Category: Speeches

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase quota levels for the under-10 metres fishing fleet.

    George Eustice

    Defra is in the final stages of a permanent quota realignment exercise which will represent a14% uplift in the amount of quota the inshore fleet currently receives.

    For species subject to the discard ban from January 2016, we have announced that the non-sector pools, which includes fishing vessels under 10 metres, will receive the first 100 tonnes of any quota uplift received and 10% of any remaining uplift. For 2016 this represents more than 1,000 tonnes of uplift to support the non-sector in their adaptation to the landing obligation.

    The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) is currently determining the 2016 monthly catch limits for the inshore fleet in light of the December 2015 Fisheries Council agreement. This quota will be used to maximise the income that can be achieved, while minimising discards for the non-sector fleet. The MMO welcomes views on quota management and utilisation of quota uplift for the non–sector via the MMO coastal quota advisory meetings and monthly quota consultations.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will ensure that all proposed Local Government Pension Scheme asset pool governance structures have an equal number of scheme member representatives.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The governance structures of the new pooling arrangements are matters to be determined locally and submitted as part of the detailed proposals we have asked funds to submit by 19 July.

    The pool governance structures should provide funds with the assurance that their investments are being managed appropriately by the pool, in line with their stated investment strategy and in the long term interests of scheme members.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the recommendations on page 13, paragraph 2, of the Mental Health Taskforce report, published in February 2016, what steps he is taking to ensure all local areas have a multi-agency suicide prevention plan.

    Alistair Burt

    We welcome the recommendation by the independent Mental Health Taskforce that every area should have a local suicide prevention plan in place delivered through multi-agency groups.

    We will be working with Public Health England to engage and support local authorities that do not have a local multi-agency suicide prevention plan to put one in place.

    I will be meeting soon with Departmental officials and our delivery partner organisations on suicide prevention to explore ways in which we can work together to re-invigorate the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, including improving local delivery of its aims.

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to record the atrocities that have been committed by Daesh in Iraq so that, in due course, offenders may be brought to justice.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    This Government wants to see accountability for Daesh abuses, and has supported efforts to document them. The UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses.

    In Iraq, we are funding training for human rights defenders to improve victim support and case documentation of sexual violence committed by Daesh. It is hoped that this evidence will be able to be used in the future to hold the perpetrators to account.

  • 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 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost to the public purse was of (a) a district judge and (b) bench of magistrates hearing (i) a guilty plea case, (ii) a summary trial and (iii) an either-way trial in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The requested information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the age is of the (a) youngest and (b) oldest person with a profile on the National DNA Database.

    Mike Penning

    a) The recorded age of the youngest person on the National DNA Database (NDNAD) as at 31 March 2016 was 10.

    b) The recorded age of the eldest person on the NDNAD as at 31 March 2016 was 115.

    The age recorded for the eldest person is based on what their age would be as at 31 March 2016 from their date of birth recorded at the time of sampling.

    It is not their age when they were added to the NDNAD. There is no weeding from the NDNAD due to age or death.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that their pledge to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020 is honoured.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK. We continue to work closely with local authorities to manage the arrival of the Syrian refugees in to the resettlement places they have pledged. We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Marlesford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2015-11-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they recognise President Bashar al-Assad as the de jure President of Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government recognises nation states and not governments. Assad has forfeited his legitimacy and any plausible claim to be part of Syria’s future. A transition away from Assad, to a more inclusive government that represents all Syrians is what the 2012 Geneva communiqué envisages, and this is what we will continue to work towards.

  • Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to increase the level of stem cell donations by people of mixed ethnicity.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department is supporting the provision of stem cells for patients through our key delivery partners, Anthony Nolan and NHS Blood and Transplant. They continue to specifically recruit adult bone marrow donors from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities and we have agreed with them a target to recruit at least 3,000 new adult male bone marrow donors from the BAME community this year.

    It is difficult to find a perfectly matched donor for patients of mixed ethnicity, and for this reason the Department has continued to support the collection of cord blood stem cells. Cord blood stem cells are more tolerant of minor mis-matches and therefore particularly important to patients unable to find a suitable adult bone marrow donor.

    The Department continues to support the National BAME Transplant Alliance with the aim of raising awareness about the need for stem cell and organ donation, increasing the number of people from a BAME background on the bone marrow and organ donation registers and increasing the number of people from BAME communities who can benefit from either a stem cell or organ transplant.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he and the Secretary of State for Defence met in a 2 plus 2 bilateral meeting with their Russian counterparts.

    Mr David Lidington

    The then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble friend the Lord Hague of Richmond and the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met their Russian counterparts at the UK-Russia Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue in London on 13 March 2013. The Government suspended the ‘2+2’ format and wider military cooperation with Russia following Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014.