Category: Speeches

  • Lord Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of their obligation under EU law to prevent VAT evasion.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    In considering fraud against European own resources, including VAT collection, the European Court recently clarified in the Taricco judgment that Member States are obliged under EU law (Article 325 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) to have in place effective and dissuasive criminal penalties against VAT fraud. The UK applies a full range of penalties to address various behaviours from dishonesty and deliberate inaccuracies through to criminal prosecutions for VAT offences.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which local authorities have contacted their local regional strategic migration partnerships to provide support for Syrian refugees.

    Richard Harrington

    We do not routinely disclose which local authorities participate in the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme.

    Participation in this scheme is voluntary and it is often the case that local authorities do not wish to have their participation published. The relocation of refugees can be a sensitive issue for some local areas who have agreed to participate. It is a matter for each local authority to decide whether they want to publish the fact of their participation and the numbers of refugees they take.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure there are sufficient safeguards to respect individual privacy in place in respect of intelligence gathered by GCHQ.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    GCHQ’s intelligence gathering powers are authorised under legislation, including the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014, and the Intelligence Services Act 1994. Its work, including its respect for privacy, is scrutinised by the Intelligence and Security Committee, the Interception of Communications Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner.

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Government spending on Syria has been spent on (a) military action and (b) the provision of humanitarian aid.

    Penny Mordaunt

    It is not possible to separately identify the costs of military action in Syria. However, from August 2014, the net additional costs of counter-Daesh activity in Iraq and Syria have been £280 million. Since February 2012, the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion in response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken research on the potential effects of electromagnetic emissions on children who are passengers in autonomous vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    All new vehicles are required to comply with United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) Regulation 10, which governs the level of electromagnetic emissions from vehicles.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been allocated for travel and subsistence costs for officials of her Department related to the National Schools Commissioner Roadshow during June and July 2016.

    Nick Gibb

    The cost of the nine National Schools Commissioner Roadshows during June and July 2016 will be met from within Schools Commissioner’s Group (SCG) allocated programme budget. The programme budget is to cover the costs related to events and other communications activities. For the 2016/17 financial year, this budget is £425k.

    It is expected that approximately 1,500 system leaders will attend the nine National Schools Commissioner Roadshows taking place in June and July 2016.

    There was no specific allocation made for travel and subsistence costs for officials related to the National Schools Commissioner Roadshows during June and July 2016. These costs will be met from within SCG allocated administrative budget.

    An official in each of the RSC offices has been involved in organising the nine National Schools Commissioners roadshows, supported by a lead in SCG. We expect approximately five officials to attend each roadshow, plus the National Schools Commissioner and the relevant Regional School Commissioner (RSC).

    There has been no budget allocated to advertising the National Schools Commissioner Roadshows.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what plans his Department has to hire third party contractors to support its work on trade negotiations; what the duration of such contracts will be; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of such contractors over the lifetime of those contracts.

    Greg Hands

    The Rt hon Member will be aware that my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has created a new Department for International Trade, which is responsible for promoting British trade across the world and ensuring the UK takes advantage of the huge opportunities open to us. We are building up our trade policy capability. ​The new Department has begun a process to recruit and train staff to work on the UK’s trade policy. We will adapt the resource devoted to trade policy in line with future demands.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has commissioned on the effect of selective education on the educational attainment of children in the last 12 months; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department has reviewed a wide range of external research and evidence on the impact of academic selection, including research on the impact of selection on the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

    The evidence shows that grammar schools provide a good education for those who attend them. Grammar school pupils outperform those of similar ability in comprehensive schools and they also make more progress than other pupils with similar primary school results. Nearly 78 per cent of high ability pupils achieve the English Baccalaureate at grammar school, compared to just over 52 per cent at comprehensive schools, and the attainment gap for disadvantaged students in grammar schools is practically eliminated

    This evidence is based on the existing system of grammar schools. We are proposing significant changes to the requirements placed on selective schools to ensure that they raise standards for all pupils as part of a diverse schools system.

    Our proposals will help deliver a school system that works for all children and offers parents genuine choice by increasing the number of good and outstanding school places.

  • Jo Churchill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jo Churchill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Churchill on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent progress has been made on increasing the provision of affordable and sustainable social housing in the East of England.

    Brandon Lewis

    To date, £1 billion has already been allocated towards our commitment to deliver a further 275,000 affordable homes by 2020.

    Of this, £155 million will deliver affordable homes in the East and South East of England.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to reviewing the process for the price setting of dermatology specials, and according to what timeframe.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Drug Tariff sets out what National Health Service dispensing contractors will be paid for the products supplied as part of providing pharmaceutical services and the fees for providing those services in primary care.

    The current arrangements in the Drug Tariff for paying for specials, including dermatological specials, were introduced in 2011. It is recognised that there can be variations in the price of some specials, which is why we are considering further possible improvements in the arrangements that govern the price the NHS pays. These include expanding the number of products covered by these arrangements and improving the data used to set the prices.