Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel regarding harassment and violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank towards Palestinians living there; and whether they intend to put pressure on the government of Israel to take responsibility for the settlers’ actions.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government condemns all acts of violence by extremist settlers. Settler violence is an abhorrent phenomenon which must be tackled firmly. We condemn such acts and urge the Israeli authorities to investigate thoroughly every instance of violence by settlers and to bring those responsible to justice. We have most recently raised our concerns over this issue on 10 October and stressed the importance of Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made in tackling international tax avoidance.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to countering tax avoidance to ensure all tax payers pay their fair share. The UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to tackle corporate tax avoidance through the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which had the objective of ensuring profits are taxed where economic activities are performed.

    The first phase of the BEPS project was delivered in 2014, and the UK was the first adopter of the 2014 recommendations, by legislating for the internationally agreed country-by-country reporting template; and consulting on implementing the OECD agreed rules to deal with hybrid mismatch arrangements.

    In line with the objectives of the BEPS project, the Government also introduced the Diverted Profits Tax to target contrived arrangements used by large multinational companies to divert profits away from the UK.

    The final BEPS project reports were published on 5 October 2015. The UK will give full consideration to the outputs of the BEPS project and will engage with the OECD’s work on developing a framework for monitoring implementation.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what consultations he has had with the chief ministers of the UK Overseas Territories on the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR); if he will take steps to ensure that the security interests and requirements of the Overseas Territories are adequately addressed in the SDSR; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    The Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) consulted widely with external stakeholders and internal staff. As reflected in chapter four of the SDSR, the Government takes seriously its responsibility to support communities in the Overseas Territories and their right to safety, security and determination. My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office responsible for the Overseas Territories (James Duddridge), has written to the Chief Ministers to inform them of the SDSR’s outcome and he looks forward to discussing the conclusions further at the Joint Ministerial Council on 1 and 2 December.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for how many new homes planning permission has been granted on the direct commissioning sites at (a) Daedelus Waterfront, (b) Lower Grayling Well, (c) Connaught Barracks, (d) Northstowe and (e) Old Oak Common.

    Brandon Lewis

    The planning process is ongoing for these sites. This will be completed in due course working closely with the local communities and local authorities.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England next plans to review the process and practice of applications for individual funding requests.

    George Freeman

    NHS England will be consulting on a revised Individual Funding Request policy later this year and will subsequently review and update the Standard Operating Procedure as required.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had with representatives of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee since May 2015.

    Alistair Burt

    Ministers and officials in the Department meet with representatives of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) on a regular basis to discuss issues such as drug reimbursement, remuneration and service developments and amendments to legislation. We have been in discussions with the PSNC since December 2015 regarding the Government’s proposals for community pharmacy in 2016/17 and beyond.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 26471, whether the UK cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme plans to assess the potential link between oil and gas activities and related seismic testing and the movement of sperm whales to North Sea waters.

    George Eustice

    The UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme is currently working with experts from Germany and The Netherlands to carry out an assessment of all the potential factors, natural and/or human-induced, that may have contributed to the recent sperm whale strandings.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many stroke survivors are in receipt of social care funded by their local authority.

    Alistair Burt

    Information collected as part of the Short and Long Term (SALT) data return indicates that in 76 out of 152 local authorities in England 10,545 people who have a reported health condition of stroke received support from their local authority in 2014/15. However, recovering from having a stroke might not be the reason people are receiving this support from their local authority as they might have other conditions as well. The reason for the partial data return is that this is a voluntary data collection by local authorities.

  • 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 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of women in prison.

    Caroline Dinenage

    As the Prime Minister has made clear, this government is committed to improving the treatment of female offenders. We are looking into options including tagging, problem solving courts and alternative resettlement units to improve our care for female offenders. This is particularly important if they are pregnant or have young children.

    We are working with local areas to encourage a more effective joined-up multi-agency approach to address the often complex needs of female offenders. We have awarded £200k in grant funding to pilot the development of these partnership models. It is hoped that this early intervention will allow the diversion of some offenders and the use of robust alternatives to custody, where appropriate.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much central government funding has been provided to each combined authority in each year since those combined authorities have been established.

    Andrew Percy

    The funding provided to combined authorities is agreed through Devolution Deals and City Deals (where applicable). These deals are individually negotiated agreements that include funding as well as the devolution of additional powers and flexibilities. The funding shown below has been provided directly by the government to each combined authority since they were established.

    Combined Authority

    Financial year

    Overall total (£m)

    Greater Manchester 1/4/2011*

    2011/12

    223.9

    2012/13

    59.6

    2013/14

    81.1

    2014/15

    182.6

    2015/16

    241.9

    2016/17

    290.3

    North East 15/4/2014*

    2014/15

    27.4

    2015/16

    117.1

    2016/17

    132.0

    West Yorkshire/ Leeds 1/4/2014*

    2014/15

    72.3

    2015/16

    120.0

    2016/17

    182.6

    Tees Valley 1/4/2016*

    2016/17

    15.7

    West Midlands 17/6/2016*

    2016/17

    85.1

    Sheffield City Region 1/4/2014*

    2014/15

    26.0

    2015/16

    82.6

    2016/17

    101.2

    Liverpool City Region 1/4/2014*

    2014/15

    28.3

    2015/16

    60.1

    2016/17

    98.9

    *Date established

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