Category: Speeches

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many men have (a) been charged with and (b) served a prison sentence for non-violent crimes in the last five years.

    Dominic Raab

    Charging decisions are a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service, and sentencing is a matter for our independent courts. The court may only impose a custodial sentence where it finds that the offence is so serious that neither a community sentence nor a fine alone can be justified.

    There is no clear definition of a non-violent crime, as both physical and psychological harm can be caused by many crimes and this will not necessarily be apparent from the description of the offence. However, the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and found guilty and sentenced, including to custody, by offence category and specific offence, by gender, in England and Wales, from 2011 to 2015 can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics outcomes by offence data tool in the most recent annual publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015.

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  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will discuss with the Northern Ireland Minister for Communities the calls by the Women Against State Pension Inequality for transitional state pension arrangements for women in Northern Ireland born in the 1950s.

    Richard Harrington

    DWP Ministers have regular meetings with ministers from devolved administrations where current areas of interest are discussed. In relation to transitional arrangements for the equalisation of State Pension age, the government’s position is clear; equalisation of women’s State Pension age with men and the subsequent increases in the State Pension age will continue as currently scheduled, in line with the legislation.

  • Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Richard Bacon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Bacon on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what recent discussions he has had with his Ministerial colleagues on the legal status of foreign scientific researchers resident in the UK following the EU referendum.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Department for Exiting the European Union has engaged with a wide range of organisations including Universities UK, the Royal Academies and the pharmaceutical sector, as well as colleagues from the Department for Education and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

    The Prime Minister has been clear that she is determined to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens’ rights in European member states were not protected in return.

    The UK remains fully open to scientists and researchers from across the EU. We highly value the contribution of EU and international staff, and there are no immediate changes to their rights to live and work in the UK.

    The announcement on underwriting Horizon 2020 funding underlines our commitment to do what is necessary to maintain the UK as an attractive place to conduct research and innovation.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Whitaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the impact of air pollution on the lung function of children in the London Borough of Lambeth.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Public Health England has not made any estimate of the impact of air pollution on the lung function of children in the London Borough of Lambeth.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether and how the government of President Assad in Syria threatens the national interest of the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), has said, Assad has been one of Daesh’s most effective recruiting sergeants. His regime’s brutal suppression of the Syrian people, including through the use of chemical weapons, has created the chaos and instability in which Daesh has been able to thrive. Defeating Daesh will require action on a number of fronts including, ultimately, a political transition to a new Syrian government which is able to protect the Syrian people and with whom the international community can partner against Daesh.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their apprenticeship placements with a five per cent club employer.

    Nick Boles

    The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.

    Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)

    Frameworks

    Overall Success Rate

    Aviation Operations on the Ground

    85.7%

    Driving Goods Vehicles

    70.7%

    Rail Transport Engineering

    81.0%

    Road Passenger Transport – Bus and Coach

    81.0%

    Transport Engineering and Maintenance

    96.2%

    Vehicle Body and Paint Operations

    58.3%

    Vehicle Fitting

    68.8%

    Vehicle Maintenance and Repair

    67.0%

    Vehicle Parts Operations

    72.2%

    Notes

    1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.

    2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner

    The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the NHS Low Income Scheme refers to personal income or family income with regard to university students.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The NHS Low Income Scheme provides income-related help with health costs to students, as for all other adults.

    The extent of any help is based on a comparison between a person’s weekly income and requirements at the date they apply to the NHS Low Income Scheme. For a student, income will include any maintenance grant or loan available, the assessment of which may be based on parental income, and the amount of parental contribution assessed by an education authority as payable. Any other income a student may have, such as non-assessed contributions from parents or earnings, will also be taken into account in calculating entitlement. Bursaries will not be included so long as they are clearly not intended for day to day living expenses.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that online secondary ticket companies are properly monitoring and countering potential ticket touting, in compliance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Her Majesty’s Government issued guidance to business when the new ticketing provisions, contained in the Consumer Rights Act 2015, came into force.

    Trading Standards Services are responsible for enforcing the secondary ticketing provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other relevant consumer protection legislation. Suspected or actual breaches of such legislation should first be reported via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline, following which Citizens Advice may refer cases to Trading Standards Services for appropriate action.

    Since the ticketing provisions contained in the Consumer Rights Act 2015 came into force on 27 May 2015, an independent Review has been established (as required by the Act) to consider consumer protection measures in relation to online ticket re-sales. The Review is looking at the available evidence and will report by 26 May 2016.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of in work personal independence payment (PIP) claimants who will no longer be able to work as a result of his Department’s proposed changes to PIP aids and appliances points.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the obligations upon member states of the EU include any duty to observe the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The EU is not itself a party to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Any agreement for the EU to accede would need to be agreed unanimously by all EU Member States (including the UK) and all other contracting parties to the ECHR.

    Our renegotiation deal reaffirmed that the Charter of Fundamental Rights does not extend the ability of the Court of Justice of the European Union or domestic courts to rule on compliance with fundamental rights.