Category: Speeches

  • Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mary Creagh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to support the formation of the transitional government of national unity in South Sudan.

    James Duddridge

    In January I visited Juba and held meetings with President Salva Kiir, members of the opposition and civil society. In the margins of the African Union Summit I met with the Leader of the Opposition Riek Machar. In all those meetings I emphasised the importance of forming the transitional government without delay. The UK has also worked closely with key countries in the region and in the UN Security Council to build pressure on the parties to form a government of national unity.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of arrests for each offence of people of each ethnic group resulted in (a) no further action, (b) an out of court disposal and (c) a charge in the last year for which information is available.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the outcomes of arrests. The Home Office collect and publish data on the number of arrests broken down by offence group and ethnicity, however, the outcome of these arrests is not held centrally.

    The number of arrests, broken down by ethnicity, can be found in the statistical publication, Police Powers and Procedures: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2015

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons TV Licensing is not included in the Tell Us Once service.

    Priti Patel

    Consideration was given to include TV licencing in the Tell Us Once Service, however as the Department for Work and Pensions already provides this information to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, it is not necessary to also include it in the Tell Us Once Service.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what locations they considered for their new offices in the USA focused on international trade.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The USA is the UK’s single largest trade and investment partner, and the decision to open three new Government Offices in 2016 reflects our ambition to expand this economic partnership even further.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office considered a number of factors when deciding where to open these offices. The cities of Raleigh, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and San Diego, California were judged to have the best combination of policy, research and trade and investment potential.

  • Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Vinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2016-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider introducing the national interest test for mergers and acquisitions that was part of the brief of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission into the brief of the Competition and Markets Authority.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    As we build an economy that works for all, the Government will keep the law on mergers and acquisitions under review.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total cost of overseas military operations was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The total net additional costs of UK military operations overseas in each of the last five financial years has been as follows:

    Financial Year

    Total

    2010-11

    £4.0 billion

    2011-12

    £3.8 billion

    2012-13

    £2.8 billion

    2013-14

    £2.0 billion

    2014-15

    £1.1 billion

    These figures cover operations in Afghanistan, Libya, the wider Gulf, countering ISIL activity in Iraq and Syria and other short-term operations, whether funded by the Treasury’s Special Reserve or by the Conflict Pool and subsequent Conflict Security and Stabilisation Fund.

    This information is published in more detail in the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Annual Report and Accounts, most recently in Table 2.3.1 on page 51 of the MOD’s 2014-15 Annual Report and Accounts, which is available on the Gov.UK website at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of changes in revenue from the Horserace Betting Levy arising from the activities of remote betting operators based offshore.

    Tracey Crouch

    The levy rate is set annually and is paid by bookmakers based in Great Britain, it does not currently apply to betting operators based offshore. The Government remains committed to replacing the current levy system to create a level playing field for British based and offshore gambling operators.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the (a) economic contribution of pollinator activity across the UK and (b) potential last economic value if pollinator populations continue to decline at present rates; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    Bees and other pollinators play an essential role in our £100 billion food industry. In 2014, Defra published an independent review of the evidence on the status and value of pollinators[1]. The review estimated the total value of all pollinators through the value of insect-pollinated crops in the UK as approximately £600 million, updating estimates of around £400 million in previous Defra-funded research. It also concluded that there was insufficient data to calculate the ‘lost economic value’ of ongoing or likely future changes in pollinator populations.

    [1] http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&Completed=0&ProjectID=18916

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what budget has been allocated to the Equality and Human Rights Commission for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Following the results of the Spending Review the Department for Education is currently finalising budgets over the review period for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) along with other budgets for which the Department is responsible. I am not in a position to confirm the level of funding that the EHRC will receive until this process is complete.

    The EHRC’s budget is available in its annual report, which is available to view here: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/about-us/about-commission/corporate-reporting/annual-reports

  • John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    John Baron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Baron on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on establishing cancer clinical alliances; and what the function of those alliances will be.

    Jane Ellison

    Forming cancer alliances to drive and support improvement and care pathways was a key recommendation of the independent Cancer Taskforce report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, published in July 2015. NHS England appointed Cally Palmer CBE as National Cancer Director to lead on implementation of the strategy and she has since established a new cross-system Cancer Transformation Board, which met for the first time on 25 January. There will also be a Cancer Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Harpal Kumar, to oversee and scrutinise the work of the Transformation Board. NHS England is currently working with national, regional and local partners to develop the model for cancer alliances, building on the successes of existing clinical networks.