Category: Speeches

Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government has taken to help enforce the recently agreed ceasefire in Syria.

Penny Mordaunt

As a member of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the UK has been closely engaged with the cessation of hostilities and supported UN Security Council Resolution 2268, which endorsed its terms. The UK supports a range of organisations on the ground in Syria who are reporting violations, and we are working with the UN and ISSG co-chairs in Geneva to support their monitoring and verification efforts.

01/01/2023
Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure charities in receipt of public funds do not express a view on the forthcoming European Union Referendum.

John Penrose

The rules on campaigning at the referendum are set out in the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. There is no general restriction on institutions and organisations in receipt of public funds expressing a corporate opinion on the European Union Referendum. However, there are restrictions on organisations whose expenses are met wholly or mainly from public funds publishing certain material relating to the referendum in the final 28 days.

As the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission published guidance for charities on 7 March 2016 regarding the forthcoming EU referendum. This clearly sets out the threshold necessary to justify any charitable activity on this specific issue.

01/01/2023
Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-05-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why processing claims to the Flood Recovery Fund have been delayed, and when they estimate that the processing of such claims will be completed.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

The Farming Recovery Fund closed on 1 April in all areas except Greater Manchester, where it closed on 15 April. Of the total 1,103 applications received by 15 April, 515 were received in the week 28 March to 1 April and a further 18 were received by 15 April.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is taking measures to assess all the remaining applications received, including more staff resources and a review of the administrative checks required before approval. The RPA expects to process most applications by the end of May 2016.

01/01/2023
John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, which EU (a) legislative and (b) other proposals his Department is leading negotiations on for the Government in the Council of the EU.

Alun Cairns

None.

01/01/2023

Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Attorney General, how many sentences referred to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme were (a) increased and (b) kept the same in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright

The Government has committed to extending the scope of the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme and is carefully considering its approach.

The number of offenders who have had their sentence increased under the unduly lenient sentence scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Offenders who have had their sentence increased by the Court of Appeal	95	62	61	106	102

Some cases attract multiple referrals from various sources and we do not record how many referrals each case has received. The total number of cases where requests were received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total number of referrals received by the Attorney General’s Office for sentences to be reviewed under the scheme	377	435	498	674	713

The number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that were (a) increased and (b) kept the same in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Total number of sentences referred to the Court of Appeal	117	82	70	122	136
Total number of sentences that were increased	95	62	61	106	102
Total number of sentences that remained unchanged	22	20	9	16	34

The number of referrals under the unduly lenient sentence scheme that have been rejected due to falling outside the remit of the scheme in each of the last five years is set out below.

Year	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Number of referrals that have been rejected due to the offence falling outside the remit of the scheme	62	75	131	194	228
Number of referrals received out of time	3	12	9	10	16

01/01/2023

Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46239, what options for loan repayment are made available to people who contact his Department on returning to the UK.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

British nationals to whom we have issued an emergency loan are able to discuss with FCO staff a repayment plan that is convenient to them. They can pay as much (minimum payment of £5) and as frequently as they wish. They can pay by telephone, using a credit or debit card – we accept most cards which are linked to a British bank; electronic bank transfer; personal cheque; Postal Order; or online.

We explain to the individual that their outstanding debt will be subject to a surcharge of 10% if it is not cleared within six months, and that they will not have their passport returned, or be able to apply for a new one, until their debt is repaid in full.

01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy to (a) support the Safe Schools Declaration which arose from the Oslo conference on safe schools in May 2015 and (b) implement the Guidelines on Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict, published by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack.

Mr Philip Hammond

The intention of the Safe Schools Declaration is for countries to endorse the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military use during Armed Conflict. While we support the spirit of the initiative, we have concerns that the Guidelines do not mirror the exact language of International Humanitarian Law. We consider that the full implementation of International Humanitarian Law provides the best protection for civilians in all situations of armed conflict. The UK, along with other countries such as Australia, Canada and France, were therefore not able to sign the Safe Schools Declaration in Oslo in May.

01/01/2023
Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-12-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles to help the UK meet the 2050 carbon budget.

Andrew Jones

This Government is committed to the transition to ultra-low emission vehicles, recognizing the economic and environmental benefits this will bring. We believe that both hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles together with battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles will play an important part in the ongoing decarbonisation of our road transport.

The Government’s vision, as set out in the Carbon Plan is that by 2050 almost every car and van on the road will be an ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV). We announced at the Spending Review that we will spend more than £600 million between 2015-16 and 2020-21 to support uptake and manufacturing of ultra-low emission vehicles in the UK, maintaining the global leadership that has seen 1 in 4 of all European electric vehicles built here and keep the UK on track for all new cars to be effectively zero emission by 2040. This investment will save 65million tonnes of carbon and help deliver the long term answer on urban air quality.

01/01/2023
Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2015 to Question 18388, when he expects to publish the results of the Government’s evaluation of the effects of ending unsupervised stakes above £50 on fixed odds betting terminals in betting shops.

Tracey Crouch

I hope to publish the evaluation early in the new year.

01/01/2023
Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to implement the Low Commission’s recommendation that legislative proposals should be brought forward to (a) make the Access to Justice Foundation the recipient of unclaimed damages in collective actions and (b) introduce a compulsory Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts scheme for firms with profits above an agreed threshold with the proceeds of that scheme being paid to the Access to Justice Foundation.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Government commends those providers of legal services who already use the monies generated from their client accounts to help fund pro bono and charitable work. We would encourage other providers to follow that example. We want to create a one nation justice system to work better for victims and to deliver a faster and fairer justice for all citizens. We are considering how this can be taken forward.

01/01/2023