Category: Speeches

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to ensure the resilience of agriculture businesses in (a) Copeland and (b) Allerdale to respond to the effects of (i) Storm Desmond and (ii) future severe weather events.

    George Eustice

    We have been working closely with the NFU and other industry bodies to identify major problems, not only in Copeland and Allerdale, but across Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Durham where exceptional rainfall added to ground which was already saturated. In response, we have provided grants and other support to help farmers restore their land through the Farming Recovery Fund. Farmers affected by flooding will be able to claim grants of between £500 and £20,000 to cover the cost of restoring their farmland.

    In restoring damaged features such as bridges, fences or cross drains, we are encouraging farmers to protect against the future by considering building in protection against future flood damage. They can do this by locating these in a position where they are less likely to be damaged in the future or can be (for example, in the case of bridges) raised to reduce the risk of water damage. If farmers consider relocating features within their field, they could save replacement costs in the future.

    We have also put in place in Cumbria a new partnership, which includes representatives of agriculture businesses, to develop an action plan to be published this summer. The action plan will cover a range of issues, such as what improvements may be needed to flood defences in the region; upstream options for slowing key rivers to reduce peak water flows, and ways of building stronger links between local residents, businesses, community groups and flood defence planning.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential costs and benefits of making available to the public country-by-country taxation reports submitted to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) by multinational companies; and whether HMRC plans to make those reports available to taxation authorities in other countries.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK supports efforts to improve tax transparency. We initiated the international work on country-by-country (CbC) reporting to tax authorities during our G8 Presidency in 2013, calling on the OECD to develop a template for this as part of the BEPS project. The UK was also the first to commit to implementing the OECD model with legislation in Finance Act 2015. We signed the OECD agreement to share the CbC reports with other tax authorities in January 2016 and issued our final CbC reporting regulations on 26 February 2016.

    HMRC is committed to sharing the information reported by MNEs with other relevant tax jurisdictions to assist in assessing international tax avoidance risks.

    The Government believes that there is scope for greater transparency by pressing the case for public CbC reporting on a multilateral basis. As the Chancellor has said, this is something that the UK will seek to promote internationally.

    The European Commission is preparing an impact assessment of public CbC reporting. We look forward to seeing the outcome of this analysis, which we expect to be published early next month, and will consider any proposal put forward by the Commission in due course.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Universities UK on reviewing the Zellick guidelines.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Government asked Universities UK to establish a taskforce to explore what more can be done by the higher education sector to prevent, and respond effectively, to incidents of violence and sexual harassment against women, hate crimes and other forms of harassment. The taskforce is expected to report its findings in the autumn.

    To date Universities UK have received 59 written representations from universities, plus additional evidence from a wide range of agencies and organisations.

    Universities UK has published an update of the recent taskforce meeting, which addressed the Zellick guidelines. The Government looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s final report in due course.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Japanese and (b) South Korean counterparts on the development of nuclear weapons by those countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    While the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has discussed nuclear non-proliferation issues with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts this year, the specific issue raised in the question has not arisen: in joining the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as Non-Nuclear Weapons States, Japan and South Korea have undertaken legally binding commitments not to acquire nuclear weapons. Japan and the Republic of Korea have made clear public statements that strongly support the treaty as the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, to promote the safe and secure use of civil nuclear energy, and to pursue nuclear disarmament.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what tariff levels UK exports of goods and services would be subject to if the UK traded under WTO regulations with the remaining 27 countries of the EU, listed by category.

    Lord Price

    If the UK were to leave the EU without having negotiated a preferential trade deal, then under WTO rules neither the UK nor the EU could offer each other better market access than that offered to all other WTO members.

    The bound levels of access for goods and services into the EU under WTO rules are set out in the EU’s schedules of commitments and are publicly available on the WTO website.

    The bound levels of access for goods and services from the EU into the UK under WTO rules would be an issue for the government to consider in due course.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the NHS staff and recruitment needs for (a) the North East, (b) County Durham and (c) Easington constituency.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    No estimate has been made by the Department. Health Education England (HEE), an independent arms-length body, has been established to ensure the National Health Service has access to the right numbers of staff, at the right time and with the right skills. In doing so, HEE works with key external stakeholders to develop its National Workforce Plan for England which sets out the number of training places it will commission in the year ahead. The latest Workforce Plan for England, together with annexes detailing planned commissions by Local Education and Training Boards, is available at:

    https://www.hee.nhs.uk/our-work/planning-commissioning/workforce-planning/commissioning-investment-plan-england-2016-17

    HEE is investing in the development of Local Workforce Action Boards (LWABs), which will provide strategic leadership in the development of local workforce strategies. HEE has been leading on the development of a LWAB for Cumbria and the North East. The LWAB will meet in October to agree priorities to support the local workforce.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is his policy to allow members of the public to make an application for a cremation in Welsh.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008 require that, in order for a cremation to proceed, the crematorium medical referee must scrutinise the application and associated medical or coroner forms before authorising a cremation.

    An application made in Wales may be for a cremation in Wales or a cremation in England. A medical referee in Wales may not be a Welsh speaker, and a medical referee in England will almost certainly not be a Welsh speaker.

    Applications in Wales must therefore be made in English, to make sure that the medical referee can understand and authorise the cremation in a timely manner wherever the cremation is to take place.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 19452, if he will publish the business model referred to in that Answer; and which departments or bodies funded Just Solutions.

    Andrew Selous

    We have no plans to publish the business model for Just Solutions International (JSi). As I told the House on 14 December, services under JSi were to be provided on a cost recovery basis.

  • 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 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 22 January (HL4827), what assessment they have made of the capacity of the United Nations Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and on the Responsibility to Protect, to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for genocide against Yazidis and Christians.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The role of the UN Office of the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide is to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, to alert relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide, and to advocate and mobilise for appropriate action. The role of the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect is to lead the conceptual, political, institutional and operational development of the Responsibility to Protect. They are not mandated to carry out criminal/judicial investigations, and therefore the British Government has made no assessment of their capacity to do so.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 22 February (HL5978), how many, and which, management consultancies engaged in failed initiatives from the previous rounds of consultancy-driven recovery initiatives will be excluded from NHS Improvement’s current round.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS Improvement undertakes its procurements in compliance with procurement rules and good practice. As such, no consultancies are automatically excluded from any consultancy driven recovery initiatives. However as part of this, NHS Improvement takes into account past performance of suppliers to the fullest extent permissible in its procurements.