Category: Speeches

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mechanisms for oversight her Department has for UK Government aid to the Palestinian Authority.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved European Union list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what premium payments were made by the InterCity East Coast franchisee to his Department in 2015-16.

    Claire Perry

    The final number for 2015/16 is yet to be audited. The official number is due to be published by the Office of Rail and Road on 25th August 2016.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of slavery have been reported in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The table below shows the number of potential victims of human trafficking or modern slavery who were referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in the UK between 2011 and 2015.

    The NRM is the UK’s identification and support mechanism for potential victims of modern slavery.

    Year

    Number of potential victims

    2011

    946

    2012

    1,186

    2013

    1,746

    2014

    2,340

    2015

    3,266

    A breakdown of referrals is available from published NRM statistics on the National Crime Agency website and can be found here: www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the implementation of the Healthy Child Programme; and what recent meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had to discuss that Programme.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The responsibility for leadership of the Healthy Child Programme is with Public Health England (PHE).

    The Healthy Child Programme is the Government’s framework that underpins PHE’s priority to give every child the best start in life. The Best Start in Life Board meets bimonthly, jointly chaired by PHE and a local authority Chief Executive. The Board has cross-government representation from the Department of Health, Department for Education, Department for Work and Pensions, and Department for Communities and Local Government.

    The Department has commissioned PHE to undertake a review of the delivery of the universal elements of 0-5 services, mandated to local authorities, and will report later this year.

  • Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Pendry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of a recent report by UKactive that lack of exercise is estimated to cause 37,000 deaths annually and cost the UK economy £20 billion a year, what steps they are taking to reduce levels of inactivity.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government welcomes ukactive’s report. It makes an important contribution to the debate on physical activity and builds on the framework for action set out by Public Health England last year in “Everybody Active Every Day”.

    The Government recognises the health, economic and social benefits to individuals, communities and the nation of increasing physical activity levels. Since 2011, the Government has invested over £450 million in the PE and Sport Primary Premium in order to improve PE and sport. A further £46.5 million has been invested in School Games in order to provide all children, regardless of their ability, with a chance to participate in competitive sport. In addition £13 million has been invested in Change4life sports clubs which targets the least active children and helps them get more active.

    We are also committed to raising awareness among the public and health professionals of the benefits of physical activity. We have worked with experts to translate the Chief Medical Officers’ (CMOs) guidelines on physical activity into easy messages in the form of an infographic which health professionals can now use with their patients when they discuss physical activity. The UK’s CMOs have now asked the experts to carry out a similar piece of work on physical activity for children and young people. In addition, Public Health England’s Change4Life campaign continues to support families to make healthy choices, including being active.

    Further action to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour will be taken via the Government’s new strategy for sport to be published shortly.

  • Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officer grade staff were employed by NOMS on 31 March in each year since 2010; and how many such people were employed on the latest day for which statistics are available.

    Andrew Selous

    Information on the number of Band 3 to 5 prison officers in post, and on the number who joined and left the public sector Prison Service, is published in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin. The 30 September edition of the bulletin can be found at the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics-september-2015

    “

  • Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Liz McInnes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people under the age of (a) 16 and (b) 18 sleeping rough in the UK in the last 12 months.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Information on the ages of rough sleepers is not collected centrally.

    We will increase central investment over the next four years to £139 million for innovative programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping. We have also protected homelessness prevention funding for local authorities, through the provisional local government finance settlement totalling £315 million by 2019/20.

  • Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Baroness Doocey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Doocey on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions have been double flagged by the Crown Prosecution Service over the past three years using the flag for monitoring human trafficking, and the flag for monitoring child abuse.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify both human trafficking and child abuse cases by way of a database monitoring flag applied to the electronic case record.

    The number of defendants prosecuted for flagged human trafficking offences where the child abuse flag was also applied are as follows:

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    19

    59

    24

    The figures provided represent the number of defendants prosecuted. Cases of trafficking for child exploitation (particularly child sexual exploitation) can involve networks of multi-defendants who have sexually exploited young female victims. Therefore, in the relatively low numbers of cases cross flagged, a small number of additional cases in one year involving upwards of 9 to 12 defendants each will have a significant effect on the annual figures. This, in part, explains the reduction in the number of defendants prosecuted for both human trafficking and child abuse; down from 59 in 2013/14 to 24 in 2014/15.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will make an assessment of the potential effect of absorbing the EU emissions trading system tax on fossil fuels into the UK’s carbon price support tax for fossil fuels.

    Amber Rudd

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

    The UK supports the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) as the best means of achieving the EU’s emissions reduction targets to 2030 and beyond at least cost for business and consumers, through a market-based approach. Emissions trading works better at the European level, creating a larger and more liquid market and a level playing field between Member States. The UK has been a consistent champion of the EU ETS and first piloted a national cap-and-trade scheme in 2002 before its launch. The UK has been at the forefront in securing recent measures to reform and strengthen the EU ETS, including securing EU agreement in September 2014 to a Market Stability Reserve to address the surplus of allowances in the system.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many nationals of other EU member states who have been victims of violent crime in the UK have been compensated as a result of EU legislation in each year since 2010; and how much that compensation amounted to.

    Mike Penning

    The Criminal Inquiries Compensation Scheme is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The Authority does not record or collect data on the nationality of individuals who make applications for compensation or are granted awards of compensation under the Scheme.