Category: Speeches

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that UK-owned companies do not facilitate the forced labour of North Korean nationals.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Current trade between the UK and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is minimal and covered by an overarching provision that any activities should satisfy existing UN and EU sanctions. These refer to restriction in the export of goods and financial assistance, which may contribute to the development of the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

    The Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduced a landmark transparency in supply chains provision. This requires all commercial organisations operating in the UK with a turnover of £36m or more to set out what steps they have taken to prevent modern slavery in their business and supply chains each year. This mandatory reporting will allow consumers, investors, campaigners and others to scrutinise the activities of businesses and call businesses to account if they are not doing enough, including in relation to North Korean nationals.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to increase the frequency of train services to north-east Essex along the Great Eastern Main Line.

    Claire Perry

    As with all competitions, after running a public consultation to help specify services, we have published the Invitation To Tender which sets out the minimum service specifications for the next East Anglia franchise. This asks bidders to set out detailed proposals on what improvements for passengers they will deliver. This approach allowsbidders the flexibility to design the best way of delivering or exceeding the specifications.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the cost of broadband access for primary and secondary schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    £1.7 billion of public funding has been committed to support improvements in broadband services across the UK. The Superfast Broadband Programme aims to make superfast broadband available to 95 per cent of UK premises by 2017.

    Costs will vary from school to school depending on location and how much they use the internet. The type of connectivity that the government funded broadband programme needs will not be suitable for secondary schools. They will need a dedicated connection because of their high bandwidth demands. The Department for Education does not hold information about the cost of broadband access for schools.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the prevailing animal welfare standards of the bear cull in Canada that provides pelts for the making of bearskins and other associated headgear containing real fur by use by the British armed forces.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not buy bear pelts; it buys ceremonial caps direct from suppliers who source pelts from animals culled as part of a programme to manage the wild population licensed by the Canadian government. Animal welfare standards relating to the bear cull are a matter for the Canadian government.

    The MOD also purchases coney skin (rabbit fur) for the Royal Engineers’ and Royal Signals’ busby and fox fur for the Royal Horse Artillery, Kings Troop Officers’ busby. The current contract requires a commitment to sustainable procurement.

    Depending on usage and maintenance, bearskin busbys can last for up to 50 years. The coney skin and fox fur busbys have indefinite lifespans if properly maintained.

    Calendar Year

    Cost of Bearskin Busby Headgear (£)

    Financial Year

    Cost of Coney Skin Busby Headgear (£)

    Cost of Fox Fur Busby Headgear(£)

    2005

    Not held

    2005-06

    1,532

    0

    2006

    Not held

    2006-07

    0

    1,472

    2007

    Not held

    2007-08

    0

    0

    2008

    31,319

    2008-09

    9,173

    406

    2009

    148,891

    2009-10

    0

    0

    2010

    131,886

    2010-11

    0

    0

    2011

    90,822

    2011-12

    0

    861

    2012

    126,087

    2012-13

    1,779

    861

    2013

    65,108

    2013-14

    0

    0

    2014

    136,671

    2014-15

    10,257

    1,899

    2015

    149,379

    2015-16

    2,558

    0

    All figures are rounded to the nearest pound.

    Calendar Year

    Number of Bearskin Busby Headgear

    Financial Year

    Number of Coney Skin Busby Headgear

    Number of Busby Headgear made of Fox Fur

    2005

    Not held

    2005-06

    4

    0

    2006

    Not held

    2006-07

    0

    2

    2007

    Not held

    2007-08

    0

    0

    2008

    35

    2008-09

    22

    1

    2009

    195

    2009-10

    0

    0

    2010

    158

    2010-11

    0

    0

    2011

    99

    2011-12

    0

    1

    2012

    126

    2012-13

    4

    1

    2013

    63

    2013-14

    0

    0

    2014

    127

    2014-15

    20

    2

    2015

    122

    2015-16

    5

    0

    Historically the MOD has undertaken a number of trials on synthetic alternatives to bear skin but none of these matched the properties of the natural material. No trialling has taken place since 2007. Information about costs of these trials is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In 2012 the Ministry of Defence loaned a sample bearskin to the animal rights organisation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, to aid its research and development programme on a synthetic alternative.

