Category: Speeches

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 27 January (HL5039), whether the recently approved application by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to perform genome editing in human embryos by means of CRISPR-Cas9 will be performed on embryos specifically created for research or only on those considered to be surplus to infertility treatments; whether that research application included any application for the creation of embryos; and if not, why the person responsible requested that reference to surplus embryos should be removed from the research project title.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that this research project will make use of donated embryos that were originally created for treatment purposes. An application was not made to create embryos for the purposes of this research project.

    The removal of ‘surplus’ from the title does not reflect a change in the way embryos will be donated to the research.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many legacy continuing health care cases are more than two years old and have payments outstanding (a) in England, (b) in the West Midlands and (c) at Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group.

    Alistair Burt

    At the end of March 2013, the National Health Service had received approximately 59,000 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care for NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility.

    NHS England collects information on the number of these cases which are awaiting a decision on eligibility.

    As at 31 January 2016:

    (a) There were 15,716 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care in England;

    (b) there were 848 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care in the West Midlands; and

    (c) there were 260 requests to assess previously unassessed periods of care in Birmingham Cross City Clinical Commissioning Group.

    It is not possible to assess how many of these individuals may be entitled to redress payments until a full assessment of eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare is undertaken, in line with the principles and processes set out in the National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care (November 2012) (revised).

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff employed by the Environment Agency earn salaries of more than £100,000 per year.

    Rory Stewart

    This information is published annually as part of the government’s transparency agenda at: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/staff-organograms-and-pay-environment-agency

    “

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will introduce a duty on shareholders of a significant size to address executive pay and company performance and increase those shareholders’ reporting requirements to pension trustees.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

  • Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Cox on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they or the UN are collecting reports or intelligence detailing suspected crimes against humanity or genocide in Iraq and Syria, and if so, whether that information will be used to profile people who wish to enter the UK from that region.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have provided over £8 million to support the documentation of human rights abuses and violations in Syria and Iraq.

    In Syria, we support the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry and continue to call for them to be given unhindered access to investigate human rights violations and abuses. The UK provides financial support to a specialist organisation to collate and build prosecution-ready criminal case files against the high level perpetrators in Syria. These cases are built for international prosecution should a referral to the International Criminal Court be forthcoming, or should individuals be subject to litigation by hybrid, specialised and national courts.

    In Iraq, the UK co-sponsored the UN Human Rights Council Resolution in September 2014 mandating the investigation of Daesh abuses. The UN continues to issue regular reports on abuses committed by Daesh in Iraq. Through our Human Rights and Democracy Fund we funded a project that documents case of sexual violence crimes.

    A unit within the Office of Counter-Terrorism monitors various country situations, focusing on issues such as international crimes. This information can be used to help identify possible perpetrators and also to support any decision to refuse their application to enter or stay in the UK.

    Where there is credible evidence that a visa applicant has been involved in international crimes (war crimes and crimes against humanity) their case will be investigated further. This applies to any nationality. If there is sufficient evidence, the applicant would be refused entry on the of grounds of their character, conduct or associations. It is also possible to exclude such people from the UK by virtue of the Home Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Theresa May)’s powers under the Immigration Act. With regard to Syria, applicants under the Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Programme are also screened for any security concerns; including international crimes.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many married quarter void properties are situated on each military base in the UK.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence does not hold the information in the format requested.

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the family test on his Department’s policies; and if he will make a statement.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Family Test was introduced in October 2014 and can be located at the following link Family Test Guidance

    The Family Test is part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of new policy in line with the guidance. Potential impacts of policy on family functioning and relationships are identified and brought to the attention of Ministers where appropriate.

    There is no requirement to publish the Family Test assessments. The Ministry of Justice does not collect information on the number of full Family Test assessments completed.

    “

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 6.14 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, what steps his Department will take to ensure employers are still encouraged to take on 16 to 18 apprentices following the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    We are working through the policy implications of the levy. Ministers and officials are conducting end to end meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of getting the detailed design of the levy right before its implementation in 2017.

    We want 16-18 year olds to play a key part in the success of apprenticeships. The lifetime benefits associated with the acquisition of apprenticeships are significant, and there is a high level of return to investment delivered by the apprenticeship programme. We will continue to encourage employers to take on 16-18 year olds as apprentices.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the number of people in work who will be in receipt of universal credit in (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

    Priti Patel

    The number of people on benefits is driven by a range of factors. Because of this, the Universal Credit programme measures progress by the successful achievement of its delivery plan, rather than numbers of claimants.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the UK’s status as the largest European donor for relief in Syria and Iraq, and for refugee services elsewhere, what progress they are making toward greater burden-sharing within the EU and the European Economic Area in proportion to each country’s income per head.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK has been at the forefront of the response to the Syrian crisis. To date, we have committed over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a humanitarian crisis. As a result of the rise of Daesh, a separate humanitarian crisis has also emerged in Iraq. To date, we have committed £79.5 million to the humanitarian crisis in Iraq.

    We continue to play a leading role in encouraging the international community to contribute generously to the UN appeals. At the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference we co-hosted in London on 4 February 2016, leaders came together to pledge more than $11 billion, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. The money pledged at the Conference will save lives, give hope and give people a chance for the future.

    We welcome the generous pledge of $2.5 billion in immediate and long-term funding from Germany at the Conference. Likewise, the EU pledged €915 million for 2016, €1.275 billion for 2017-20 and a further €200 million in concessional finance. Like the UK, Germany and the EU have pledged much more than in previous years.