Category: Speeches

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Indian government on suppression of the press in Kashmir and Jammu.

    Alok Sharma

    The UK Government has not made any representation to the Government of India on freedom of press in Jammu and Kashmir. We recognise that there are broader human rights concerns in Kashmir. In November 2015, Indian Prime Minister Modi assured the former Prime Minister, my Rt hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) of his commitment to and respect for India’s core values of tolerance and freedom.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is the Government’s policy to comply with EU rules on the exchange of (a) blood and (b) organs after the UK has left the EU.

    David Mowat

    The safety and quality of our blood, tissue and cells and organ donation and transplant programmes must be assured. Any proposed changes within or outside Europe will continue to be considered carefully to ensure a safe and high quality service. Whilst the United Kingdom remains a full member of the European Union, EU legislation will of course continue to be in place and all obligations of EU membership will apply. Ongoing discussions are taking place regarding which rules and regulations are best placed to meet UK healthcare needs.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had about access to all areas of East Ukraine for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.

    Mr David Lidington

    For the Minsk peace process to succeed, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitors must be given full and unhindered access to east Ukraine. I discussed implementation of the Minsk Agreements in detail with Prime Minister Yatseniuk, Foreign Minister Klimkin and OSCE Special Representative Martin Sadjik when I visited Ukraine between 6-8 October. I also raise access for OSCE monitors regularly with the Russian Ambassador to the UK, most recently in June 2015. We also continue to raise it as a point of priority when discussing Ukraine with bilateral partners and in multilateral fora including the EU, OSCE and the UN.

  • Baroness Gardner of Parkes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Gardner of Parkes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gardner of Parkes on 2015-11-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the issues involved in maintaining or improving leasehold properties under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, in particular in central London, where a right to manage exists.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The maintenance and repair of a block of flats containing leasehold properties is normally the responsibility of the landlord and will be set out under the terms of the lease. This responsibility can pass to a Right to Manage Company where leaseholders have exercised and acquired that right, allowing them to exercise direct control over how their block is maintained.

    Landlords, or those who have acquired the Right to Manage, have a contractual obligation under the terms of the leases to carry out necessary works to the properties that they are responsible for maintaining. Where works are suggested by a majority of leaseholders that are not essential to the repair or maintenance of the property, we would expect landlords to engage with their leaseholders to discuss the feasibility of the suggested works, but there are no plans to legislate to obligate landlords to carry out such work.

    There are also no plans to legislate to provide a limited time within which non-resident leaseholders who fail to respond to a proposal for qualifying works, are deemed to have agreed to the proposed works. The statutory consultation process (known as section 20) gives leaseholders the ability to have a greater say on proposed works to their property by making observations. It does not require leaseholders to make observations, but any observations that are made must be made within a specified time limit. The landlord (or Right to Manage Company) is therefore in the knowledge that subject to observations made, they are able to proceed with necessary works.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they anticipate the review of unsafe product recall, chaired by Lynn Faulds-Wood, will be published.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The review of the UK unsafe product recall system chaired by Lynn Faulds Wood will be published soon.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) NATO and (b) the Balkan states on increasing the number of NATO troops and amount of materiel in those states.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The UK is fully engaged with NATO’s regular reviews of its distribution of troops and materiel to ensure the Alliance is adaptable to the changing security situation. The NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) – around 4,600 personnel – is reviewed regularly, with SHAPE currently reporting a positive security and political situation. NATO Allies regularly train in the Western Balkans region, and in 2016 the UK will contribute troops to: Exercise CARPATHIAN EXPRESS and Exercise STEADFAST COBALT in Romania; Exercise STEADFAST LEV in Bulgaria; Exercise IMMEDIATE RESPONSE in Slovenia; and Exercise JOINT EFFORT in Albania.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions mental health trusts in London have paid for private beds since 2010; and on each such occasion (a) from which organisation the bed was purchased and (b) what the cost of that purchase was to the public purse.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-03-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that the Codentify system is not advantaged over other available systems in any future decision on tobacco product authentication systems to be used by his Department.

    Damian Hinds

    Tobacco products classified as ‘illicit’ in the UK include anything on which duty has not been paid but should have been paid. This includes counterfeit products, brands manufactured legally overseas but not legally sold in the UK, and genuine products originating in the UK and overseas but diverted from legitimate supply chains by criminals. Because of this, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers use a variety of ways to identify illicit product. Testing product authenticity is one mechanism.

    To test product authenticity, HMRC uses identifiers required by legislation, for example, Fiscal Marks which manufacturers are required to print on specified tobacco products to show they are UK duty paid, as well as voluntary tools used by the manufacturers. One such voluntary tool is Codentify.

    Codentify was developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. HMRC took a policy decision, in line with the commitment to tackle illicit tobacco, to examine whether these existing codes could provide a useful additional tool to help officers authenticate product in the field.

    The trial is concerned only with the use of Codentify for product authentication, and no other aspect of the system is being used or evaluated. Codentify requires no specialist equipment or training. Officers are provided with basic guidance and access to an online system. No charge is made for use of the system and, as no procurement was needed, there was no requirement for HMRC to run a tender exercise. As this is a trial only, no Ministerial approval was required or has been sought.

    A number of HMRC officers have been given access to the system and trained by HMRC colleagues. The time spent on this activity is minimal and is estimated to be less than one staff year in total.

    HMRC has explained the use of Codentify as a potential product authentication tool to colleagues in Border Force and Trading Standards. However, they have not provided training to any officers in those organisations.

    The EU Tobacco Products Directive introduces a requirement for a pan European security feature and track and trace systems. The European Commission, working with Member States, is considering proposals and have yet to determine any technical specifications,

    HMRC is aware of a wide range of potential track and trace and security feature solutions on the market. They are not evaluating, and, given the current position on the Directive, could not evaluate any products against its requirements. The aspects of Codentify being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.

    In accordance with regulatory requirements, when technical specifications are determined, HMRC will ensure that any evaluation against them ensures no unfair competitive advantage or obstacles to competition.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations his Department has received on the potential effect on universities and university research of the proposed ban on public funds being used to lobby Government.

    Matthew Hancock

    As I made clear in the House on 27 April, we are continuing to consider the comments of all interested parties, ahead of the introduction into grant agreements of the clause aimed at protecting taxpayers’ money from being wasted on government lobbying government. We are pausing the implementation, pending a review of the representations made, and to give further time to consider any necessary adjustments to the wording of the clause, or the policy on its implementation, to help to deliver this policy in the best possible way for all involved.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department is monitoring the effectiveness of the Community Engagement Forum; how frequently that forum has met; and how many Muslims that forum has engaged.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Community Engagement Forum has met on three separate occasions and has engaged a wide range of people representing, among others, different Muslim communities. Further details on attendance were provided on 2 November 2015 in response to written Question 13090 and on 12 January 2016 to written Question 20784. The discussions at the Community Engagement Forum have informed policy development across several individual Departments, the effectiveness of which will be monitored in the usual way.