    There has been no research and development carried out to find a synthetic alternative to coney skin or fox fur.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what specific funding has been allocated to provide support for rough sleepers in each year since 2010.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. Over the last Parliament, we invested over £500 million to enable local authorities and the voluntary sector to support the most vulnerable in society, including rough sleepers, by preventing and tackling homelessness in their local areas.

    Some specific initiatives that targeted rough sleeping includes:

    • Rolling out No Second Night Out across England through the £20 million Homelessness Transition Fund(2011-12 to 2013-14). Over two-thirds of rough sleepers in 20 key areas outside London did not spend a second night on the streets.
    • Investing £5 million in the world’s first homelessness Social Impact Bond(2013-14 to 2016-17), run by the Greater London Authority to turn around the lives of 830 of London’s most entrenched rough sleepers. Over half have achieved accommodation, employment or reconnection outcomes.
    • Investing £1 million to support the StreetLink service(2012-13 to 2015-16), a website, app and telephone line that allows members of the public to connect rough sleepers into local support services. Over 17,000 rough sleepers have been found and helped since December 2012.
    • Investing £8 million in the Help for Single Homeless Fund (2014-15 to 2015-16) to improve services for vulnerable single homeless people, including rough sleepers. 34 successful projects in 168 local areas are supporting around 22,000 individuals.
    • Supporting local areas to improve the quality of hostels through the Homelessness Change Programme(2012-2015), which provided £42.5 million of capital funding for new and refurbished bed spaces and facilities to provide meaningful activities to support pathways to independent living.

    But one person without a home is one too many, which is why we will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We also want to help local authorities provide advice and assistance to those at risk of homelessness which is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding for local authorities through the provisional local government finance settlement, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    The Government will continue to work closely with the voluntary sector and local authorities on how we improve the impact of homelessness services and break the cycle of homelessness.

  • Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stephen Metcalfe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Metcalfe on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans are in place to upgrade the existing Dartford Crossing and the A282.

    Andrew Jones

    There are no current plans for upgrading the Dartford crossing and the A282. However, we are undertaking studies to identify options that could improve the traffic flow through the area.

    Until 24 March 2016 we are holding a public consultation on the proposed Lower Thames Crossing. This scheme would provide additional capacity to the existing Dartford-Thurrock crossings between Kent and Essex. This additional route should help reduce congestion on the current Dartford crossing and surrounding area.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) about safety concerns in the Care Quality Commission Report on the BPAS abortion clinic in Richmond.

    Jane Ellison

    One representation has been received in relation to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection of BPAS Richmond. The CQC is responsible for ensuring that requirements under the Health and Social Care (HSC) Act 2008 are met by the providers of termination of pregnancy services including meeting the fundamental standards of quality and safety as set out in Part 3 to the 2014 Regulations, and Regulation 20 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009, which is specific to independent sector termination of pregnancy providers. The CQC is responsible for ensuring that the requirements under the HSC Act 2008 are maintained through a system of monitoring and, where appropriate, inspection visits. It is for the CQC and the provider to address required and recommended actions identified following an inspection.

    Independent sector providers are also required to comply with the Department of Health’s Required Standard Operating Procedures.

    Departmental officials meet regularly with representatives from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) but have not met since the CQC report on BPAS Richmond was published.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who can give permission for oil exploration in the waters off the Falkland Islands.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Oil exploration in the Falkland Islands is governed by the Falkland Islands Offshore Minerals Ordinance of 1994. Subject to this Ordinance, and with the consent of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Hammond), the Rt Hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge, the British Government appointed Governor of the Falkland Islands may, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, grant to any person a licence for the purposes of exploration or production in the controlled waters, or in the sea-bed or subsoil thereof, of the Falkland Islands.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The published Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) contains both the proportion of staff in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that are (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff and the associated spend. The ARA for each financial year from 2010-11 to 2014-15 are available on gov.uk.

    The 2015-16 data will be published in due course.

    “

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of the UK’s aid assistance to the Palestinian Territories.

    Rory Stewart

    As I have recently taken up my new role, I am conducting an examination of DFID’s support to the Occupied Palestinian Territories to ensure UK taxpayers’ money is spent in the right places and in the right way. The UK remains committed in its support for a negotiated settlement leading to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.