Category: Speeches

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the level of adherence by the Palestinian National Authority to the principle of non-violence set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between her Department and that authority; and if she will make a statement.

    James Wharton

    The UK deplores incitement to violence on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and takes the issue of incitement extremely seriously. When incidents of incitement to violence do occur, we do not hesitate to raise and condemn these with the Palestinian Authority. The UK raises the issue of incitement as part of the FCO-led UK-Palestinian strategic dialogue, most recently in February this year. HMG’s assessment is that the Palestinian Authority is not in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding. The UK continues to encourage the leaderships of both the PA and Israel to re-engage in the Trilateral Committee on Anti-Incitement.

  • Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Callum McCaig – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Callum McCaig on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the probability of the UK having to export electricity across the interconnectors to the continent at times of peak demand during winter 2015-16.

    Andrea Leadsom

    As indicated by National Grid’s 2015 Winter Outlook, forward power prices for this winter suggest that we will see net imports to GB over electricity interconnectors with continental Europe (IFA and Britned).

    Beyond these market arrangements, should GB need additional support, it is also possible for National Grid as the System Operator to call upon interconnectors at a time of system stress.

  • Lord Rogan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Rogan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rogan on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which members of the House of Lords and Commons attended the briefing on the Northern Ireland political agreement, by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Theresa Villiers, prior to her statement to the House of Commons on 19 November.

    Lord Dunlop

    There was no briefing for Peers or MP’s prior to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland’s Statement to the House of Commons on Thursday 19 November.

    An invitation to the briefing on the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Bill held on Monday 23 November was circulated electronically to all Peers via the Usual Channels.

  • 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 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the value to the economy of the curry industry.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government does not hold information on the value of the curry industry, the number of curry houses, trends in the number of curry houses or the number of curry chefs.

    Official statistics carry figures on the value and number of restaurants, takeaways and other food service businesses in general, but do not detail specific types of food being served. Similarly while the number of chefs and catering staff will be estimated there is no consideration of their specialisation in terms of cuisine.

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to announce the level of grant funding available to Police and Crime Commissioners for commissioning support services for victims of crime; and if he will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    I refer the honourable member to the answer which I gave in PQ 25197 to George Howarth on 9th February 2016.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 14 January 2016 to Questions 21812, 21778, 21813, 21814 and 21816, which organisations his Department has met to discuss whether local authorities are meeting their mandatory requirements for the commissioning of sexual health services.

    Jane Ellison

    Departmental officials have met and discussed this issue with the Local Government Association, the English HIV and Sexual Health Commissioners Group, the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of transitional funding grants on adult social care provision in areas that (a) receive additional funding and (b) have not been allocated a transitional funding grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The 2015 Spending Review considered a wide range of factors that could impact on the costs local authorities face in delivering local services. It recognised the important priority and growing costs of adult social care and offered a package of measures worth up to £3.5 billion a year by 2019-20 to address these pressures. This includes a dedicated social care precept of up to 2% a year and £1.5 billion additional funding by 2019/20 through the improved Better Care Fund.

    The 2016/17 Local Government Finance Settlement included a new approach to allocating funding that ensures councils delivering the same set of services receive the same percentage change in settlement core funding for those services. The Transition Grant supports those local authorities that did not benefit from the new approach, helping them transition to a world where local resources instead of central government grant fund local services. An explanatory note on the method of allocation of the Transition Grant has been published and copies have been made available in the Library of both Houses.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36280, for what reasons work capability assessments have been cancelled.

    Priti Patel

    Work Capability Assessments can be cancelled for a wide variety of reasons linked to the need for matching the customer’s own requirements with the availability of all those parts necessary for an assessment to take place. Over half of all cancellations are customer instigated cancellations.

    Where the cancellations are instigated by DWP we will rearrange the appointment at a convenient time for the customer.

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeal tribunal decisions in relation to re-assessments of entitlement of disability living allowance for children found in favour of the claimant in the last three years for which figures are available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • 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 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of offenders who have been taken to court for breaching their post sentence supervision were (i) fined, (ii) given a Supervision Default Order, (iii) committed to prison and (iv) had no action taken against them since the introduction of such supervision.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, which introduced post sentence supervision for those serving short custodial sentences, applies to offences committed on or after 1 February 2015. Statistics on the number of offenders starting post sentence supervision and the number of offenders committed to custody for breach of post sentence supervision conditions is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/541247/probation-q1-2016.xlsx.

    “