Category: Speeches

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of naval vessels and aircraft routinely conduct monitoring and reporting of maritime activity (a) in the presence of vessels engaged in fishing and (b) otherwise when they are operating in or transiting through the Exclusive Economic Zone of British Overseas Territories.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence supports the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in combatting illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing through a support agreement between the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and the Royal Navy (RN), whereby naval assets conduct fishery protection activities. The RN and MMO work closely to maximise the effectiveness of these fishery protection activities within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the UK.

    RN and Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessels also conduct maritime security operations at all times while at sea, this includes monitoring and reporting maritime activity to relevant UK authorities. Reporting of fishing and other maritime activity to local UK authorities in Overseas Territories and the relevant authorities of other nations is routinely undertaken whenever a RN or RFA vessel is operating in the vicinity of UK Overseas Territories.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government is making to the governments of India and Pakistan on finding a peaceful solution to the situation in Kashmir which fully involves the people of Kashmir in the process.

    Alok Sharma

    The longstanding position of the United Kingdom 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 United Kingdom 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.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has any plans routinely to collect and publish data on (a) the response times and (b) the number of referrals through the National Referral Mechanism by First Responders.

    Sarah Newton

    The National Crime Agency (NCA) publishes quarterly data on the number of referrals made by different First Responder organisations, which can be accessed through the following link: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics The NCA does not collect data about response times by First Responders. The Government is piloting a new approach to the NRM, at the end of which we will consider, among other things, which data should be routinely collected.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of suicides by young men.

    Alistair Burt

    We know that men are three times more likely than women to die by suicide. The cross-government suicide prevention strategy, Preventing Suicide in England, identifies young men as a high risk group to prioritise suicide prevention activities.

    The strategy also recognises that schools, social care and the youth justice system have an important contribution to make in suicide prevention by promoting mental wellbeing and identifying underlying issues such as bullying, poor self-image and lack of self-esteem.

    We provide financial support for the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and work with a range of experts and partner organisations to deliver suicide prevention activities across all age groups, including young men. I will be meeting experts again shortly to advance the strategy.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of vacancies advertised on Universal Jobmatch in the last three months which offered flexible working arrangements for lone parents.

    Priti Patel

    The information requested is not available.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in England were registered to vote at the end of (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kinnock on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what applications for support have been submitted to the EU Globalisation Adjustment Fund since its inception; whether they intend to submit an application for support in order to support workers made redundant from the steel industry in the last year; and if not, why not.

    Lord Freud

    The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market.

    Member States are responsible in the first instance for tackling trade adjustment redundancies – the fund is therefore designed to add to national, regional and local assistance.

    The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

    The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most helpful means of response to large redundancies.

    For this reason, the UK Government has never applied to the EGF.

    In addition to the aforementioned support, in the case of the steel industry, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar and up to £9 million for TATA Steel in Scunthorpe.

    Only if more support is necessary other suitable sources of support will be considered.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on the exemption of academy school staff from the one per cent public sector pay rise limit.

    Edward Timpson

    The reformed national pay and terms and conditions arrangements allow all schools considerable flexibility over the pay of their teachers.

    Staff at academies are employees of academy trusts, companies limited by guarantee with charitable status. Whilst academy trusts are classified as public sector bodies, their staff are not employees of the Crown. Academies have more control over their budgets so that they can meet their school’s needs more effectively and have the flexibility to reward the best teachers and excellent performance. These are the reasons they are not included within the statutory national pay and terms and conditions arrangements, which includes the current one per cent cap on pay increases.

    Many academies have pay systems that mirror the provisions of the statutory national arrangements and many converter academy staff have ‘Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations’ rights that preserve their entitlement to the national pay and terms and conditions arrangements.

  • 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 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many badges of honour have been awarded by (a) Gibraltar, (b) the Falkland Islands, (c) the Cayman Islands and (d) Bermuda in each year since 2010.

    James Duddridge

    Since 2010 badges of honour have been awarded as follows;

    Gibraltar: 2010 – 5; 2011 – 6; 2012 – 6; 2013 – 6; 2014 – 6; 2015 – 6

    Falkland Islands: 2010 – 3; 2011 – 2; 2012 – 1; 2013 – 0; 2014 – 0; 2015 – 2

    Cayman Islands: 2010 – 4; 2011 – 8; 2012 – 2; 2013 – 6; 2014 – 2; 2015 – 1

    Bermuda: 2010 – 14; 2011 – 7; 2012 – 13; 2013 – 5; 2014 – 6; 2015 – 2

  • Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Smith of Hindhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Hindhead on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the current annual arrangements for setting the Horseracing Betting Levy will continue under the proposed new funding arrangements, or will be extended beyond twelve months.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Currently the levy rate is agreed each year by the Horserace Betting Levy Board.

    Under the new model the level of contribution from betting to racing will be set by Government. We will take into account various findings when considering the rate and its duration, including the independent economic analysis that we commissioned last year. We will hold discussions with both industries before reaching decisions on these issues.