Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the security situation in Juba, South Sudan.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We have been kept regularly updated on the security situation in Juba. Senior officials and the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge), have been in touch with leaders in the region and joined the United Nations and the African Union in calling on President Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar to immediately end all violence and protect all South Sudanese civilians. The ceasefire announced on 11 July is currently holding.

  • 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 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government is giving to Egyptian and Italian authorities investigating the murder of Giulio Regeni.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We were appalled by the murder of Giulio Regeni in Cairo. As soon as we were made aware of reports of Mr Regeni’s disappearance on 25 January, we contacted the Italian government to offer our assistance. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director-General for Middle East and Africa renewed this offer to the Italian Ambassador to London on 22 April. We continue to offer our full support to Italy. I have raised Mr Regeni’s case with the Egyptian authorities myself, as have senior officials. In these discussions we have underlined the need for a full and transparent investigation. We remain in contact with both the Italian and Egyptian authorities.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 10566, what recent steps he has taken to encourage all parties in the conflict in Yemen to allow freedom of access for humanitarian and commercial supplies.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    During his visit to Saudi Arabia on 28 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) made clear the need for all sides to take all reasonable steps to facilitate access for humanitarian aid, and the importance of the non-politicisation of aid, as well as the need to facilitate access for commercial goods. We welcome the commitments of the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister and Yemeni President Hadi in recent weeks that all of Yemen’s ports are open and that commercial ships, including fuel tankers, are now arriving in Yemeni ports, including Hodeidah. We are using diplomatic channels to urge the Saudi and Yemeni Governments to ensure commercial access is sustained. The Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) have expressed the UK’s readiness to support the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) and DFID has committed £1.4 million to the UN to support its establishment.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the total (a) number and (b) payments made from feed-in tariff schemes in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The table below shows (a) the number of commissioned installations under the feed – in tariff scheme, and (b) generation payments made under the scheme:

    Generation payments (£)*

    Cumulative installations (at end March)**

    2010-11

    12,487,029

    47,746

    2011-12

    135,937,392

    319,057

    2012-13

    504,272,611

    430,445

    2013-14

    685,973,264

    545,245

    2014-15

    850,823,544

    683,462

    *Source; feed-in tariff annual report 2014-15

    https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/feed-in_tariff_annual_report_year_five_2014-15.pdf

    ** Source; DECC feed-in tariff statistics

    Monthly feed-in tariff commissioned installations by month – Publications – GOV.UK

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department and its executive agencies spent on advertising to promote awareness of the health risks associated with alcohol in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Spend on advertising is defined as covering only media spend (inclusive of agency commissions but excluding production costs, Central Office of Information commission and VAT).

    In reference to the Department’s media spend on advertising to promote awareness of the health risks associated with alcohol, spend is set out below:

    Financial Year

    Expenditure

    2010-11

    £0

    2011-12

    £980,000

    2012-13

    £1,840,000

    Public Health England (PHE) took over responsibility for public health campaigns formerly run by the Department on 1 April 2013. Although there was no advertising spend in 2013-14, other marketing activity would have taken place. For example: the publication and distribution of leaflets and the maintenance of the website. In 2014-15, in addition to this activity, PHE allocated £530,000 of media spend on advertising.

    All figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Brendan O’Hara – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the country of (a) origin and (b) destination was of each flight in a fixed wing aircraft or helicopter carrying or transporting Defence Nuclear Materials in the last five years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In the last five years, 23 flights carrying Defence Nuclear Materials (DNM) were undertaken. All flights were between the UK and the United States on fixed wing aircraft under the control of UK Armed Forces. No such flights passed over Scotland, or involved the use of helicopters.

    I am withholding details of the physical state, mass and radiological quantity of DNM transported as disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice national security.

    The transport of DNM is carried out to the highest standard in accordance with stringent safety regulations. In over 50 years of transporting DNM in the UK, there has never been an incident that has posed any radiation hazard to the public or to the environment.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department had with Mr Paul Newby’s employer on his contributions to the draft Pubs Code.

    Anna Soubry

    No such discussions were held.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to prevent Dart Charge payments made by drivers of leased vehicles being registered to previous drivers of the same vehicle who have not paid that charge.

    Andrew Jones

    All drivers have until midnight the day after crossing to pay the road user charge. This extended time period, which provides flexibility for the majority of users, makes it more complex to match payments for a crossing made by a previous hirer of the same vehicle. Highways England and the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association are working together to assess what more can be done to assist the small number of companies and their customers who may be affected by this.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what measures she is putting in place to minimise the number of Notifications of Inadequate System Margin issued by the National Grid; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    A Notice of Inadequate System Margin is one of the tools National Grid use to maintain margins in the system and can happen at any time for a variety of reasons. Issuing a NISM does not mean that demand is about to outstrip supply: it is a notice to the market to bring forward further capacity. National Grid issue NISMs ahead of dispatching capacity from its supplementary balancing reserve, which will include 3.5GW of dispatchable generating capacity next winter. This will give any remaining capacity in the market first opportunity to respond but does not signal any significant risk of shortages. National Grid’s objective is to secure supplies and the NISM is an important tool to achieve that objective with minimum distortion to the market.

  • 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 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received from music and sport event organisers on security at large events; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Home Office regularly receives correspondence from organisations about major events taking place in the UK including music festivals, sports and other events. The policing of major music festivals, sports events and other large temporary events are dealt with through operational policing efforts. Advice on security, including counter-terrorism, is undertaken by specially trained police Security Coordinators (SecCos), who provide protective security advice and plans to police command teams prior to an event.

    Where appropriate SecCOs draw on the advice of police specialist Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSAs), who assess sites and provide recommendations on appropriate and proportionate mitigating security measures to address the terrorism threat.