Category: Speeches

  • Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Inglewood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people in England have been killed or injured during grey squirrel control with guns during the last decade.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    This information is not held centrally. I can confirm that the Forestry Commission in England does not have any record of anyone being killed or injured during grey squirrel control with guns on the Public Forest Estate in the last decade. However, it does not hold any record of incidents elsewhere.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, by when he expects the review into council tax support schemes to be published.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The independent review of Local Council Tax Support schemes is set to complete and be published by the end of March 2016.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of women who are entitled to a state pension based on married women’s reduced rate national insurance contributions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information is not available. Married women’s reduced-rate National Insurance contributions do not count for the purposes of entitlement to state pension. Instead, women who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016 and who had paid reduced-rate National Insurance contributions may be entitled to a state pension based on the National Insurance contributions of their spouse.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alistair Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the application for state aid clearance for the remote Scottish islands has been submitted to the European Commission.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are currently finalising plans and priorities for the 2016 Contracts for Difference (CfD) round and plan to announce further details in relation to the next round, including notification of State Aid to the European Commission, as soon as possible.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on access to higher education for people who have been granted humanitarian protection.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office officials have been involved in discussions with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to ensure that any conditions relating to access to Higher Education for those granted humanitarian protection satisfy our international obligations.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Relocation programme; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We intend to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians in need of protection during this Parliament. We will continue to work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify appropriate cases, prioritising the most vulnerable. The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from UNHCR in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK. We continue to work closely with local authorities to manage the arrival of the Syrian refugees in to the resettlement places they have pledged. We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets. However, we are clear that we want to help as many people as we can as quickly as possible.

    The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. Latest statistics published on 25 August confirmed that a total of a total of 2,898 Syrians have been resettled under the scheme since it began, 2,646 of these arriving since 1 October 2015.

  • Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gill Furniss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gill Furniss on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will amend his Department’s official guidance to allow court-granted child arrangement orders to be used by HM Revenue and Customs as evidence of children’s living arrangements when assessing applications for tax credits.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) already accepts a court-granted child arrangement order as evidence when deciding who has main responsibility for a child but need to consider this alongside any other evidence provided before making a decision. HMRC has amended its guidance in the Tax Credits Technical Manual to refer to child arrangement orders.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Lord Strathclyde’s review of the powers of the House of Lords will seek evidence from all political parties represented in Parliament.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Stowell of Beeston):

    Lord Strathclyde is being supported in his review by a panel of external experts and a small secretariat of civil servants in the Cabinet Office. The secretariat does not include political advisers. The expert panel comprises Sir Stephen Laws, former First Parliamentary Counsel; Jacqy Sharpe, a former Clerk in the House of Commons and Clerk to the Joint Committee on Conventions; and Sir Michael Pownall, former Clerk of the Parliaments.

    Several reviews have examined the powers of the House of Lords, including the Royal Commission on the reform of the House of Lords (2000) and the Joint Committee on Conventions referenced above (2006).

    The review led by Lord Strathclyde is due to consider how to protect the ability of elected Governments to secure their business in Parliament in the light of the operation of certain conventions. The review will consider in particular how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to its primacy on financial matters; and secondary legislation.

    Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service.

    Lord Strathclyde will determine the way in which the review is undertaken and the content of his recommendations, including any definitions required. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the cost of the exercise at this stage, but neither Lord Strathclyde nor his panel of experts will be paid a fee. Lord Strathclyde is expected to seek views from a wide range of Parliamentarians, parties and groups in undertaking his review, and has issued a letter to all Parliamentarians inviting their input. He is also seeking views from the Clerk of the Parliaments and the Clerk of the House. Lord Strathclyde will report to the Prime Minister, and the Government will decide how to proceed upon receipt of his recommendations.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    David T. C. Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he plans to amend the draft Wales Bill to enable the National Assembly for Wales to vary income tax without a referendum.

    Stephen Crabb

    At Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government will remove the need for a referendum to introduce the Welsh Rates of Income Tax. This will be done in the Wales Bill, which will be introduced into Parliament in the New Year.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Leader of the House

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Leader of the House, how many defibrillators are provided in each building his Office manages.

    Chris Grayling

    The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons does not directly manage any buildings.