Category: Speeches

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on reforming pesticide regulations from a precautionary principle to a risk-based principle.

    George Eustice

    As part of the preparation for EU exit, the Government is considering future arrangements for pesticide regulation. The Government remains of the view that decisions on the use of pesticides should be based on a careful scientific assessment of the risks, with the aim of achieving a high level of protection for people and the environment. An evidence-based approach to assessing risk is entirely consistent with the precautionary principle.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what guidance the Electoral Commission has issued to returning officers on responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act for statistics on electoral registration.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission issues guidance to Electoral Registration Officers on registration matters. Electoral Registration Officers are not a public authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and, as such, are exempt from the disclosure requirements imposed by it.

    However, in its guidance manual for Electoral Registration Officers, the Commission advises that, where possible, Electoral Registration Officers should disclose the requested information, provided it is already in the public domain or does not include personal data. The total number of electors registered in their area is a specific example provided in the manual of statistical data that could be disclosed.

    Following specific requests and enquiries from political parties, the Commission, in a Bulletin issued to electoral practitioners on 26 June of this year, further advised that Electoral Registration Officers could disclose statistical information relating to those electors in their area who were not registered individually.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Kilclooney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total payment made by the UK to the EU in 2014, and what was the total payment by the EU to the UK agricultural industry in that year.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The UK’s net contribution to the EU Budget in 2014 was £5.71 billion. This is the UK’s total contribution to the EU, reduced by the cash rebate and the money the UK receives from EU funded programmes.

    The total receipts to the UK agricultural industry from the EU were £3.16 billion in 2014. Under this, £2.60 billion was for European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) (CAP pillar 1) and £0.60 billion for European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) (CAP pillar 2).

    These figures are available publicly in HM Treasury’s EU Finances 2015.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has formulated plans to assist a mass humanitarian emergency response if instability were to occur in North Korea.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    All humanitarian crises are assessed on a case by case basis, along with any potential role for UK intervention.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the finding in the Chief Schools Adjudicator for England’s Annual Report, published in December 2015, that parents are often unable to understand the complicated admissions criteria employed by religiously selective schools.

    Nick Gibb

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious character, are required to comply with the School Admissions Code. This includes a requirement that ‘parents should be able to look at a set of arrangements and understand easily how places for that school will be allocated’.

    We support the right of schools with a religious designation to prioritise children of their faith. The code requires such schools, as a minimum, to prioritise looked after and previously looked after children of their faith ahead of other children. We have no plans to change this requirement.

    The code can only be applied to bodies within the education sector. It cannot place requirements upon religious bodies. It does, however, require that when schools with a religious designation adopt admission criteria which prioritise children based on their faith, the schools must take account of religious activities as laid out by their religious authority.

    Compliance with the code is enforced by the Schools Adjudicator. Where an objection is made and the adjudicator finds that the arrangements are unclear, unfair, or that they otherwise fail to comply with the code, the admission authority is required by law to change the policy.

    The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the code which will both respond to the findings within the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Reports and concerns raised by parents. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25979, what financial assistance was provided to each of the (a) 10 Israeli non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receiving funding from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and (b) two NGOs receiving funds through the Bilateral Programme Budgets.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The current funding for the ten NGO projects provided through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund is: The Peres Centre for Peace – £0.046m; Injaz – Centre for Professional Arab Local Governance – £0.062m; Kids Creating Peace – £0.040m; Yesh Din – £0.2m; Gisha – £0.054m; Peace Now – £0.128m; Terrestrial Jerusalem – £0.052m; The International Peace and Cooperation Centre – £0.235m; Rabbis for Human Rights – £0.105m; and the Jerusalem Community Advocacy Network – £0.222m

    The current funding for the two NGO projects provided through the Bilateral Programme Budget is: Burj Al Luqluq Youth Centre – £0.019m; and Silwan Youth Centre – £0.005m

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals against school exclusion were heard at the First Tier Tribunal (SEN and Disabilities) in each year since 2010.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Information about the number of appeals (a) heard against school exclusion and (b) how many were found in favour of the appellant is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Tribunals and Gender Recognition Statistics Quarterly. The most recent statistics for the First-tier Tribunal SEND are for the period 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2015, published on 10 December 2015, which can be viewed at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015.

    These statistics cover the years 2011/12 to 2014/15.

    The statistics for earlier years can be viewed at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/385777/sen-tables-2014.xls.

    “

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 3 May 2016 to Question 35165, on Personal Independence Payments, what steps his Department is taking better to understand why sufficient documentary evidence is not being sought during the assessment and mandatory reconsideration stages.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The 75% can be broken down as follows:

    Cogent oral evidence – 66%

    Cogent documentary evidence supplied at the appeal – 9%

    These figures are from internal DWP systems, where only one of possible multiple reasons can be recorded, and are derived from unpublished information and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standard.

    The Department encourages claimants to provide as much relevant evidence as necessary to support their claim. The “How your disability affects you” form and accompanying guidance sets out the range of information that can help the Department reach a decision. The guidance for Health Professionals also sets out sources of further evidence which could help inform their advice to the Department.

    At the Mandatory Reconsideration stage, again claimants are encouraged to provide any further evidence about their disability. Following the first independent review of Personal Independence by Paul Gray, the Department is reviewing all communications (including those used by Assessment Providers) it has with claimants throughout the claim, assessment and reconsideration process to ensure that claimants clearly understand the importance of providing sufficient evidence to support their claim and application.

    Further, once a claimant has submitted their claim, the Department has created a new Standard Work Instructions (SWI) for its decision making staff to gain further evidence, where appropriate. For Mandatory Reconsideration, the SWI puts a process in place to establish what the areas for dispute are, consider any gaps in the evidence, ensure any expected further medical evidence is received and referring that to the Assessment Provider. “

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many independent child trafficking advocates will be needed to fulfil the requirements under section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    As the Minister for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime set out on 28 June::

    https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2016-06-28/debates/16062854000001/IndependentAdvocatesForTraffickedChildren

    The Government is committed to commencing section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act and developing the accompanying secondary legislation and statutory guidance. As part of the commencement process, we will work with interested parties, including Non-Governmental Organisations to determine the scale of the service.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will make an assessment of the implications for Spain’s capacity to affect commercial activity of the three mile limit of Gibraltar’s territorial waters; and if he will make a statement.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    Her Majesty’s Government will continue to challenge and protest aganist all incursions in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, including any attempt by Spanish authorities to assert jurisdiction. We would respond robustly to any attempts by Spain to prevent commercial firms or private individuals from using Gibraltar port facilities.