Category: Speeches

  • Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding the Government has committed to provide to (a) projects and (b) the government in Bahrain in each financial year from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We support Bahrain’s ambitious reform programmes and will provide in the region of £2.1 million of funding in support of projects aimed at strengthening human rights and the rule of law in 2015-16. The allocations for subsequent financial years to 2019/20 have not yet been agreed.

  • 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 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether revenue received from the criminal courts charge has exceeded the cost to the public purse of running such courts since that charge was introduced.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The principle underlying the Criminal Courts Charge was for offenders to contribute towards the cost of running the Criminal Courts, not to cover the full running costs.

    Data on the amount of the Criminal Courts Charge imposed and collected from April to September can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.

    “

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he had during the visit of President Narendra Modi to the UK in November 2015 on outstanding payments to British companies for services provided during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The British High Commission in New Delhi has repeatedly raised with the Government of India the dispute over payment of the British company Satellite Information Services (SIS), urging them to settle the case, and has provided consistent support to SIS. I also raised this case with the Indian High Commissioner in London in October 2015. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) discussed opportunities and challenges for British business in India with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the UK in November 2015. We will continue to press for a satisfactory settlement.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many staff in her Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    No one working in my Department is in receipt of any of these allowances.

    My Department has two executive non-departmental public bodies – the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body – the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As these bodies are independent of Government, the hon Member may wish to write to the Commissions directly on these matters – contact details are set out below:

    ALB

    Status

    Contact Details

    Parades Commission for Northern Ireland

    Executive NDPB

    info@paradescommission.org

    Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

    Executive NDPB

    information@nihrc.org

    Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland

    Advisory NDPB

    contact@boundarycommission.org.uk

    “

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 24 February (HL6131) concerning a proposal by the EU to requisition member states’ gas supplies under certain circumstances, whether such a policy would require (1) parliamentary consent, and (2) a referendum.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    There is no suggestion in the proposals that the EU will requisition Member States’ gas supplies. The proposals are at a very early stage and we are engaging with the Commission to ensure that the final version is practical and proportionate. The proposals do not involve any agreement by the UK to transfer power or competence to the EU. These proposals are subject to the usual scrutiny process of both Houses.

  • Biography information for Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Biography information for Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Earl Attlee on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a UK power station is required to be able to make a black start”

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    National Grid procure the Black Start service from providers that have the capability to start main blocks of generation from an on-site auxiliary generator, without reliance on external site supplies. It is not a requirement for all UK power stations to have this capability.

    In the event of a Black Start, the service would require the provider to start up its main generator(s) and deliver power to start up sections of the National Transmission System and distribution network.

  • Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Susan Elan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Susan Elan Jones on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether all children in Calais with valid family reunion claims and the first 300 of those children identified as most at risk will be re-located to the UK in time for the start of the new school year in September 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    Both Governments are clear that migrants in Calais in need of protection should claim asylum in France. The UK will consider requests to take responsibility of an asylum application made in France, where an asylum claim is lodged by a minor with close family connections in the UK and both governments are committed to ensuring such cases are prioritised. To assist the handling of these cases the UK and France have established a senior level standing committee, agreed single points of contact within respective Dublin Units and the UK seconded an asylum expert to the French administration to facilitate the improvement of all stages of the process of identifying, protecting and transferring relevant cases to the UK. Since February 2016 the UK has accepted over 30 requests from France under the Dublin Regulation to take charge of asylum seeking children on family grounds of which more than 20 have already been transferred to the UK.

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what savings to the public purse he expects to be made as a result of the post-16 education and training area review in Greater Manchester.

    Nick Boles

    Area reviews are about ensuring post 16 institutions are in the best state possible to meet the economic and educational needs of their areas and financially resilient for the long term. Colleges will be able to invest any savings created through implementation of area review recommendations in improved front line services, including better delivery of apprenticeships and higher level skills. This is expected to be the position in Greater Manchester, which is due to conclude shortly.

  • 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 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 11 May (HL8212), what steps they are taking to ensure that the human rights of Christian pastors in Sudan are protected, in the light of the ongoing detention of Reverend Hasan Kodi Taour.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware that the four men in question remain in detention. Officials from our Embassy in Khartoum were present in court to observe the most recent hearing on 26 September, and are in close contact with the lawyers representing the defendants. We regularly raise our concerns over this case with the government of Sudan, most recently during the visit of the UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan to Khartoum in September. We will continue to monitor this case closely.

    More widely, freedom of religion or belief remains a consistent theme in our ongoing human rights dialogue with the government of Sudan. We consistently call on them to ensure all legislation is consistent with the commitment to their citizens in the Interim Constitution of 2005, within which religious freedom is enshrined.

  • – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what response they have made to the claim by the Chief Constable of Cumbria that the proposed changes in the funding formula for police forces mean that forces could be reduced to a blue light” emergency response service

    Lord Bates

    We are currently refining the proposed police funding model in light of responses to the public consultation and continue to engage with Police and Crime Commissioners and forces as part of this process. The model will not be finalised until we have considered further feedback from policing partners. Allocations for individual force areas have not been set and no decisions on funding will be made until the Spending Review reports in November.

    The proposed model uses objective indicators to allocate funding according to relative need. We consider this approach to be a fairer and more transparent method of allocating limited resources in comparison to the current complex, opaque and out of date formula.

    Decisions about the size and composition of the police workforce are an operational matter for chief officers, in line with the local priorities set by their Police and Crime Commissioner.