Category: Speeches

Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps are being taken to address and prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is the 4th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its humanitarian support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis with medical supplies, food, water, and emergency shelter.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that there have been 16 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus identified in Yemen in 2016, and that appropriate treatment has been given. The WHO and Ministry of Public Health continue to conduct Health Education awareness campaigns on the prevention and control of a number of epidemic diseases, including H1N1.

01/01/2023
Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the electrification of the Leeds- Harrogate-York railway line.

Andrew Jones

Network Rail is taking the recommendations of the North of England Electrification Task Force into account in assessing the case for further electrification of the national rail network, including the Leeds-Harrogate-York line. It plans to publish a draft update to the industry electrification strategy this year.

01/01/2023
Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he has had discussions with the local authorities concerned on amending the legislation that created the Lee Valley Regional Park levy in order to allow the London Borough of Sutton and other London local authorities the option of investing the money they currently contribute to the Lee Valley Regional Park through that levy into the Wandle and other regional parks.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Secretary of State has not held discussions about amending the Lee Valley Regional Park funding levy with the local authorities concerned.

01/01/2023

Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much the Rural Payments Agency has made in payments related to the European School Milk Scheme in each region and constituent part of the UK in each year since 2005.

George Eustice

The attached table shows the total UK amounts taken from the annual European accounts for each year from 2005 to 2016. The amounts in the table are the payments made to the organisations that supply milk to schools, which have been claimed back in full from the European Commission by the RPA.

In years 2005 and 2006 the Rural Payments Agency were required to produce the accounts in GBP currency and in years 2007 and later, were required to produce accounts in euro currency to comply with Regulation 883-2006.

Year	Amount
2005	6,695,400.64
2006	6,552,414.56
Total£	£13,247,815.20
2007	8,204,965.56
2008	7,893,693.21
2009	7,553,825.13
2010	7,292,814.68
2011	1,900,066.83
2012	4,753,174.39
2013	4,525,499.84
2014	4,382,584.46
2015	4,325,618.91
Total €	€ 50,832,243.01

The figure for 2011 is a result of a repayment made by the Department of Health, where a decision was taken to fund the cost of the nursery milk provision entirely from their own budget. This resulted in the RPA claiming less from the European Commission that year only.

A breakdown by region and constituent part of the UK could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023

Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what representations she has received on reforming the questions asked on asylum applications related to persecution related to religious beliefs.

Mr Robert Goodwill

In June 2016 The Home Office received the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion’s report, ‘Fleeing persecution: Asylum claims in the UK on religious freedom grounds’. We are carefully considering the report and its recommendations and will provide a response in due course, including whether we will consider whether any changes to the way we handle religious-based claims are appropriate.

The report acknowledges the progress made by the Home Office with regards to guidance and training provided to its staff but highlighted the Group’s view that there were some discrepancies between the Home Office policy and practice.

The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on their individual merits and grants protection for those who genuinely need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In every asylum case the particular circumstances of the individual are considered in light of published country information, which includes issues relating specifically to religious freedoms.

Published guidance on the interviewing and consideration of religious claims is regularly reviewed and takes into consideration the views of religious groups and other stakeholders.

01/01/2023
Craig Tracey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Tracey on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps the Government is taking to support businesses in Scotland.

Jesse Norman

The British Business Bank currently facilitates around £300m of finance in Scotland. Around £10m of Start-Up Loans have been provided to over 2,000 Scottish businesses, and £290m is helping a further 2,000 businesses to grow through other Bank programmes. In 2015/16, Innovate UK committed to invest £58.3m in 291 innovation projects in Scotland.

01/01/2023
Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many faults have been found aboard HMS (a) Astute, (b) Ambush and (c) Artful since it left dry dock.

Mr Philip Dunne

The process for reporting and assessing deficiencies against the material state of a submarine does not use the definition of a fault. The material state of a submarine is formally assessed at the end of each maintenance period. In the time in between maintenance periods, Ship’s Staff report changes to this assessed material state using the Operational Defect reporting process.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of his Department’s budget for employment support has been allocated to the Work and Health Programme for each of the next four years.

Priti Patel

In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a new Work and Health Programme to provide specialist support for claimants with health conditions or disabilities and those unemployed for over 2 years after current Work Programme and Work Choice contracts end.

The Department is currently undertaking its normal prioritisation process to determine how funding secured at the Spending Review is allocated on an annual basis.

01/01/2023
Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions in each of the last two calendar years his Department has been notified by outside consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials.

Brandon Lewis

There is no record of any occasion during 2014 or 2015 where the Department has been notified centrally by outside consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials.

01/01/2023
Caroline Nokes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Nokes on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential psychological effect on victims of domestic abuse who are representing themselves as litigants in person in the family court of having to cross-examine their alleged abuser.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government is committed to supporting victims of domestic violence and abuse.

The Ministry of Justice is undertaking research to explore how the family judiciary are currently managing cases where unrepresented alleged perpetrators of abuse can cross-examine vulnerable witnesses in the family court, and to establish what, if any, additional provisions could be considered to support them in doing so. A report will be published in due course.

The research did not aim to assess the psychological impact of any cross-examination on victims of domestic abuse. However, some of the findings relate to the considerations the judiciary make in managing such cases appropriately, and the report will outline options to further protect vulnerable witnesses in the family court. It was out of scope of this research to explore cases where an unrepresented litigant who is a victim of domestic abuse may have to cross-examine their alleged abuser.

Family judges have a range of powers and training to manage difficult court room situations and to ensure they are handled sensitively for victims of domestic violence and other vulnerable witnesses. Judges can intervene to prevent inappropriate questions or have questions relayed. Practical protections, for example, protective screens, video links, separate waiting rooms and separate entrances are available where appropriate. It is for the judge involved, on the basis of the evidence, to determine how the framework will be applied in a particular case.

The family courts take the issue of domestic violence extremely seriously. The Child Arrangement Programme and Practice Direction 12J set out a strong and clear framework where domestic violence is alleged and all judges receive specific training on this framework.

01/01/2023