of offshore oil and gas.

  • Clive Efford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Efford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of homes built for social rent since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    Since 2010 we have delivered 270,000 affordable homes, including nearly 200,000 homes for rent.

    The majority of rented homes delivered through the Affordable Homes Programme are for Affordable Rent, delivering more homes for every pound of Government investment.

    The Spending Review committed £1.7 billion to deliver 100,000 affordable rented homes.

  • Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Whitty on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the effect of the reduction of the budget of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the veterinary service and research on animal disease.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Budgets for 2016/17 to 2020/21 have not yet been finalised. Defra’s internal business planning process is still underway, and it would not, therefore, be appropriate at this time to comment on how particular policy areas may be affected.

  • Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many paid carers her Department estimates will be eligible for the Government’s proposed free 30 hours of childcare.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The extended entitlement is intended to support working parents with the cost of childcare, enabling them to return to work or work additional hours if they wish to do so. Families where both parents work or one parent works in a single parent household will be eligible for these additional hours. In recognition of the particular challenges that paid carers can face in relation to childcare, the Childcare Bill allows for parents in certain circumstances to be regarded as being in work, for example, those parents who have caring responsibilities.

    Households where one parent is working and one parent is being paid Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit’s Carer Element will be able to access the extended entitlement provided the working parent meets the income eligibility requirements. This includes households where a parent is caring for their own three or four year old child where the child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or is certified blind.

    In relation to single parents with a disabled child, where that parent meets the income eligibility requirements, they will also be able to access the extended entitlement. Parents who do not work will continue to receive Carer’s Allowance or Universal Credit.

    It is also important to remember that all paid carers will be able to access the existing 15 hour early education entitlement for three and four year olds and the 15 hour early education entitlement for two year olds if they meet the eligibility criteria. More detail can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-and-education-for-2-to-4-year-olds

    The Department does not hold information on the number of households with three or four year old children where one partner (or the sole parent in a lone parent family) meets the income eligibility criteria and is in receipt of benefits relating to caring responsibilities.

    “

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage families in the UK to sponsor, foster or adopt unaccompanied refugee children who reach this country.

    Lord Bates

    In response to the many generous offers of help, the Home Secretary has announced that we will be establishing a register of people and organisations that can provide support for the settlement of refugees.

    We have asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to make an assessment of the number and needs of unaccompanied children in conflict regions and advise on when it is in the best interests of the child to be resettled in the UK. The UNHCR has already been clear that these are likely to be exceptional cases. This is because it is not uncommon in an emergency situation for children to be temporarily separated from their parents or other family members who may be looking for them. Efforts to reunite children with relatives or extended family members, who may be looking for them in the region, should be preferred to premature attempts to organise adoption. Some lone refugee children may come to the UK for temporary care, but overall our support is for them to be reunited with parents or other relatives wherever possible.

    More information on what the public can do to help Syrian refugees can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/syria-refugees-what-you-can-do-to-help–2

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 2.48 of the National Minimum Wage Low Pay Commission Report Spring 2016, Cm 9207, what assessment he has made of the potential incidence of employers hiring apprentices to avoid paying the new higher minimum wage.

    Nick Boles

    No assessment has been made of the potential incidence of employers hiring more apprentices to avoid paying the national minimum wage.

    The current minimum wage rate for an apprentice is £3.30 per hour. This applies to apprentices who are aged under 19 or those in the first year of their Apprenticeship. Apprentices aged 19 or above and in the second year of their apprenticeship must be paid at least the minimum wage rate that relates to their age. This means an apprentice aged 25 or above in the second year must be paid at least the National Living Wage.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the decision of the House of 20 April 2016, on recognition of genocide by Daesh against Yazidis, Christians and other religious minorities, what steps he is taking to implement that resolution.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    This Government shares the House of Common’s condemnation of Daesh atrocities against minorities, and the majority Muslim populations of Iraq and Syria. The Prime Minister, the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) has said he believes there is a very strong case to answer, but ultimately it should be a matter for judicial authorities.

    We will do all we can to support the gathering and preservation of evidence that could in future be used in a court to hold Daesh to account. And we are continuing to deliver our comprehensive strategy to defeat Daesh and thereby stop them from preventing more atrocities. Addition as per PQ 35349.