Category: Speeches

Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in the review of countries designated under section 94(5) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 following the Supreme Court judgment in R (JB (Jamaica)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] UKSC 8.

Lord Bates

The process of reviewing all the designated countries is nearing completion. Any proposals for changes to the designation of countries must be made by order and so will be put to Parliament.

01/01/2023
Lord Brabazon of Tara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Brabazon of Tara on 2015-12-07.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the value, in current prices, of the £10 Christmas Bonus for pensioners when it was first introduced.

Baroness Altmann

The Christmas Bonus was introduced in 1972 and was £10. In current (October 2015) prices, the value of the 1972 Christmas Bonus was £115.41.

01/01/2023
Baroness Uddin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Uddin on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what formal mechanisms they have in place to consult Muslim women.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Government Ministers and officials regularly speak with a range of British Muslim women to seek their views on key issues. The Prime Minister hosted a Community Engagement Forum on 14 January with sixteen influential Muslim women, to discuss their role in Britain today and the importance of tackling issues of forced gender segregation, discrimination and isolation. In addition, four of the cross-Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group’s ten independent members are themselves Muslim women. The Group discusses a range of issues, for example, hate incidents on public transport which disproportionately affect visibly Muslim women.

My Department funds a number of projects that work with Muslim women including community based English language courses, women’s empowerment initiatives and the development of leadership and networking skills. As part of this, my officials regularly engage with the project leads, associated charities and participants on relevant issues affecting Muslim women.

My rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has commissioned Louise Casey to carry out a review on how to boost opportunity and integration in our most isolated and deprived communities. She will report on her findings in due course.

01/01/2023
Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding his Department has set aside for managing the transition from NHS bursaries to student loans for new nursing, midwifery and allied health students from 1 August 2017.

Ben Gummer

The Department will be working with delivery organisations outside of the Department to assess a range of considerations for transition and implementation.

The Department will be consulting on the health education funding reforms in due course.

01/01/2023
Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many lobbying consultancies would need to sign up to the Government’s Register of Consultant Lobbyists in order for the Register to be self-funding.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Transparency Act requires that the regulations are set to recover the costs of the Registrar’s activities from the industry via subscription charges. The Register of Consultant Lobbyists is nearing the end of its set-phase but ongoing running costs would still be different from projections. The total annual charge paid by each registering consultant lobbyist increased from £750 to £1000 on 1 January 2016. The Government will keep the funding arrangements for the Register under review.

01/01/2023
Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of housing development sites which were previously seen as financially unviable that may now be developed under the Starter Home initiative.

Brandon Lewis

The Department does not hold this information. The Housing and Planning Bill and national planning policy changes will set the framework to deliver our starter homes commitment; and once in force will apply to all housing development planning applications. Section 106 agreements may of course be re-negotiated at any time by mutual consent. Planning guidance is clear that local planning authorities should be flexible in their requirements, taking into account site specific circumstances and changing circumstances, including regarding viability.

01/01/2023

Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many confiscation orders were issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since 2009-10; how many of those orders were not enforced; and of those orders not enforced how many people subject to those orders were in prison.

Mr John Hayes

The value of assets subject to restraint orders between 2009-10 and 2015-16 is shown in the tables below.

Orders are counted as fully paid where the outstanding balance, including any interest payable, is nil. There is no central record which would show how many people subject to unenforced orders were serving prison sentences.

Data is extracted from reports run on 4 May 2016 using the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD). JARD is a central repository of information relating to the seizure of the proceeds of crime.

JARD is a live database which is continually updated. As such, the data provided may vary from reports run on earlier dates.

Restraint Orders issued in England & Wales	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-2015	2015-16
Values (in millions)	£648.68m	£873.40m	£500.78m	£463.75m	£393.70m	£368.18m	£448.10m

Gross confiscation receipts – includes compensation paid to victims and receiver’s fees	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-2015	2015-16
Values (in millions)	£110.39m	£113.55m	£124.58m	£134.85m	£139.20m	£155.67m	£206.30m

Year	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-2015	2015-16
Number of confiscation orders issued	5592	6425	6268	6401	6043	5926	5900

01/01/2023

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on whether the National Crime Agency plans to investigate the UK office of the law firm Mossack Fonesca.

Mr John Hayes

On 10 April 2016 the Prime Minister announced a new cross-agency taskforce to obtain, analyse and take action on the information that has been made available from Mossack Fonseca and to take rapid action on any form of illegality that emerges.A number of investigations are underway, and the taskforce, which is led by the National Crime Agency and HM Revenue & Customs, and which is accountable to the Home Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will report on its progress later this year.

01/01/2023
Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 20 July 2016 to Question 42791, if she will publish the list her Department holds of the registered social landlords being used as at 30 August 2016 for the provision of compass accommodation to asylum seekers.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Since 2012 UKVI has discharged their statutory duty to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and transportation via a suite of contracts known as COMPASS Contracts.

There are six COMPASS Contracts delivered by three providers: G4S deliver services in the North East, Yorkshire & Humberside Region and the Midlands and East of England Region; Serco deliver services in the North West Region and Scotland and Northern Ireland. Clearsprings Ready Homes (formerly known as Clearel Ltd) deliver services in London and the South of England Region and Wales.

Whilst none of the COMPASS accommodation providers are registered social landlords, all are contractually required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation to comply with the standards outlined within Housing legislation (regardless of whether the provider is registered as a social landlord).

01/01/2023
Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the opinions of e-cigarette users and people who use other reduced risk products are represented at the WHO conference on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in November 2016.

Nicola Blackwood

The Government has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to inform its negotiating position with other Parties attending the Conference of the Parties for the Framework on Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), including users of e-cigarette and other novel products. The Government recognises that e-cigarettes can help some smokers quit and the evidence indicates that they are considerably less harmful to health than cigarettes. However, they are not risk free and it is essential that we do not encourage smoking and continue to protect children from the dangers of nicotine. This is a position firmly grounded on the evidence base.

The United Kingdom is a world leader in tobacco control and as such has already implemented the majority of the FCTC’s provisions and taken further action in line with its non-binding guidelines, for example introducing Standardised Packaging. There are few further guidelines being developed by the FCTC and the focus of the Convention is now on full and comprehensive implementation by all 180 Parties. We therefore do not expect the outcomes of the forthcoming Conference of the Parties to significantly alter our tobacco strategy, but will continue to offer our support and experience to help other countries fully implement the provisions of the Treaty, especially low and middle income countries.

01/01/2023