UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Patten – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the comments by the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, quoted in The Sunday Times on 8 May, that the Zionist bashing” at universities “has gone unchallenged”.”

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government is clear that there is absolutely no place in higher education or anywhere else in society for bigotry, hatred or any form of racism such as anti-Semitism.

    Recent reports of anti-Semitism are extremely concerning and must be met with a decisive response. We expect all universities and all bodies with a role in English higher education to be absolutely clear in their opposition to racism in all its forms, and to have robust policies in place to tackle such hatred and support victims.

    At the Government’s request, Universities UK has set up a taskforce to examine what more can be done to tackle harassment and hate crime on campus, and this includes anti-Semitism within its remit.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to improve the gender balance among Senior Civil Servants in his Department.

    Ben Gummer

    Diversity and inclusion is a key priority for the Civil Service and for the Cabinet Office. The Executive Committee of the Cabinet Office recently commissioned work on a departmental diversity and inclusion strategy, which will be published this month. This strategy promotes a more inclusive culture in the department through key strands of work on leadership, declaration data, supporting those from under-represented groups and promoting the work of the employee diversity networks. A key aim of the strategy is to promote the advancement of those from all under-represented groups, including women and black and minority ethnic staff.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of falling milk prices on the UK dairy sector.

    George Eustice

    Although government cannot control market volatility, our aim is to give farmers improved tools to manage it. We have extended the period over which they can average their tax from two to five years. We are exploring opportunities for a dairy futures market as well as for better branding and labelling in supermarkets in order to improve profitability. We are also exploring opportunities to help farming businesses become more resilient and ready to take advantage of the growing demand for British dairy products both at home and abroad.

    According to the latest forecast of Farm Business Incomes for 2015-16, average incomes on dairy farms are expected to fall to £46,500. This reflects the impact of lower milk prices which started to fall in March 2014, and the reduced prices for cull cows and heifers. While the number of dairy farms in England and Wales has also fallen from around 13,500 in 2006 to 9,500 today, the number of dairy cows has remained almost unchanged, which suggests consolidation within the industry.

    We have seen an increase in the UK farmgate milk price for the second month in a row to 21.34p per litre in August 2016. The long-term picture for our dairy industry remains positive.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what information they have about the number of persons brought to justice for trafficking in persons, enslavement, forced prostitution, labour exploitation, and other similar crimes in the last three years, both in the UK and in other jurisdictions.

    Lord Bates

    The number of perpetrators of ‘slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour’, ‘human trafficking for sexual exploitation’ and ‘human trafficking for non-sexual exploitation’ found guilty and sentenced in each of the last three years is available at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

    The ‘Outcomes by Offence Tables’ should be selected, and can be filtered for each of the three offences listed above. The UK Government does not hold information on the numbers brought to justice in other jurisdictions.

  • Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 17980, if his Department will consider publishing details of meetings with insurance industry representatives before the next return.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.

    As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which assets his Department plans to decommission over the next 12 months.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Ministry of Defence manages a wide range of assets to support the UK Armed Forces. A list of equipment due to be decommissioned in the next 12 months is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    However, the following major equipment platforms are planned to be taken out of service in 2016:

    Sea King Mk3, 3a, 4 and 5;

    RFA Black Rover – Royal Fleet Auxiliary Fleet Support Tanker.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff in his Department have relocated (a) out of London and (b) into London in each of the last five years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold that information centrally. To gather and analyse this information would incur disproportionate costs.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what investigations they have conducted into the safety of long road tunnels, and what assessment they have made of the implications of those investigations for any proposed road tunnel under the Pennines.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The government has investigated the safety of long road tunnels as part of the strategic study into the Trans-Pennine Tunnel. Such tunnels are operated safely around the world and the Trans-Pennine Tunnel will be designed to be consistent with this.

  • 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 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32447, what steps his Department has taken to check whether all the local transformation plans have been published online.

    Alistair Burt

    As part of NHS England’s robust assurance process for Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) all local areas were asked to publish their LTP in an accessible format and made widely available to improve transparency. As part of its quarter three monitoring process NHS England has asked that clinical commissioning groups submit the website address on which its LTP has been published. NHS England is currently reviewing that this has happened.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Australian model for payment disputes could help small UK suppliers.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    In establishing the UK Small Business Commissioner through the Enterprise Act 2016, the Government has taken inspiration from the Australian Small Business Commissioner (now the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman) and Small Business Commissioners at state level in Australia. These bodies provide advice and access to alternative dispute resolution to small businesses involved in a variety of disputes, which may include some payment disputes.

    The UK Small Business Commissioner will focus on payment disputes between small and larger businesses and encourage a change in how businesses deal with each other – a long lasting cultural change to promote fair treatment for all. He or she will act as a disincentive to unfavourable payment practices, and build the confidence and capabilities of small businesses to help them to assert themselves in contractual disputes and negotiate more effectively. The Commissioner will provide general information and advice, direct small businesses to existing dispute resolution services (eg, mediation services and ombudsmen) and handle complaints from small businesses about payment issues