Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is providing to ensure the completion of new security infrastructure and measures along the border between Lebanon and Syria.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK has contributed £34 million to support the Lebanese Armed Forces’ (LAF) ability to defend the border and contain spillover from the Syria conflict. The UK funded Land Border Regiments are successfully protecting the integrity of the Lebanese border for the first time in the country’s history.

    The UK is committed to continue its support to the LAF and bring the Lebanese borders under the authority of the state and has announced £6.7m additional support to the establishment of the 4th Land Border Regiment starting April 2016.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 12 April 2016 to Question 32506, how many stages there are in the asylum claims process prior to screening and substantive interviews; and at what stage of that process family ties to refugees already granted asylum in the UK are considered.

    James Brokenshire

    Screening is the first stage in the asylum process after a claim has been lodged. Each claim is considered on its individual merits, usually following a substantive interview. Consideration of a claimant’s personal circumstances such as family ties to the UK will be made following the interview.

  • 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 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force personnel are stationed in the Falkland Islands.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As of 24 May 2016, there were 59 Royal Navy, 483 Army and 600 Royal Air Force personnel stationed in the Falkland Islands.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when her Department plans to publish its green paper on reform of the law supporting victims.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    We have committed to introduce measures to further increase the rights of victims. It is important that we take the time to get this right and we will announce our plans in due course.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether risk adjustments have been made to the rail passenger franchises currently out to tender for services on the (a) South Western, (b) West Midlands and (c) East Anglia lines since 23 June 2016; and if he will provide details of any such adjustments in each case.

    Paul Maynard

    The Department issued the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the West Midlands franchise on 30 August 2016, and bidders have until 29 November 2016 to submit their bids. The Department intends to follow the risk adjustment process as detailed in the published ITT once bids have been received.

    The Department is evaluating bids for the South Western rail franchise and intends to follow the risk adjustment process as detailed in Appendix 3 to the Invitation to Tender, published on the Department’s website.

    The East Anglia franchise competition concluded on 23 August, when the Department signed the Franchise Agreement with Abellio East Anglia. The Department followed the risk adjustment process detailed in the Invitation to Tender, published on the Department’s website.

    The Department does not communicate the detail of Risk Adjustments, as these relate to cost and revenue details of the leading bid, which are commercially sensitive.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent conversations he has had with his Nigerian counterpart on steps to eliminate Boko Haram.

    James Duddridge

    We regularly discuss Boko Haram with the Nigerian authorities at the highest levels. The Prime Minister discussed the issue with President Buhari in September and my Rt Hon Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), Minister of State at the Department for International Development, raised it with senior Nigerian officials, including the Nigerian National Security Adviser, during his visit to Abuja in October. We will continue to raise this issue with Ministers in the Nigerian Government, including with the Foreign Minister, once they have been appointed.

  • Lord Faulkner of Worcester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Faulkner of Worcester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Faulkner of Worcester on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to encourage clubs in the Football League to comply with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority’s Accessible Stadia guide.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We would encourage the Football League to make a similar commitment to that made by the Premier League that all clubs in that league willcomply with the measures set out in the Accessible Stadia Guide within an agreed timescale.

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of terrorism offences who were wrongfully released from English prisons were recalled in 2013.

    Andrew Selous

    Of those in prison on 1 January 2013 convicted under Terrorism Act (TACT) legislation or those who were convicted during the course of 2013 under such legislation, one prisoner was released in error. He was recaptured and brought back into custody.

    NOMs formally investigates every release in error and the majority of prisoners released are quickly returned to custody to continue serving their sentence. Releases in error remain relatively rare occurrences. Less than one in 1000 releases is made in error.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to address inequalities in cancer incidence across England resulting from smoking.

    Jane Ellison

    We know that smoking causes over a quarter of cancer deaths in the United Kingdom and that these deaths disproportionally occur in the poorest areas and most vulnerable populations.

    The Government has committed to publishing a new tobacco control plan to further reduce the prevalence of smoking in England. Addressing the health inequality caused by smoking will be one of the key priorities underpinning this strategy and we are working with partners across the system to embed locally, the success we have had reducing prevalence nationally.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations for trauma-focussed care outlined in the report Future in Mind.

    Alistair Burt

    It is important that awareness of trauma (from abuse or neglect) and the impact it can have on children and young people’s mental health is raised across the workforce and that there is clarity on roles and responsibilities. The Department has asked that Health Education England (HEE) and NHS England work together to consider the training required for the health and wider children’s workforce to become more trauma aware, building this into HEE’s work programme.

    Routine Enquiry (asking about experience of trauma at every appropriate health appointment for over 16 year olds) and sensitive enquiry in all children and young people’s services (which was proposed in Future in Mind) will be tested in key services shortly. However, there is still work to do to make sure we reach out to all parts of the workforce who may see the presentation of trauma in the children that they work with. Routine and sensitive enquiry by frontline health professionals such as general practitioners and mental health professionals is an important starting point, but it will be just as important to use those working in schools and the community to raise awareness more broadly and initiate learning about trauma and its impact on mental health.