Category: Speeches

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assistance the Government has given to (a) Kent Police, (b) Kent County Council, (c) other operational organisations and (d) businesses to cover costs and losses during the implementation of Operation Stack in 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    To date, no additional financial assistance has been provided by the Department for Transport to Kent Police, Kent County Council, or other operational organisations / businesses in relation to Operation Stack being implemented during 2015.

    However, we are working closely with Highways England on the best approach to address their additional costs brought about by the implementation of Operation Stack.

    Any financial assistance relating to Kent Police and UK businesses is a matter for the Home Office and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills respectively.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what commitments the UK has made to supporting refugees from Syria who are in Europe.

    James Brokenshire

    Each EU Member State is responsible for the welfare of asylum applicants and refugees on its territory. The UK government bears no responsibility for supporting asylum seekers or refugees who are on the territory of another Member State. However, the Government has played a leading role in building capacity in Member States under particular migration pressure, both bi-laterally and through EU agencies such as the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). The UK has contributed over 1,000 expert days to EASO led support missions to countries such as Greece and Italy, more than any other Member State.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department is taking steps to implement International Labour Convention No.189 on Domestic Workers.

    Nick Boles

    The UK already provides comprehensive employment and social protection for workers, including domestic workers. This includes the right to National Minimum Wage, right to work a maximum number of hours a week, paid holiday, health & safety protections, maternity/paternity leave and the right to be protected from discrimination.

    These core rights are enforced for all workers who are legally entitled to work in the UK. The Government is also focused on improving protection for vulnerable domestic workers by ensuring that immigration and border staff are trained to recognise potential victims of abuse; that overseas domestic workers are provided with guidance on their rights and how to obtain help; and that employers know their responsibilities.

  • Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to prevent children being detained in police cells overnight because no suitable local authority accommodation is available.

    Lord Bates

    The Government is committed to ensuring that young people are protected and treated appropriately while in police custody. This is why in January last year, the Home Secretary commissioned a multi-agency Working Group on Section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which concerns the transfer of children from police custody to local authority care when charged and denied bail. The purpose of the group is to better understand the problems with the operation of the law and to develop solutions to enable forces and local authorities to meet their respective statutory responsibilities. The group is currently finalising a package of measures and will present these to the Home Secretary once the work is complete.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many UK-registered patients received treatment in other European Economic Area countries under the European Health Insurance Card scheme in each of the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    The United Kingdom European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) means that people living in the UK are able to travel to the European Economic Area (EEA) safe in the knowledge that they will be able to receive free or reduced cost healthcare should they need it.

    EEA countries reimburse the UK for the cost of the National Health Service providing treatment to EEA EHIC holders, just as the UK reimburses other EEA countries for the cost of them providing healthcare to UK EHIC holders.

    The Department does not hold information on how many people have used their UK EHIC to obtain state provided healthcare in another EEA country in any 12 month period. This is because data on UK EHIC usage is recorded by individual treatment episode rather than the card holder.

  • Gary Streeter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Gary Streeter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gary Streeter on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that public bodies under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 comply with their duty to pick up roadside litter.

    Rory Stewart

    The Government is committed to localism and the transfer of power to local communities. This is particularly relevant in dealing with litter, which requires a local approach, tailored to the characteristics of the area and the community in which the problems occur.

    It is up to councils to decide how best to meet their statutory duty to keep their relevant land clear of litter and refuse and how to prioritise this against other local services.

    Councils are responsible for keeping their “relevant land” clear of litter and refuse, including local roads. Highways England (formerly the Highways Agency) is responsible for clearing litter from motorways and some trunk roads. Standards of cleanliness for litter and refuse are set out in the Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse, which provides a practical guide to the discharge of councils’ cleansing duties under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA).

    If a litter authority which is responsible for publicly-accessible land fails to keep land clear of litter and refuse, it can be taken to court. If the court agrees that the complaint is justified, it can issue a Litter Abatement Order (LAO) requiring the litter authority to clear land of litter within a certain time. The litter authority can also be ordered to pay the complainant’s costs.

    It is a criminal offence not to comply with an LAO – anyone not complying can be fined up to £2,500. They can also get further fines of up to £125 a day for each day the offence continues after conviction. Court action can be avoided if litter authorities clear the land within five days of being notified of the complainant’s intention to seek a Litter Abatement Order.

  • Lord Palmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Palmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Palmer on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees how much the Members’ Personal Safety and Security pamphlet cost to produce and distribute to members.

    Lord Laming

    The Lords Members’ Personal Safety and Security booklets cost £673.02 to design and print. We take the security of Members extremely seriously and regularly update our advice and guidance on the steps they can take to help keep themselves, their staff and their families safe. This was a longstanding, routine update on a booklet which has previously existed in a number of different editions.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the current Commissioner for Birmingham City Council’s children’s social care services started work; how long his appointment is for; what progress reports he has provided to the Secretary of State; and whether those reports are in the public domain.

    Lord Nash

    Andrew Christie was appointed Commissioner for children’s social care services in Birmingham in December 2015. The statutory Direction that appointed him lasts until September 2016. He reports regularly to the Secretary of State. These reports are not in the public domain.

  • 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 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the evidence of the practice of forced organ harvesting in China set out in the report published in June by David Kilgour, David Matas and Ethan Gutmann, and in the film The Bleeding Edge.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As the former Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) stated to the House of Commons on the 12 July 2016, we have raised concerns about reports of organ harvesting, as well as about the torture and mistreatment of detainees, during the annual UK-China human rights dialogue. We will do so again at the next round which is scheduled to take place in October. My officials most recently raised the issue with the Chinese authorities on 1 September 2016.

    The Kilgour/Matas/Gutmann report is an important source of information about China’s organ transplant system, which we take seriously, but we are unable to substantiate all the evidence presented in the report. We have not assessed any evidence from ‘the Bleeding Edge’, as we understand it to be a semi-fictional feature film.We encourage the Chinese authorities to provide more information about the sources of organs for transplant, and about the implementation of existing Chinese regulations in this area.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has begun the formal negotiation process for any new trade deals; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Garnier

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for International Trade (Greg Hands), gave on 21 October to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson), UIN 49161.