Category: Speeches

  • The Lord Bishop of Durham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Durham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Durham on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to engage the African Union and the East African Community in efforts to stabilise the situation in Burundi.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In the margins of the African Union (AU) Summit, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), met with the Chair of the AU Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the AU’s Peace and Security Commissioner Smail Chergui and a number of African Foreign Ministers. We are exploring what more we can do to support the AU’s leadership, and have intensified our efforts at the UN and with our EU partners to halt the violence.

    The UK strongly supports the East African Community-led dialogue and sees it as crucial in finding a solution to stabilising the situation. The parties met for the first time on 28 December and the second round of talks is scheduled for 16 February. Alongside our international partners we continue to press them to engage.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bridges of Headley on 25 February (HL6102 and HL6103), whether the Cabinet Office’s new rules on grant funding mean that (1) Citizen’s Advice, (2) the Territorial Army Rifles Association, (3) the Consortium of Voluntary Adoption Agencies, (4) English Heritage, (5) Imperial College, and (6) the Marine Management Organisations, can no longer make representations to them, Parliament or the European Commission, on legislation or policy.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The clause ensures that taxpayers’ funds are not diverted away from their intended purpose and wasted on political lobbying. The clause does not stop any grant recipients from campaigning using other sources of funding.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which academic and research bodies, which receive funding from the EU, are routinely used for research on the EU in departmental and ministerial briefings.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) draws on information from a wide range of sources when producing departmental and ministerial briefings. The FCO does not collect information on whether the sources used in the preparation of briefings receive funding from the EU.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework has accrued to the public purse through Category M savings since 2005.

    Alistair Burt

    The adjustments to Category M generic medicine reimbursement prices that have been made in order to align total community pharmacy funding (including margin earned on the difference between reimbursement prices and purchase prices) with the target amount set for the community pharmacy contractual framework are shown in the table below.

    Month

    Margin removed (-) or added (+) (quarterly amount on recurrent basis) (£ m)

    April 2005

    -75

    October 2006

    -75

    October 2007

    -100

    October 2008

    -32.5

    October 2009

    -20

    October 2010

    -60

    April 2011

    -22.5

    October 2011

    -39

    April 2012

    -10

    October 2012

    -72.5

    October 2013

    -20

    April 2014

    -30

    October 2014

    +30

    January 2016

    -45

    Source: Department of Health

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to implement the recommendations of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, entitled Fleeing Prosecution: Asylum claims in the UK on Religious Freedom Grounds.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on their individual merits, including claims based on religious persecution. We grant protection to those who genuinely need it in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

    Published guidance on the interviewing and consideration of asylum claims is regularly reviewed and takes into consideration the views of stakeholders, including religious groups. The current training and support available for asylum caseworkers includes a UNHCR endorsed Foundation Training Programme. This, and follow-on courses, covers all aspects of the asylum interview and decision making process, including the assessment of credibility and country information in religious based claims. Real-life case studies and role-play are used throughout the training programme to reinforce knowledge and understanding of the issues.

    We are currently carefully considering the APPG report and its recommendations and will provide a response in due course.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what further legislative proposals she plans to bring forward to tackle nuisance telephone calls.

    Matt Hancock

    We are taking forward a range of legislative measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office’s (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law. Specific actions include; strengthening the ICO’s direct marketing guidance by giving it statutory status; a proposal to extend the ICO’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls; and exploring the options for enabling the ICO to hold company directors to account for breaches of the direct marketing rules.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what monitoring his Department undertakes of clinical commissioning groups’ safeguarding of access to medical nutrition for patients for whom it is recommended in NICE guidelines.

    Nicola Blackwood

    National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines represent best practice and we expect National Health Service organisations to take them fully into account as they design services for their local populations.

    NICE clinical guidelines are not mandatory but the expectation is that NHS organisations will implement them over time drawing upon clinical judgement, and commissioners will take them into account when making commissioning decisions.

  • Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, why the Weald of Kent Grammar School was not able to expand on its existing site.

    Edward Timpson

    The Weald of Kent School has set out its plans in expansion proposals. Pupils at the Sevenoaks annexe will attend the Tonbridge site at least once a week to attend a whole school assembly and additional lessons. The school will also operate a house system across the expanded school, regularly bringing students together on a range of curriculum projects. The length of the school day is a matter for the academy trust.

    The newly expanded school will better meet the needs of parents in the community that the school currently serves. Over 41% of pupils at the Tonbridge site already travel from the Sevenoaks area. The travel arrangements between the sites will use existing bus companies to transport pupils who live in Sevenoaks to the Tonbridge site. The proposal indicates that the journey time is approximately 17 minutes and no additional funding is being provided to the academy to cover the costs.

    The decision issued on 15 October 2015 was in respect of a proposal received on 14 September 2015. The Department can comment on the costs of external legal advice once we have the final costs bill.

    The school would not have the required capital funding to expand on this scale at the existing site.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part of the defence budget is allocated for military action in Syria.

    Earl Howe

    In agreement with Her Majesty’s Treasury, the Ministry of Defence draws upon the Special Reserve to meet the net additional costs for operations. As such, no part of the Defence budget is specifically allocated for military action in Syria.

  • Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) apprentice ratings and (b) officer cadets the Royal Fleet Auxiliary has trained in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) started an Apprentice scheme with Ratings in 2015 and so far 50 apprentices have started training.

    The numbers of Officer Cadets the RFA has trained in each year since 2009-10 are as follows:

    2009-10

    25

    2010-11

    25

    2011-12

    25

    2012-13

    25

    2013-14

    25

    2014-15

    25

    2015-16

    30 (to date)