Category: Speeches

Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-05-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Yemen have claimed asylum in the UK in (a) 2015 and (b) 2016 to date.

James Brokenshire

There were 111 asylum applications from Yemeni nationals in 2015, and 15 in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2016.

There were 12 refusals of asylum or an alternative form of protection, at initial decision, to Yemeni nationals in Quarter 1 (January to March) 2016.

The Home Office publishes figures on asylum applications and initial decisions by nationality in the quarterly Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics, January to March 2016, is available from:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-january-to-march-2016/asylum

01/01/2023
Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications of VM Langfords entering administration for the provision of patient transport services in Sussex.

Mr Philip Dunne

This is a matter for local commissioners.

NHS England has confirmed that Coperforma, holder of the non-emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) contract for Sussex, informed High Weald Lewes Havens Clinical Commissioning Group (HWLH CCG) on 16 June 2016 that a receiver had been appointed for VM Langfords – transport provider sub-contracted to deliver PTS in East and West Sussex. A number of South East Coast Ambulance Services (SECAmb) staff had been transferred to VM Langfords employment.

HWLH CCG met with Coperforma on 17 June 2016 and was assured that a plan was already in place for additional transport capacity to mitigate any loss of capacity that this situation may cause.

HWLH CCG is working closely with Coperforma and the unions (Unison and GMB) to work through the implications for ex SECAmb staff, to ensure the processes followed are in keeping with employment legislation and good practice and that the impacts on service delivery are kept to a minimum.

There have been no discussions between Ministers in the Department and Sussex CCGs about PTS provider VM Langfords going into administration.

01/01/2023

Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-10-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much coal the UK carbon fibre industry used in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Jesse Norman

The table below gives the amount of coal used for non-power generating purposes:

	UK coal demand for non-electricity generating purposes⁽¹⁾ (thousand tonnes)
2006	10,156
2007	10,158
2008	10,577
2009	9,037
2010	9,827
2011	9,658
2012	9,141
2013	10,139
2014	10,021
2015	8,174

Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) table 2.4 available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-chapter-2-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

BEIS does not hold data at that level. BEIS cannot disaggregate coal used by the carbon fibre industry from coal used by all industries.

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01/01/2023

Paul Blomfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Question 1 of the consultation, Tackling exploitation in the labour market, published by her Department and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in October 2015, what the legal definition is of organised labour market exploitation.

Karen Bradley

Exploitation of workers comes in many different forms. The definition of ‘labour market exploitation’ used in the consultation is not a legal definition. For the purposes of the consultation, the phrase is explained at paragraph 50 in the consultation as meaning “more than merely deliberate non-compliance”.

01/01/2023
Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his strategy is for maximising the economic contribution of (a) the steel industry and (b) other industries vital to the UK’s economic success.

Anna Soubry

The best way the Government can support our industries is to continue to deliver a strong and growing economy.

In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced an exemption for Energy Intensive Industries (EIIs), including the steel industry, from the policy costs of the Renewables Obligation and Feed-in Tariffs, a hugely significant step to provide industry with long-term certainty and helping them remain competitive. This is on top of the millions that has already been paid in compensation to EIIs for energy costs.

The Government engages with various industrial sectors through our Sector Councils, where we discuss the opportunities and challenges facing certain sectors.

The Government recognises the current difficulties that are unique to the steel sector. While we cannot fix the price of steel, halt global overproduction or fix currency rates, the Government has taken a number of measures to help our steel industry.

We have taken action on unfair trade, recently voting in support of anti-dumping measures on wire rod and steel tubing imports, as well as lobbying successfully for an investigation into cheap imports of Reinforcing Steel Bar.

The steel industry’s request for flexibility over Industrial Emissions Directive exemptions has been secured. This will save the industry millions of pounds of unnecessary expenditure at a time of crisis by offering steel companies more time to comply with this European legislation.

Finally, we are taking action to drive up the number of public contracts won by UK steel manufacturers and their partners through fair and open competition. The Government published on 30 October new guidelines for departments to apply on major projects when sourcing and buying steel. The new instructions will help steel suppliers compete on a level playing field with international suppliers for major Government projects.

01/01/2023
Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2015-12-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 December (HL4000), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the tender specification for the research by Savills on estate regeneration in London commissioned by the Number 10 Policy Unit.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The tender specification for the research by Savills on estate regeneration in London commissioned by the Number 10 Policy Unit will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to increase exports of food from Northern Ireland to China.

George Eustice

There has been very close collaboration at ministerial and official level to increase food exports to China. On her recent visit the Secretary of State highlighted the Northern Ireland priorities of securing approval for pork plants, finalising access for pig trotters and progressing negotiations for poultry meat. Supporting this extension of access, officials work closely with colleagues from Invest Northern Ireland to ensure complementary export promotional work in China.

01/01/2023
Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications of the findings of the report by Europol, Migrant Smuggling in the EU, published in February 2016, for her policies on tackling smuggling through the criminal justice system.

James Brokenshire

The Government’s system-wide approach to tackling Organised Immigration Crime is based on information and intelligence from a wide variety of sources. The Government takes Organised Immigration Crime very seriously – we are working to smash the criminal gangs that are fuelling this terrible trade in people. In June 2015 the Prime Minister announced the creation of the Organised Immigration Crime Taskforce bringing together officers from the NCA, Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and the Crown Prosecution Service. The Taskforce was subsequently expanded in November 2015 to more than 100 officers, and has had its funding extended until 2020. The Government values the intelligence-led approach to tackling Organised Immigration Crime Europol helps to facilitate, including through Joint Operational Team Mare, and welcomes the launch by Europol on 22 February 2016 of the new European Migrant Smuggling Centre which will proactively support EU Member States in dismantling criminal networks involved in organised migrant smuggling. The UK has been at the forefront of calls in the EU for a robust approach to tackling Organised Immigration Crime.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the running costs of the Air Cadet Organisation in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Julian Brazier

Total running costs of the Air Cadet Organisation including service and civilian manpower but excluding the annual works programme and contracted services was:

£23.8 million in Financial Year (FY) 2011-12

£22.0 million in FY 2012-13

£23.1 million in FY 2013-14

£24.5 million in FY 2014-15

The estimated outturn in FY 2015-16 is £25.7 million.

01/01/2023
Steve Rotheram – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations (a) his Department and (b) the Information Commissioner’s Office have received on the failure of organisations to register as data controllers with the Information Commissioner’s Office under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998; and what steps (i) his Department and (ii) the Information Commissioner’s Office have taken to ensure that organisations (A) are compliant with such terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 and (B) pay their notification fees.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every data controller who is processing personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) unless they are exempt. The ICO’s website sets out the criteria for notification and provides guidance on the level of fee organisations should be paying. The ICO have also made it easier for organisations to notify and pay the fee by introducing online payments.

At the end of 2015/2016 there were 441,000 data controllers registered with the ICO, which generated a total income of £18.3 million. Due to the very broad range of exemptions from the need to notify, and because these exemptions do not need to be actively claimed, there is no recognised figure for the number of notifiable data controllers in the UK. It is for data controllers to seek registration; the ICO periodically reminds organisations of the requirement to notify.

01/01/2023