Category: Speeches

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what training is being given to members of Fire and Rescue Services who may find themselves acting as first responders as a result of collaboration between emergency services.

    Mike Penning

    The Department does not hold this information centrally. The responsibility for ensuring relevant training is undertaken rests with individual fire and rescue authorities in consultation with local ambulance services.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Justice on establishing effective processes to allow fixed penalty notices to be issued to people smoking in cars with children present and the associated fines to be collected.

    Jane Ellison

    Officials discussed the development of the regulations relating to smoking in private vehicles carrying children with the relevant government departments and continue to discuss enforcement of the offences on an ongoing basis.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 10 March 2016 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Ms B Touhy.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    A reply was sent to the right hon. Member on 26 April.

  • Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Carmichael on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has (a) received and (b) made to the Egyptian government on investigations in Egypt into non-governmental organisations and their funding which form part of Case No. 173 (2011).

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have received representations from both Parliamentarians and non-governmental organisations in relation to this case.

    We are deeply concerned by growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt, including asset freezes and travel bans against human rights defenders and NGOs. I have frequently raised this with the Egyptian Ambassador and issued a statement on 22 March. Officials regularly raise our concerns with representatives of the Egyptian Government in both Cairo and London, most recently in May.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with private bus operators on Clause 21 of the Bus Services Bill.

    Andrew Jones

    The Secretary of State recently met with the Confederation of Passenger Transport and private bus operators to discuss the Bus Services Bill, which included discussion of Clause 21.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the conversion of cars to run on liquefied petroleum gas.

    Andrew Jones

    Cars that have been constructed or modified to run on gas, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), benefit from a £10 reduction in tax levels for Alternative Fuel Cars under Vehicle Excise Duty. Owners of LPG cars also benefit from paying lower fuel duty on LPG than would be paid on petrol and diesel.

    In addition amendments made to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) earlier this year increased the potential rewards for those supplying biopropane (Liquefied Petroleum Gas produced from a biological source) under the RTFO scheme.

    As part of the department’s 2014 Clean Vehicle Technology Fund (CVTF) grant scheme, Birmingham City Council were also awarded £500,000 to enable the conversion of 80 older black cabs from diesel to LPG which will help improve air quality on some of the most polluted roads.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2016 to Question 42169, what his Department’s timetable is for the closure of remaining arrears-only Child Support Agency cases after the current three year programme for closing cases with an ongoing liability is completed.

    Caroline Nokes

    We are currently reviewing the timetable for the closure of Child Support Agency arrears only cases.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 33 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, how many posts he plans to lose in each section of his Department.

    Mark Lancaster

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 30 November 2015 to Questions 17752, 17733 and 17735.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many seriously or critically flawed decisions were identified in the Quality Audit of her Department’s asylum decisions in the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    In the twelve months to September 2015 a total of 29,246 asylum decisions were made. Over the same period, 344 asylum decisions were identified by the Department’s Quality Audit team as containing serious errors and 4 identified as critically flawed. The Home Office continues to review processes and procedures as part of its ongoing work to improve decision making.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to address the prevalence of hunger in Malawi.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    DFID has a significant programme of ongoing support in health, education, agriculture, water and sanitation and economic development, particularly in rural areas and with the private sector, for growth, jobs, incomes and food insecurity. We support increasing access to justice for women and vulnerable groups, accountability and governance reforms.

    The UK was one of the first development partners to respond to Malawi’s international appeal for emergency aid in October 2015. The UK has now committed £14.5m through partners including the World Food Programme, UNICEF and an International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO) consortium led by Save the Children. This support includes:

    • Food for over 800,000 people, including pre-positioning of food, nutrition supplies and livestock vaccines.
    • Cash transfers for up to 450,000 people who live near functioning markets but do not have the means to purchase food
    • Mass screening of up to 800,000 children to identify urgent nutritional support needs
    • Specialist supplies for up to 75,000 children and others suffering from acute malnutrition
    • Vital protection support to vulnerable people, including women and girls, in displacement and refugee camps