UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ministries’ representatives the British Embassy in Pyongyang has met since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Our Embassy in Pyongyang has met with a number of officials from various Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ministries since 7 February 2014. These meetings are part of normal diplomatic business and play a crucial role in our policy of critical engagement with the DPRK.

  • Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes to housing benefit eligibility in respect of under-occupancy in the social rented sector on low-income families.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This measure puts social sector tenants on a par with their counterparts in the private rented sector who receive Housing Benefit based on household need rather than the full rental costs. Affected claimants can mitigate the impact by entering work, increasing their working hours or downsizing to a smaller property.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department’s guidance for civil servants on acceptance of gifts or hospitality applies to special advisers.

    Matthew Hancock

    We publish details of gifts and hospitality received by the most senior civil servants on a quarterly basis.

    The rules for civil servants, including special advisers, on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality are set out in the Civil Service Code, Civil Service Management Code and departmental staff handbooks.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the petition entitled Introduce Helen’s Law, published on the change.org website, what steps his Department is taking to encourage prisoners to reveal information about the crimes they have committed.

    Andrew Selous

    Staff in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) work with individual prisoners on a daily basis to address their risks and needs. A vital part of that activity is encouraging prisoners to acknowledge their responsibility for all their previous crimes.

    NOMS staff will also take appropriate action where prisoners disclose information either of additional offences or of aspects of their offences that were previously unknown.

    The Parole Board already takes into account offenders’ co-operation in identifying the location of a victim’s remains when determining whether they should be released; however, Ministers have asked the Parole Board to consider whether its guidelines in this area should be strengthened.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what role a maintained school issued with an Academy Order to convert to academy status has in selecting its multi-academy trust or sponsor.

    Edward Timpson

    Where a maintained school is eligible for intervention, there is no requirement to consult on the sponsor selection except in the case of a foundation or voluntary school with a foundation. In these circumstances the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) is required to consult the trustees and the people who appoint the foundation governors and, in the case of a school which has a religious character, the appropriate religious body about the identity of the sponsor.

    The proposed sponsor of the new academy is under a duty to communicate their plans to improve schools to parents.

    Further information about RSC powers of intervention over maintained schools and their decision-making are set out in the Schools Causing Concern guidance and the RSC decision-making framework, which can be found on GOV.UK at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/510080/schools-causing-concern-guidance.pdf; and https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/517565/RSC-Decision-Making-Framework.pdf

    “

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what proportion of staff on the payroll of his Department who work in Westminster are (a) British nationals and (b) nationals of another country.

    Mr David Jones

    All Government Departments are bound by legal requirements concerning the right to work in the UK and, in addition, the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

    Evidence of nationality is checked at the point of recruitment into the Civil Service as part of wider pre-employment checks, but there is no requirement on departments to retain this information beyond the point at which it has served its purpose.

    More broadly, the Government will be consulting in due course on how we work with business to ensure that workers in this country have the skills that they need to get a job. But there are no proposals to publish lists of the number or proportion of foreign workers.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, following the report on Yemen of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs published on 18 August 2015, what consideration she has given to providing additional humanitarian support to that country.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    On 27 September 2015, the UK committed an additional £20 million in new life-saving aid to Yemen. This followed the publication of the UN report and other assessments of need that demonstrated the deterioration of the humanitarian situation.

    This new funding is to key partner agencies operating on the ground including the World Food Programme, UNICEF and NGOs via UN OCHA’s (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Yemen Humanitarian Pooled Fund. DFID’s overall contribution of humanitarian assistance to Yemen for 2015-16 is now £75 million, making the UK the 4th largest donor to the international humanitarian response.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Rushanara Ali – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of students supported by universities through the Student Opportunity Allocation fund have disabilities.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) allocates the Student Opportunity Fund to Higher Education providers as part of the teaching grant.. Although the different elements of the fund are calculated on the basis of the number of students within an institution with particular characteristics, institutions have been able to use the funding in whichever way they feel is most appropriate for their students. Therefore, there is no centrally collected data on the numbers of students supported by the fund.

  • George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to replace the CAMHS strategy and framework; and when he plans to publish that document.

    Alistair Burt

    Children and young people’s mental health is a priority area for this Government and we are committed to delivering the vision set out in Future in mind, the report published jointly by the Department and NHS England in March 2015. Future in mind forms the basis of the Government’s plans for system wide transformation in children and young people’s mental health and is supported by an additional investment of £1.4 billion over the course of this Parliament. There are no plans to publish any further strategy or framework plans in addition to Future in mind.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government who are the members and the associate members of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and to which UK political party each belongs.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was announced by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), in a Written Ministerial Statement on 3 November 2015. [HCWS287]

    A list of full and alternate UK members of PACE, as well as their party affiliations and European political groupings, is as follows:

    FULL MEMBERS

    Sir Roger Gale MP (Leader) Con

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP OBE SNP

    Lord Anderson of Swansea Lab

    Guto Bebb MP Con

    David Crausby MP Lab

    Geraint Davies MP Lab

    Rt Hon Jeffrey Donaldson MP DUP

    Earl of Dundee Con

    Baroness Eccles of Moulton Con

    Nigel Evans MP Con

    John Howell MP OBE Con

    Ian Liddell-Grainger MP Con

    Sir Alan Meale MP Lab

    Kate Osamor MP Lab

    Lord Prescott Lab

    Mark Pritchard MP Con

    Christina Rees MP Lab

    Rt Hon Alex Salmond MP SNP

    ALTERNATE MEMBERS

    Lord Balfe Con

    Rt Hon Lord Blencathra Con

    Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP Lab

    David T C Davies MP Con

    Baroness Eaton DBE Con

    Suella Fernandes MP Con

    Rt Hon Lord Foulkes of Cumnock Lab

    Khalid Mahmood MP Lab

    Baroness Massey of Darwen Lab

    Huw Merriman MP Con

    Baroness O’Loan DBE CB

    Mary Robinson MP Con

    Paul Scully MP Con

    Virendra Sharma MP Lab

    Paula Sherriff MP Lab

    Kelly Tolhurst MP Con

    Phil Wilson MP Lab

    Mike Wood MP Con