Category: Speeches

Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the dynamism and capability of the UK business sector.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The UK is one of the most dynamic and competitive economies in the world, as borne out by measures of the effectiveness of UK competition policy and regulation, for example:

•The UK is ranked 2^nd in the OECD for the pro-competition stance of its regulatory policies

•The World Economic Forum rated the UK 3^rd (out of 138) for the intensity of local competition, 12^th for the extent of market dominance, and 10^th for the effectiveness of our anti-monopoly policies.

As a result, we are ranked 6th out of 189 countries in the World Bank Doing Business Index; and 7th out of 138 countries (improving our ranking from 10th last year) in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index.

01/01/2023

Lord Bradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2015-10-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people serving (1) life sentences, and (2) imprisonment for public protection sentences, were transferred from closed to open prison conditions following authorisation by the Parole Board in each month since January 2013.

Lord Faulks

The table below gives a breakdown of the number of indeterminate sentence prisoners who were recommended by the Parole Board for transfer to open conditions.

The data covers the period from 1 January 2013 to 31 October 2015, broken down by month, and distinguish between those serving a life sentence and those serving an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection.

These figures have been drawn from a live administrative IT system which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

		Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May	June	July	Aug	Sept	Oct	Nov	Dec	Totals
2013
Open Recommendations made by PB:	IPP	57	62	66	73	69	78	61	68	67	60	64	54	779
	Lifer	59	48	40	48	51	51	46	43	37	47	41	27	538
Approved for Transfer:	IPP	52	58	59	60	70	65	77	76	63	74	47	80	781
	Lifer	38	63	44	40	53	38	58	48	38	50	33	47	550

2014
Open Recommendations made by PB:	IPP	62	68	41	74	54	49	69	48	35	44	50	48	642
	Lifer	44	31	31	28	36	33	40	28	17	24	38	24	374
Approved for Transfer:	IPP	65	46	74	45	38	26	54	43	41	64	48	46	590
	Lifer	30	34	39	21	15	20	23	23	28	31	20	29	313

2015
Open Recommendations made by PB:	IPP	61	47	49	48	46	56	38	32	33	32	N/A	N/A	442
	Lifer	39	28	28	25	25	38	22	23	24	33	N/A	N/A	285
Approved for Transfer:	IPP	57	41	54	40	42	63	55	34	35	35	N/A	N/A	456
	Lifer	31	16	36	26	16	33	35	24	22	22	N/A	N/A	261

01/01/2023

Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit hydraulic fracturing from being conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of sensitive areas within the boundaries of existing petroleum exploration and development licences.

Andrea Leadsom

On 4 November 2015, the Government set out proposals to ensure that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells drilled at the surface of specified protected areas. [1] With regards to existing Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State is minded not to approve any proposed programme of works which includes carrying out of hydraulic fracturing from new or existing wells drilled at the surface in specified protected areas. We are now consulting with key stakeholders, including the industry and non-governmental organisations and will set out our proposals in a policy statement in due course.

[1] See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-licensing-rounds#surface-development-restrictions

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01/01/2023
Callum McCaig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of whether the policies outlined in her speech at the Institution of Civil Engineers on 18 November 2015 will ensure the UK meets the fourth Carbon Budget.

Andrea Leadsom

My Rt. hon Friend,the Secretary of State announced in November, this Government is committed to taking pragmatic action to meet the fourth carbon budget whilst ensuring that energy is secure and bills remain low. Measures announced in her speech – including the intention to replace unabated coal with new gas, nuclear and renewables; increased competition; concerted action on heat; and support for innovation – are all in line with this commitment.

Our new emissions reduction plan will be published towards the end of 2016 and will set out our proposals in full.

01/01/2023
Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will consider including young adult carers in the vulnerable bursary criteria for the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Government recognises the extremely valuable service that young carers provide to their community as well as to their families.

Additional disadvantage funding is given to schools and colleges through Block 1 and 2 funding to provide extra educational and pastoral support for students whose education has fallen behind for any reason, such as having caring responsibilities.

The 16 to 19 vulnerable bursary targets specific groups of vulnerable young people whom we know experience financial hardship and we have no plans to change the qualifying criteria.

The 16 to 19 discretionary bursary is available to support any student who needs financial assistance to stay in education and we will strengthen the guidance provided to the schools and colleges that administer discretionary bursary funds to ensure the needs of young carers are recognised.

01/01/2023
Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-02-24.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to widen access to financial advice.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government has launched the Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR). This will explore what more can be done to ensure people can access high quality, affordable advice to help them make informed financial decisions. The Review will establish what sorts of financial advice consumers need and examine ways to make financial advice work better for consumers. It will report back around the time of Budget.

01/01/2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria she uses to assess a bid from a metro mayor to assume the additional role of police and crime commissioner.

Mike Penning

Any proposal submitted by a local area for an elected mayor to take on police and crime commissioner (PCC) functions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

In keeping with the Government’s broader approach to the devolution of powers to local people, it is for local areas to make the case and demonstrate that the transfer of PCC functions would be in the best interests of local communities and the efficiency and effectiveness of policing in relevant areas.

There is no presumption that an elected mayor would take on PCC functions. Local circumstances and the views of relevant PCCs are important factors in any consideration. Alongside this, another significant consideration is the issue of geographic boundaries and co-terminosity between the police area and the combined authority area.

Against that background, it is for local areas to make the case for any proposals.

01/01/2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that non-judicial bodies such as the European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the US House of Representatives are competent to make a declaration that a genocide is underway; and whether they consider that the UK Parliament can do so, and if not, why not.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government believes that recognition of genocide should be a matter for judicial decision. It should be a legal, rather than political determination, decided by judges after consideration of all the evidence available in the context of a credible judicial process. Political pronouncements on whether genocide has occurred, such as the European Parliament resolution, are not legally binding and do not create legal obligations on member states.

01/01/2023
Sir Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Challenger 2 Battle Tanks are maintained in Germany; and what the state of readiness is of such tanks.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Challenger 2 is a highly capable Main Battle Tank and sits at the heart of the Army’s war fighting Armoured Infantry Brigades and is a key part of the UK’s capability. The current Challenger 2 fleet consists of 227 main battle tanks all of which would be available for operational use if required.

The following Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps are equipped with Challenger 2: The King’s Royal Hussars, Tidworth; The Queen’s Royal Hussars, Germany and The Royal Tank Regiment, Tidworth. We do not routinely comment on specific levels of readiness and locations for individual capabilities as to do so would compromise operational security, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

As at May 2016 the Challenger 2 fleet was assessed to meet 100% of the fleet size and deployability requirements as set out in the 2015-16 Army Readiness Order.

01/01/2023
Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what advice her Department provides to people living in Approved Premises who have (a) an addiction, (b) a mental health condition and (c) other health conditions.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Offenders required to reside in Approved Premises are entitled to the same health provision as ordinary members of the public.

Approved Premises staff are not medically qualified and so cannot give clinical advice. They do have a general duty of care and Approved Premises staff are trained in identifying and working with people with addictions or mental health problems. All residents are obliged to be registered with a GP, and many Approved Premises have arranged provision such as on-site GP attendance and run healthy living programmes.

01/01/2023