Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the status is of (a) the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and (b) any other investigation into the death in custody of HM Prison Holloway prisoner Sarah Reed who was pronounced dead on 11 January 2016.

    Andrew Selous

    Every death in custody is a tragedy and we work hard to learn the lessons from each death. All deaths in prison custody are subject to a police investigation, an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) and a Coroner’s inquest.

    I can confirm that each of these processes has begun following the death of Ms Reed, and I extend my condolences to her family and friends. Until investigations have concluded it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for consent have required environment impact assessment by the Marine Management Organisation since 2010.

    George Eustice

    The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) database was established in April 2011 and accurate data for marine licence applications determined by the MMO are limited to post 1 April 2011. However, I can confirm that since April 2011:

    • 50 fully determined marine licence applications have required an appropriate assessment;
    • 151 fully determined marine licence applications have required an environmental impact assessment;
    • 44 marine licence applications have been refused; and,
    • 3,849 fully determined marine licence applications have been approved, including 1,848 variations to an existing marine licence.
  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what final estimate of damage in the Yorkshire and Humber region caused by recent flooding his Department has provided to the EU Commission.

    James Wharton

    The UK Government submitted an initial application to the European Union Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February which included a provisional estimate of the costs of direct damage incurred by storms Desmond and Eva. We are in the process of refining our cost estimations and figures, and will update Parliament once the application is finalised.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what workstreams have been established by the Joint Work and Health Unit; and when each such workstream is expected to report.

    Priti Patel

    The Work and Health Unit has been established to lead the drive for improving work and health outcomes for people with disabilities and long term health conditions, as well as improving prevention and support for people absent from work through ill health and those at risk of leaving the workforce.

    Since Q1 2014 the number of disabled people in employment has increased by around 365,000 people, with a total of 3.3million disabled people now in work as of Q1 2016.

    The Unit will build on this progress by improving integration across healthcare and employment services as well as supporting employers to recruit and retain more disabled people and people with long term health conditions. We have set up work-streams focused on delivery workforce, fitness for work, culture change and stakeholder engagement, employers and building the evidence base through developing a ‘test and learn’ approach.

    We have been seeking and listening to the views of people that use current health, care and employment services, engaging with charities and other stakeholders, to understand what works and what needs to change and will continue to engage at all levels over the coming months.

    The Work and Health Unit is leading the process for preparing a green paper which will be published later this year that will begin the consultation about how to improve support for people with disabilities and long term health conditions.

  • Stephen Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Twigg on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of the de-listing of the Saudi-led coalition in the UN Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in April 2016, on civilian protection and the wider humanitarian situation in Yemen.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    We are aware of the UN Secretary General’s annual report on Children in Armed Conflict, which includes a section outlining the impact of the conflict in Yemen on children. It is important that all sides to the conflict conduct investigations into incidents of concern. To that end, we welcome the announcement by the UN Secretary General on 6 June that the United Nations and the Saudi-led Coalition will review jointly the cases and numbers cited in the text. In parallel, we continue to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to ensure civilians, particularly women and children, are protected in Yemen, and to allow and facilitate rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders in each offence category were released on post-conviction bail by Crown Courts in each of the last three years; and (a) how many and (b) in what proportion of such cases the offender received a custodial sentence.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Robust and reliable information on post-conviction remand status of offenders convicted at the Crown Court is not centrally held, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Catherine McKinnell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2015 to Question 12365, what savings have resulted from the police-led prosecution initiative in each year since 2012-13.

    Robert Buckland

    The police-led prosecution initiative has led to a significant reduction in motoring offences prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in magistrate courts, as the following figures indicate:

    Motoring offence cases finalised in the Magistrates Court

    2012-13: 229,875

    2013-14: 171,517

    2014-15: 112,955

    While the reduction has led to a fall in expenditure on these low-level cases, the overall effect on CPS budgets has been cost-neutral. A high proportion of these cases are dealt with as summary first-time guilty pleas, in which the Court requires the defendant to pay the prosecution costs as part of any financial penalty. Therefore, whilst the CPS has benefitted from a reduction in expenditure, it has foregone the receipt of cost awards that are routinely made in motoring offence cases, as these awards are now payable to the police.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many UK Trade and Investment staff worked in each of the industrial sectors on 1 April 2015; and what the budget for each such sector is in 2015-16.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade & Investment supports eleven sectors, and other priority sectors, such as creative industries and the information economy.

    We are working with a number of other Government departments to ensure companies of all sectors are represented in Government efforts overseas.

    The table below shows the number of staff on 1 April 2015 and the most recent budget information for our core sector teams and investment organisations.

    Staff

    Budget, £m

    Consumer, Retail & E-exporting

    11

    5.7

    Creative Industries & Global Sports & Construction

    25

    3.1

    UKTI Education

    8

    1.0

    Energy & Transport

    27

    3.7

    Healthcare UK

    13

    1.6

    Information Economy

    16

    2.9

    Advanced Manufacturing

    8

    1.2

    UKTI Agri-Tech Organisation

    3

    1.2

    UKTI Automotive Investment Organisation

    5

    1.7

    UKTI Financial Services Organisation

    8

    1.7

    Innovation Gateway

    7

    1.3

    UKTI Life Science Organisation

    9

    2.2

    UKTI Offshore Wind Investment Organisation

    2

    1.1

    UKTI Regeneration Investment Organisation

    1

    1.4

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2015 to Question 3892, how many (a) jobs and (b) apprenticeships were created by each Green Investment Bank (GIB) investment; and whether he plans to monitor the performance of a privatised GIB in creating jobs and apprenticeships.

    Anna Soubry

    The Green Investment Bank (GIB) estimates that approximately 5700 jobs have been created during the construction phases of their projects and approximately 1000 jobs have been created during the operational phase of their projects. Apprenticeship numbers are not recorded separately from other jobs but any apprenticeship roles would be included in the figures mentioned above.

    We would expect a privatised GIB to continue to monitor the green and other benefits of their investments, such as job creation.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the effectiveness of the arrangements for information sharing between police and councils under Common Law Police Disclosure.

    Karen Bradley

    Common Law Police Disclosure (CLPD) is police led. The National Police Chiefs’ Council issue guidance for CLPD to all Chief Officers to ensure compliance.

    Operational use of the scheme follows the principles of the statutory guidance relating to the disclosure of local police information on criminal record certificates.

    The Home Office does not make any separate assessment of the scheme.