Category: Speeches

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were charged with drink-driving in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The below table provides the published figures on the number of people who were charged with drink driving in each of the last three years.

    Offence

    2012

    2013

    2014

    Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit

    45,841

    41,798

    38,866

    Other offences related to drink- or drug-driving

    7,915

    9,421

    9,421

    This and other data on, for example, the number of prosecutions for drink driving offences is published by the Ministry of Justice and can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2014

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what change there has been in the number of passport applications waiting for more than two months to be processed between 1 July 2013 and 2015.

    James Brokenshire

    Due to the way that data on passport applications is captured, it is not possible to show the proportion of applications taking over two months to process. However, the numbers and proportions of straightforward properly completed passport applications taking over 20 days are represented in the table below.

    Period

    Total Processed

    More than & equal to 20 days

    % more than & equal 20 days

    August 2013- July 2014

    3,896,735

    197,110

    5%

    August 2014-July 2015

    4,448,436

    91,101

    2%

    Overall

    8,345,171

    288,211

    3%

    Days are working days and exclude bank holidays Straightforward cases are those that do not involve a complex nationality decision and where the customer has provided a complete application with all required documentary evidence Non-straightforward applications are not included in the figures above.

    “

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many judges or magistrates have reported receiving threatening correspondence related to hearings they have presided over in the last five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    There are around 20,000 judges and magistrates in England and Wales. The number of judges or magistrates who have reported receiving threatening correspondence related to hearings is as follows:

    Year

    Number of Judges or Magistrates

    2011

    20

    2012

    12

    2013

    19

    2014

    18

    2015

    31

    We have a robust security and safety system in place to protect all court users. Any threats to judges or magistrates are taken extremely seriously and within Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service there is a security team to co-ordinate effective judicial security and incident investigation, working closely with senior judiciary and police agencies to provide the necessary support.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans she has to support solar thermal systems in the domestic and non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We intend to reform the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to improve value for money and reduce costs; improve cost control and budget management; and ensure the scheme focuses more on our long-term needs, while contributing to both our carbon and renewable energy targets. We plan to consult on the changes shortly. Therefore, I am unable to make specific commitments as to the future shape of the scheme at this point.

  • Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to UK firms of implementing Capital Requirement Directive IV.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV) implements, in the EU, the prudential banking standards agreed by the international Basel Committee. The Government supports these global standards to ensure that we do not again face severe economic impacts as a result of inadequate banking regulation and would have implemented these with or without EU legislation.

    It is difficult to isolate the costs and benefits from other prudential banking measures introduced since the global financial crisis. And the benefits in particular are hard to capture as they take time to materialize. However, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) stated in its cost-benefit analysis carried out 2013 that ‘the CRDIV package is net beneficial to the UK economy.’

    Taking all of the prudential measures together, the PRA has estimated that the net economic benefit is £8.25bn per annum.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department’s non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from East Cheshire Local Authority by 2020.

    Joseph Johnson

    Historical information that is readily available suggests that the Department and its partner organisations had no jobs based within the East Cheshire Local Authority in 2010 or since.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37106, whether the potential use of RAF aircraft to deliver airstrikes on Daesh targets in Libya has been discussed with the UK’s international partners.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are working closely with the new Government of National Accord and international partners to develop a comprehensive approach to defeat Daesh in Libya. Planning so far has focused on training Libyan forces to provide their own security.

  • Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 June (HL446) and 27 June (HL808), whether when providing those answers they were aware that the payment window had already been extended to October, and if so, why that was not reflected in those answer.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The deadline for 2015 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments remains 30 June 2016 and as stated in the response of 17 June, this is the deadline the Rural Payments Agency was working towards for the remaining top up BPS payments. On 8 June, Commissioner Hogan confirmed his intention to extend the date by which Member States may make CAP direct payments without the usual reductions in the rate of reimbursement from the EU to the Member States concerned. This does not constitute an extension to the payment window. It means that, subject to a successful request, payments can continue to be made after 30 June without the application of the usual reductions for late payments on the Member State.

    We are currently assessing the UK position in terms of the value of payments made by 30 June and the expected value of payments to be made before 15 October for each of the four UK paying agencies. Once this assessment has been completed we will be in a position to decide whether the UK needs to submit a request to the Commission for such penalties to be waived.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to put in place measures to ensure that funding for atypical GP practices is ring-fenced.

    David Mowat

    NHS England is developing national guidance for commissioners illustrating the workload challenges faced by practices with atypical patient populations, to assist them in making decisions regarding sustainable support.

    There is no formal ring-fencing of primary care allocations within commissioners’ plans.

  • Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment the Government has made of (a) the condition of the port infrastructure at Hodeida in Yemen and (b) Hodeida’s ability to function as a port for the purpose of delivering and unloading international aid.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK assessed the damage to Hodeidah port in August 2015. The port is currently running but with significant constraints: cranes and warehouses have been damaged and the lack of a reliable electricity supply is affecting port operations. However, the port is still operational: it can receive and unload shipments and is capable of servicing between 3 and 5 ships at a time, dependent on size. Between 1-15 November (most recent data), 12 ships berthed in Hodeidah port.