Category: Speeches

  • Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Liam Byrne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library a copy of the process for approving intervention providers under the Channel programme and the timetable for that process.

    Mr John Hayes

    There are currently 55 Home Office approved Intervention Providers for the Channel programme. They play a central role in reducing the vulnerability of people being drawn into terrorism. They are recruited on the basis of proven experience in mentoring, their work with key communities affected by terrorism and extremism and their knowledge of extremist ideologies and recruitment narratives.

    Recruitment rounds take place approximately every quarter. Candidates can be recommended by local partners, including Local Authorities, community groups, or other local partners.

    Applications undergo stringent background checks and where candidates are suitable they will be invited to interview. Candidates who meet the requirements at interview are put forward for Ministerial approval. This robust process, given that they will be working with the most vulnerable individuals on sensitive issues, takes up to twelve weeks.

    The list of Intervention Providers is kept under regular review and the Home Office is working on their number of providers and to respond to the changing threat, for example to recruit more female providers. Intervention Providers are given ongoing professional training.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the prevalence of torture in Sri Lanka.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Her Majesty’s Government takes very seriously any allegations of torture or other forms of ill-treatment, in Sri Lanka as in other countries. I raised concerns, highlighted by recent NGO reports on allegations of ongoing torture in Sri Lanka, with both the government and civil society when I visited Sri Lanka in January. British High Commission officials in Colombo are also in regular contact with local human rights organisations in Sri Lanka.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has received outlining concerns related to his Department’s new anti-lobbying policy.

    Matthew Hancock

    The few representations received about implementation of the new clause in Government grants have given us the opportunity to explain that the clause does not stop grant recipients from lobbying, but prevents them from spending government grant funded by taxpayers given for a different purpose on lobbying.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will assess the alternative Colne Valley tunnelling scheme for High Speed 2 as proposed by Hillingdon Council; and if he will meet the hon. Member for Richmond Park, the Leader of Hillingdon Council and the hon. Member for Uxbridge and Ruislip Northwood and Pinner to discuss that alternative.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The alternative Colne Valley tunnelling scheme, as proposed by the London Borough of Hillingdon (LBH), has been assessed and evidence was presented to the House of Commons HS2 Phase One Bill Select Committee. The Select Committee highlighted a number of concerns with the tunnel scheme in their statement on the 15th July 2015 which concluded that ‘our overall view is that a convincing case for a tunnel instead of the viaduct has not been made.’ Importantly, the Select Committee noted that the evidence was that a tunnel would not eliminate the impact of construction works in Hillingdon and surrounding areas.

    However, HS2 Ltd is currently undertaking a study with LBH to identify how the HS2 construction impacts in Hillingdon can be further reduced. The results from this study are due to be reported in May 2016.

    In the meantime, the Secretary of State is happy to meet the hon. Member for Richmond Park, the hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner, and the Leader of Hillingdon Council.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of introducing a centralised, national electoral register.

    John Penrose

    Electoral registers are compiled and maintained locally by Electoral Registration Officers primarily for the purposes of running Parliamentary and local elections in their area. A centralised, national electoral register would not necessarily help them do this, and would potentially create concerns about how government handles citizens personal data, so we have made no assessment of this kind.

  • Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Matthew Offord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to the US administration to secure its co-operation in surveillance and enforcement of closed marine areas in (a) British Indian Ocean Territory and (b) Ascension Island.

    James Duddridge

    Officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are in regular communication with their US counterparts to explore the opportunities for cooperation in surveillance and enforcement of Marine Protected Areas, including the British Indian Ocean Territory and Ascension Island.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce congestion in cities.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government has an ambitious strategy for tackling congestion in our cities and towns and improving performance on our roads. This strategy includes providing significant investment in both our strategic and local road networks, as well as encouraging more sustainable transport including buses, light rail and walking and cycling. We are providing £15.2 billion between 2015 and 2021 to invest in our strategic road network. This is the biggest upgrade to our motorways and ‘A’ roads for a generation, and it is adding capacity and tackling congestion.

    On local roads we have the £12 billion Local Growth Fund to 2021 which has enabled local authorities through the Local Enterprise Partnerships to identify and secure funding for projects to enable among other things, local road improvements and sustainable local transport projects. This is on top of over £6 billion through to 2021 to councils in England to help maintain their local roads and repair potholes.

    This investment is set against the backdrop of a regulatory framework that is intended to provide better conditions for all road users through coordination and proactive management of the road network. The Traffic Management Act 2004 specifically places a network management duty on each local traffic authority in England to manage its road network to secure the expeditious movement of traffic on its own network and to facilitate the same on the network of other authorities. This can be achieved through traditional traffic management methods but increasingly also through the deployment of technology. To support this the Department is currently inviting local authorities to bid for a share of £2m to fund demonstrator projects to test these new technologies.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pension scams were (1) reported, and (2) stopped by official action, in each year from 2010 to 2016.

    Lord Freud

    The Government takes the threat posed by scams very seriously and recognises that these can be complex and multifaceted, often spanning departmental and agency boundaries. It is for this reason that the Government established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency group of officials to help co-ordinate action to tackle scams, monitor trends and share intelligence on emerging threats. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.

    Those scams which are reported, including Pension Liberation reports, are collected and collated by the National Fraud Reporting Centre (Action Fraud), within the City of London Police, which was established in 2013. However, the true extent of pension scams in the UK is unknown because many go un-reported.

    The data on the number of reported scams will include those which have been reported over the past three years by individuals, pension providers, the Pensions Regulator or other agencies but, on which, Action Fraud has not yet received any feedback from the investigating police force, for example, a report on whether suspects have been charged or summonsed. This delay is due to the complexity of pension fraud investigations which can take several years to investigate. Action Fraud would not know the outcome until the end of the court case. Frequently, numerous fraud reports will relate to a single suspect.

    The data on the number of reported scams also includes reports where organisations have taken action to prevent that fraud. Outcome feedback would only be received in respect of these reports if the Police became involved.

    We expect the number of charges and summons to increase as outcome feedback from investigating police forces for pre 2014 reports is received and collated. The available data is provided in the table below:

    Year

    No. of Action Fraud Reports

    Suspect charged / summonsed

    2014

    911

    1

    2015

    807

    6

    2016 (to date)

    290

    0

    Total:

    2,008

    7
  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many independent tribunals have been brought to challenge mandatory reconsiderations of tax credits by Concentrix in each month since that company has been under contract with his Department.

    Damian Hinds

    The following table outlines the number of applications HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) received from HM Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) as a result of a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix.

    Month

    Number of applications HMRC received from HMCTS following a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix

    March 2015

    3

    April 2015

    1

    May 2015

    6

    June 2015

    5

    July 2015

    3

    August 2015

    3

    September 2015

    19

    Prior to March 2015 HMRC did not receive any applications from HMCTS challenging a mandatory reconsideration decision made by Concentrix.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nicola Blackwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much of his Department’s funding allocated in the Spending Review 2015 will be for research and development expenditure up to 2020.

    Mike Penning

    The amount of funding allocated for research and development will be determined through the Ministry of Justice’s internal budget setting process. This process has not yet concluded so the amount is not known.