Category: Speeches

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will raise with the Chinese authorities reports that North Korean agents entered Chiangbai and murdered the Korean-Chinese pastor Han Choong Yeol.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), to the Hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell), on 9 May 2016 (PQ 36385), copied below for ease of reference:

    ‘I have no plans to raise this case with the Chinese Government. We have a regular dialogue with the Chinese about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which covers the effective implementation of UN sanctions to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons, and encouraging China to confront human rights violations by the North Korean regime, most notably the important principle of non-refoulement. I raised both points with Chinese Vice Minister Chen Fengxiang in December’.

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what consideration she has given to extending the support of biomass after 2027 to treat it equally with other low-carbon technologies.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We see the use of conversions of coal to biomass as a transitional technology. It has played a useful role in decarbonising the grid while other, lower carbon forms of energy generation, such as offshore wind continue to develop and lower their costs. Government support for biomass conversions are restricted to 2027 under the Renewables Obligation and Contract for Difference, however all other biomass technologies are eligible for the full 15 year life of the contract. We have no current plans to change those dates.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to recruit more diabetes specialist nurses.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    NHS Digital provides information on the number of nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff employed in the National Health Service in England but it does not separately identify diabetes specialist nurses.

    It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills such as diabetes nursing and to deploy specialist nurses.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many children have been registered as homeless in (a) Ashfield and (b) Broxtowe in each of the last five years.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The numbers of households with dependent children (including expected children) accepted as homeless in Ashfield and Broxtowe in each of the last five years is shown in the table below. It is not possible to give precise numbers of children in accepted households.

    The figure for Broxtowe for 2011/12 is less than five and has been suppressed to avoid the risk of disclosing personal information.

    Data are collected on the numbers of households accepted as being in priority need as a result of the applicant being aged 16 or 17. There were less than 5 such cases in Ashfield and Broxtowe during the last five years combined.

    Period

    Ashfield

    Broxtowe

    2010/11

    15

    6

    2011/12

    9

    *

    2012/13

    12

    7

    2013/14

    40

    5

    2014/15

    35

    8
  • Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group for Severe and Complex Obesity will publish its proposed template for clinical commissioning groups on access to obesity surgery pathways and follow-up treatment.

    George Freeman

    The template is in development and the draft will be shared in January 2016.

  • Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Conor McGinn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average time was from a patient being declared fit to leave hospital to their discharge in (a) St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, (b) each health trust in Merseyside and (c) England in the last period for which figures are available.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not available in the format requested.

    Official statistics for NHS trusts in England are published by NHS England on the number of patients delayed on the last Thursday of each month and the total delayed days during the month for all patients delayed throughout the month. The latest publication of this data was for delays occurring in November 2015 and was published on 14 January 2016.

    It is not possible to calculate a waiting time for discharge from these data.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what measures are in place to provide housing support to care leavers; and what additional support his Department plans to provide after April 2017.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Ensuring that young people leaving care have accommodation and support that is suitable for their needs is a priority for this Government. The homelessness legislation provides a strong safety net for vulnerable people. Care leavers aged 18-21 facing homelessness have a priority need for accommodation, as do vulnerable care leavers who are older than 21.

    We have funded youth homelessness agency St Basils to develop and support the roll-out of the Positive Pathway Framework. This supports local authority children’s services and housing teams and other local partners to work together to prevent homelessness and meet the housing and support needs of vulnerable young people, including care leavers. To build on this, we supported St Basils to develop a specific Care Leavers Accommodation and Support Framework, in partnership with Barnardo’s, in 2015.

    We have also invested £15 million in the Fair Chance Fund, a payment by results programme which aims to test new approaches to improving accommodation, employment and training outcomes for vulnerable homeless 18-25 year olds. Over 200 of the young people on the programme have previously been looked after.

    We will ensure that vulnerable young people who are in need of support for their housing needs continue to receive it.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government has given to the Lebanese government to assist with the refugee situation in that country.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK has contributed over £330 million to support Lebanon since the start of the Syria crisis. Our priorities have been to support refugees and host communities, and strengthen the ability of the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces to protect against armed groups at the border at terrorism.

    On 4 February the UK co-hosted the ‘Supporting Syria and the Region 2016’ conference which secured over $11 billion in pledges from the international community for Syria’s neighbours, including Lebanon. This was the largest sum raised for a cause in a single day.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Iranian government about reports of 24 Bahais sentenced to imprisonment by a court in Gorgan on 1 February 2016.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK regularly raises our concerns at the treatment of the Baha’i community in Iran. We call on Iran to cease harassment of all religious minorities and to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of religion to all Iranians.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how the ongoing negotiations between the UK and Malawi towards an updated taxation treaty will take account of Malawi’s development situation.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Discussions with Malawi over a new tax treaty began some years ago, and substantive agreement has been reached at official level. The Government of Malawi have stated that they hope to be in a position to sign the new treaty in the near future.

    The current negotiations are a matter for the two governments. The UK’s starting point in negotiations is based closely on the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention, which is also the basis for most other countries’ tax treaties. Some developing countries prefer to follow the UN Model, the provisions of which differ in some areas to the OECD Model. The UK does adopt these provisions in its treaties where agreement is reached.

    This is a matter for the Government of Malawi. However, they have stated that there is no evidence that the current 1955 agreement has motivated British investors to deprive the Government of Malawi of its revenues.

    The terms of tax treaties are for the negotiators of both countries to agree. Only when both governments are content with the terms of the treaty will the treaty be signed. It would be inappropriate for draft treaties to be published in advance of signature to the treaty.

    In the UK tax treaties are published and subject to parliamentary scrutiny before they become law and enter into force. A form of approval is usually followed in the corresponding country, thus giving a further level of assurance that the terms are acceptable to both Governments.