Category: Speeches

  • Angela Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Angela Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote trade and diplomatic connections with the Commonwealth.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK is committed to maintaining and strengthening its economic and diplomatic engagement with the Commonwealth. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) led a strong UK delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) in Malta in November. He announced funding for a number of initiatives including to help the Commonwealth’s small island states develop their maritime economies.

    The UK pressed to ensure that trade issues were covered in the CHOGM communique. Commonwealth leaders agreed to advance global trade negotiations and in particular ratify the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

    I and The Minister for Trade and Investment, the right hon the Lord Maude of Horsham, took part in the Commonwealth Business
    Forum in Malta. Lord Maude addressed the opening plenary on leveraging trade networks across the Commonwealth, and pushed for progress on free trade agreements to facilitate and increase trade between Commonwealth countries. He also held a number of bilateral meetings to discuss trade and investment opportunities. The UK continues to be a strong supporter of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council which organised the Business Forum and is expanding business networks across the Commonwealth.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions monitors have investigated and reported to him on allegations made against custody officers performing custodial duties at (a) Hassockfield, (b) Medway, (c) Oakhill and (d) Rainsbrook secure training centre since each centre opened.

    Andrew Selous

    If an allegation is made against a staff member in a Secure Training Centre (STC), a child protection referral will be made to the independent Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for investigation.

    Where disciplinary action is recommended, the YJB which is statutorily responsible for the youth estate will oversee the disciplinary process which will be conducted by the STC provider.

    The YJB will only refer an investigation to the Secretary of State if an STC provider conducts an insufficiently comprehensive or robust disciplinary process, and does not correct this when required to by the YJB. The YJB would then refer the case to the Secretary of State and recommend that the member of staff has their custody certification revoked.

    The YJB have the ability to suspend custody certificates, but cannot revoke them. The power to revoke a custody certificate lies with the Secretary of State. There have been no referrals to the Secretary of State to revoke a custody certificate as of yet, as the only circumstances where the YJB would be required to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State, would be where the YJB have suspended a certificate but the contractor has refused to dismiss the employee.

    The member of staff would then no longer be certified to work in any secure setting for young people

    No monitor has reported to the Secretary of State for revocation of custody officer certification since each centre opened.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    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 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ministries’ representatives the British Embassy in Pyongyang has met since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our Embassy in Pyongyang has met with a number of officials from various Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ministries since 7 February 2014. These meetings are part of normal diplomatic business and play a crucial role in our policy of critical engagement with the DPRK.

  • Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Robert Syms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Syms on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on reducing the number of workless households.

    Priti Patel

    Since 2010 the number of workless households has fallen by over 680,000 to its lowest level since records began.

  • 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 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed in each location at the Skills Funding Agency in the last year for which figures are available.

    Nick Boles

    The number of civil servants employed by the Skills Funding Agency is shown in the attached table and represents the position as at 31 December 2015.

    Location

    Total

    SFA Birmingham

    53

    SFA Bristol

    18

    SFA Cambridge

    24

    SFA Chatham

    20

    SFA Coventry

    381

    SFA Fareham

    23

    SFA Gateshead

    51

    SFA Home

    7

    SFA Leeds

    61

    SFA Liverpool

    16

    SFA London

    114

    SFA Manchester

    50

    SFA Nottingham

    17

    SFA Plymouth

    16

    SFA Reading

    30

    SFA Sheffield

    13

    Grand Total

    894

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the taper arrangements will be for the proposed phasing in of EU migrants’ entitlement to in-work benefits.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    I refer the right hon. Member to the February European Council Conclusions. The restrictions on in-work benefits will apply to each newly arriving EU worker for a period of four years from the commencement of employment, with the limitation tapered “from an initial complete exclusion but gradually increasing access to such benefits to take account of the growing connection of the work with the labour market of the host Member State”. Precise details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has given permission for Southern rail services to be cancelled during the planned strike in July 2016.

    Claire Perry

    We are not aware of any planned official strike in July 2016.

  • Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guarantees they plan to give that, once the new funding system for supported housing comes into place in 2019–20, existing tenants will not be affected negatively by any changes.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance policy until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. The new funding model will include a ring-fenced local top-up to ensure that funding is used only for supported housing provision and will support existing tenants.

    The funding will be administered locally so that local authorities can respond flexibly to local need. We believe local authorities are best placed to make decisions about how to support vulnerable people in their areas and to commission the supported housing services that are needed locally.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on supporting a new UN Security Council Resolution in the event that Resolution 2216 remains an obstacle to a negotiated peace in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We fully and actively support UN efforts in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2216. This remains the framework to achieving an immediate and lasting ceasefire and a mechanism for the withdrawal of forces, release of political prisoners, and the resumption of an inclusive political process. We encourage all parties to get behind the UN political process to achieving a lasting peace, and to enter any peace talks in good faith and with no pre-conditions. We welcome the announcement by the UN Special Envoy that these talks are forthcoming.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what change there has been in export performance in each of the English regions in the last 12 months.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) publishes the Regional Trade Statistics series on its website which can be accessed via the following link: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/RTS/Pages/default.aspx

    “