Category: Speeches

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, whether any pedestrian entry points to the Parliamentary Estate are restricted to particular categories of passholder, and if so what those restrictions are at each point.

    Tom Brake

    The main Parliamentary Estate has the following pedestrian entrances available to passholders (see exceptions to this below):

    House of Commons

    • Canon Row/Derby Gate
    • 1 Parliament Street
    • Carriage Gates Turnstiles
    • Subway – Westminster Tube
    • Cromwell Green Visitor Entrance
    • St Stephen’s Entrance
    • Portcullis House
    • 53 Parliament Street


    House of Lords

    • Black Rod’s Garden
    • Chancellor’s Gate
    • Peers’ Entrance – By convention and practice, only Peers and their spouses or partners are allowed to use this entrance. Members of the House of Lords are allowed to invite up to six guests in via this route unless dispensation to bring in more is given by Black Rod. Guests must be booked in by name before they are allowed access.

    Pedestrian entry points to outbuildings which form part of the Parliamentary Estate are not restricted to particular categories of passholder.

    Holders of the following passes have restricted access to certain pedestrian entrances on the Estate:

    • Former Member Passes – Subway, St Stephen’s, Portcullis House entrances only
    • House of Commons Nursery Passes – 1 Parliament Street entrance only
    • Westminster Gym Passes – Derby Gate entrance only
    • MEP Passes – MEPs are only able to access the House of Lords via Black Rod’s Garden entrance and can only use readers within the House of Lords.
  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many full-time equivalent officials in her Department have been seconded to the Department for Exiting the European Union; and what the grades are of those officials.

    Rory Stewart

    One member of DFID staff has taken up a Grade 6 role within the Department for Exiting the European Union on a loan basis. We expect that several DFID staff will be strong candidates for other roles in the new Department currently being advertised.

  • Lord Touhig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Touhig on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase staff retention in the Defence Medical Services.

    Earl Howe

    The Defence Medical Services (DMS) takes very seriously the issue of retention and ensures the views expressed by personnel in exit interviews, conducted when they leave the Service, inform policy in this area.

    There are no Financial Retention Incentives for personnel within the DMS as a whole. However, the Royal Navy has introduced Financial Retention Incentives for Submariner Medical Assistants based on their Return of Service. In addition, Medical and Dental Officers, Nurses (Officers and Other Ranks) and Veterinary Officers have bespoke pay spines which are seen as retention positive. Specialist Nurses are also able to claim Recruitment and Retention Pay.

    There are a number of non-remunerative incentives for DMS personnel and these include access to funded Continuing Professional Development courses; career opportunities outside the main clinical roles and responsibilities; inter trade transfers (predominantly from Combat Medical Technicians and Medical Assistants into an Allied Health Professional trade or Nursing) and the availability of post graduate training.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Attorney General, what discussions he has had with the Secretaries of State for Defence and International Development on ensuring that full and proper account is taken of the importance of international humanitarian law in areas of potential conflict and war.

    Jeremy Wright

    I meet regularlywith Ministerial colleagues to discuss important issues of common interest, including on international humanitarian law. I am not able to talk about any legal content of those discussions because, by convention, whether the Law Officers have given advice or not is not disclosed outside Government. All legal advice provided by the Law Officers is confidential and subject to legal professional privilege.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on amending immigration rules to support the curry industry.

    Anna Soubry

    My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has regular discussions with the Home Secretary on a wide variety of issues.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Prime Minister will increase the Government’s commitment beyond 20,000 on the number of Syrian refugees it plans to offer asylum to.

    Richard Harrington

    The UK has already committed to resettling 20,000 refugees from the region during this parliament through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme, and we have no plans to increase this at the present time.

    Resettlement is only one strand of our efforts in the region, and is complemented by the UK’s significant humanitarian aid programme, and our diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. We believe this approach is the best way to ensure that the UK’s help has the greatest impact for the majority of refugees who remain in the region and their host countries.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27211, whether the remit of permission granted to use the Sigonella air station extends to UK (a) Reaper launch and recovery operations and (b) combat missions.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We have had a long-standing presence at Naval Air Station Sigonella, and have made frequent use of it. However, it is not normal practice to comment on the details of arrangements with host nations.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to work with the Football Association to raise awareness of doping issues at all levels of football.

    David Evennett

    The Football Association operates a sport-specific anti-doping education programme for players of all ages. UK Anti-Doping – the relevant Arm’s Length Body of DCMS – works closely with the Football Association on this programme.

  • Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Blackford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with which other EU countries the UK has a bilateral arrangement for the payment of annual uprating of pensions that would remain in force in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The terms of the UK’s bilateral social security agreements with EU Member States, some of which date from the 1950s, are generally superseded by EU Regulations.

    The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU. If the result of the referendum is a decision to leave, then the Government will have two years under the Article 50 process to seek to negotiate the terms, including the payment of pensions, of the UK’s exit, with the possibility of extending this time frame with the agreement of the other 27 Member States.

  • Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of Lord Justice Briggs in his report entitled, Civil Courts Structure: Interim Report, published in December 2015, that personal injury should be excluded from the Online Court.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Government welcomes Lord Justice Briggs’s interim report on the review of civil court structures. Our courts and tribunals are antiquated and need urgent reform. We are considering the recommendations of the interim report and will also pay close attention to the content of Lord Justice Briggs’s final report. Our work to reform the courts and tribunals includes consideration of a range of innovative approaches to provide more effective access to justice. In particular we want to make better use of technology to provide simpler court processes. As part of this we will consider the extent to which technology can be used to resolve some of the most complex cases, including personal injury claims.

    Lord Justice Briggs has undertaken extensive consultation as part of his Review. In addition to this, the Government will continue to engage and consult with the judiciary, practitioners and court users on our wider programme to reform the courts and tribunals.