Category: Speeches

  • Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to discuss possible solutions to the Pakistan–India tensions on the de facto border, and the resolution of the Kashmir conflict, with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our longstanding position on Kashmir is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. It is not for the UK to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator. We encourage both sides to maintain positive dialogue, but the pace and scope of this is for them to determine.

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how they will assess higher education institutions to determine whether they are delivering effective outcomes for widening access and social mobility.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    Universities wishing to charge higher fees must agree Access Agreements with the independent Director of Fair Access, showing what more they will do to widen access for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These Access Agreements include measures and benchmarks for success, in line with the universities’ own particular mission and challenges.

    The Director of Fair Access monitors the performance of Universities against their targets and provides a report each year on the progress that has been made.

    The Green Paper Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, CM 9141 sets out additional steps the Government plans to take to increase the proportion of students from disadvantaged background entering higher education including through the new guidance that we plan to issue to the Director of Fair Access, and through the social mobility taskforce being set up by Universities UK.

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of Jobcentre Plus operating a smaller client facing office within Liscard Town Centre.

    Priti Patel

    The Department for Work and Pensions explored the option of a smaller client facing office as part of the business case.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to announce the full implementation plan for his Department’s BIS 2020 strategy.

    Joseph Johnson

    Since summer 2015, the Department has been reviewing its business model. By 2020, we want to simplify our structure, become more digital, be cheaper for taxpayers and better for users. As part of this we anticipate reducing the number of our locations from more than 80 to approximately 7 centres plus a regional footprint.

    BIS2020 is a rolling programme that will be delivered through a number of different strands of the Department’s work.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to respond to the Concluding Observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC); and whether her Department has made an assessment of the submission to the CRC by the Children’s Rights Alliance England in their See It, Say It, Change It report, published in July 2015.

    Edward Timpson

    As part of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, the UK Delegation will attend an oral hearing with the UN Committee in May 2016. Following this, the UN will produce concluding observations, which the UK will consider.

    The Government welcomes the views of children and young people. Senior officials, including the UK State Party’s delegation, have read and noted the contents of the ‘See It, Say It, Change It’ report and the Minister for Children and Families will meet with the group of young people who produced it to hear more about the issues that concern them.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.19 of the report, Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates, published on 16 March 2016, which technologies his Department is considering (a) adding and (b) removing from the list of qualifying technologies for the first-year allowance scheme for energy-saving and environmentally-beneficial technologies.

    Damian Hinds

    At Budget 2016, the Government announced changes to 100 percent enhanced capital allowances for energy-saving and environmentally-beneficial (water-efficient) technologies.

    Each autumn, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) consult manufacturers and suppliers. DECC and Defra then recommend to Treasury Ministers updates to the schemes.

    Details of the changes will be set out in Treasury Order 2001/2541 for energy and 2003/2076 for water in the next few months. As is routine, an impact assessment will be published alongside the Order.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with which countries the UK has negotiated bilateral tax conventions; and how many of those conventions contain tax evasion information-sharing agreements in a similar form to Article 26 of the Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, published by the OECD.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK has double taxation agreements (DTA) in force with 127 countries and territories. They all contain provisions governing the exchange of information.

    In addition, the UK has 24 bilateral tax information exchange agreements. Fifteen of these agreements are with countries with which the UK does not have a DTA. The UK exchanges information with other EU Member States under the Administration and Cooperation Directive (EU Directive 2011/16/EU). The UK is also one of 94 signatories to the OECD/Council of Europe Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the socio-demographic characteristics of users visiting the gov.uk website.

    Matthew Hancock

    GOV.UK does not collect socio-demographic data of users.

  • Edward Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Edward Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Garnier on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to mark Anti-Slavery Day and to acknowledge the work of non-governmental organisations, local authorities and people involved in tackling slavery; and if she will make a statement.

    Sarah Newton

    Local authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations and the statutory agencies all make a vital contribution to the fight against modern slavery. Various events will mark Anti-Slavery Day and I will announce my own plans in due course.

  • 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 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel concerning the repatriation of Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities on this specific issue, we continue to be clear with both sides that there must be a just, fair and agreed settlement for refugees as part of a negotiated two-state solution.