Category: Speeches

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department carried out an assessment prior to the introduction of personal independence payments for existing disability living allowance recipients of the effect of that introduction on advice services such as Citizens Advice Bureaux.

    Justin Tomlinson

    No specific such assessment was carried out.

    Citizens Advice Bureaux have been, and continue to be, members of the Personal Independence Payment Implementation Stakeholder Forum and regularly engage with the Department on PIP issues.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Sudan about the arrest and continuing detention of Reverend Hasan Kodi Taour, Reverend Kuwa Shamal Kori, Abdelmonim Abdelmawla and Petr Jasek.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware that the four men in question remain in detention. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum were present in court to observe the most recent hearing on 26 September, and are in close contact with the lawyers representing the defendants. We regularly raise our concerns over this case with the government of Sudan, most recently during the visit of the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan to Khartoum in September. We will continue to monitor this case closely.

    More widely, freedom of religion or belief remains a consistent theme in our ongoing human rights dialogue with the government of Sudan. We consistently call on them to ensure all legislation is consistent with the commitment to their citizens in the Interim Constitution of 2005, within which religious freedom is enshrined.

  • Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his proposed changes to business rates on (a) Merseyside and (b) the UK.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government intends to move to 100% business rates retention in England by the end of this Parliament. We have confirmed that as part of the new system there will continue to be redistribution of local tax revenue between authorities and protections in place for authorities that see their business rates income fall significantly. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.

    Ahead of final decisions it is too early to assess what the impact will be on individual areas or authorities, but before the start of the financial year, local authorities in Merseyside estimated that the total business rates income for 2015-16 would be £413.3 million.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Dan Jarvis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his policy is on the construction of a road tunnel to replace the A628 which connects Barnsley to Manchester.

    Andrew Jones

    In November, the Secretary of State received the interim report of the Strategic Study into a potential Trans-Pennine Tunnel. This early work has shown that a tunnel is technically feasible, and that there is a clear strategic case for linking Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire.

    However further work is needed into the costs and economic benefits of such a tunnel before any judgement can be reached about whether or not it will be value for money. The full report of the study, due in 2016, should address these issues.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the effect on victims of her Department not having information about the status and supervision of deported criminals who have been returned to their home countries.

    James Brokenshire

    A victim may contact the Home Office directly or make a request via their Victim Liaison Officer (VLO) for information on the progress of a foreign prisoner’s deportation. The Home Office will inform the victim or their VLO on whether deportation is being pursued or has been enforced.

    Once deported, a foreign criminal is banned from returning to the UK and that information is held on Home Office records. We have robust arrangements in place to identify people of concern before they enter the UK.

    It is not Home Office policy to regularly monitor a foreign national once they have been deported.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to funding of bus services on the provision of those services.

    Andrew Jones

    Decisions about the provision of bus services requiring subsidy remain a matter for individual English local authorities, in the light of their other spending priorities.

    The majority of public funding for local bus services is from the block grant that local authorities in England receive from the Department for Communities and Local Government. However, my Department also provides around £40m of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) funding directly to English local authorities to help deliver bus services.

  • Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many applications for National Insurance numbers were outstanding on 31 December in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Lord Freud

    The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32551, how many reports from the dedicated reporting channel were deemed to have enough information to warrant opening an investigation in each year since 2012.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is an intelligence led agency and follows the National Intelligence Model (NIM) when sharing information with law enforcement partners.

    Every report made to the SFO is assessed by a member of its Intelligence Unit in conjunction with other information available. The SFO passes information on to others when it has appropriate intelligence to share. This could be information from a single report, or a collated intelligence package.

    The vast majority of reports made to the SFO are not matters which it can investigate, and are more appropriate for the police or other agencies. Action Fraud is the UK’s national fraud reporting centre. Individuals are asked to report matters directly to them so that Action Fraud can make best use of their information. They will also be given a crime report number for future reference.

    The table below shows the minimum number of intelligence referrals made by the SFO to other agencies which are directly referable to reports made through the dedicated reporting channel(1) since these statistics have been recorded. It also shows the number of SFO investigations opened since 2012 where the initial report to the SFO came through its online reporting system.

    Year

    Number of referrals

    SFO investigations that originated through online reporting system

    2012

    Not recorded

    1

    2013

    Not recorded

    2

    2014

    144

    3

    2015

    154

    3

    1. The SFO does not record statistical information about all types of referrals that it makes to other agencies that are directly referable to reports made through the dedicated reporting channel, so the total number may be higher.
  • 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 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 11 May 2016 to Question 36152, which religious festivals prisoners were released on temporary licence to attend in each year since 2011.

    Andrew Selous

    My officials are currently working to provide the information requested. I will write to you shortly.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) the changing of babies in her Department.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education’s main office in London has a facility for both nursing mothers and baby changing. This room is clearly signed as a baby changing area and contains a baby changing fold down work top, wipes, and chairs for nursing mothers to sit comfortably.

    Other Department sites in Coventry, Darlington, Manchester and Sheffield also have a room available for use by nursing mothers and baby changing which contain seating, worktop areas and wipes.

    The Nottingham site is a conference centre, with overnight accommodation facilities. This site is able to prepare a suitable hotel room for nursing mothers and baby changing when required.