Category: Speeches

Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to improve security measures at sites containing nuclear waste.

Jesse Norman

Security of nuclear waste is a high priority for the Government, and the Office for Nuclear Regulation provides independent assurance that materials are kept safely and securely. The spending review settlement for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority also supports continuing investment in security infrastructure. However the Government does not comment on security measures at nuclear sites.

January 1, 2023
David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-10-24.

To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of the European Arrest Warrant.

Robert Buckland

The European Arrest Warrant (EAW) provides a basis for a swift and cost-efficient extradition process between EU Member States implementing the principle of ‘mutual recognition’ of judicial decisions. The UK continues to work closely with Member States to execute EAW following the referendum.

January 1, 2023
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 advice from the clerks of both Houses on any changes to procedures for considering secondary legislation.

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.

January 1, 2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the co-operation between highway authorities and statutory service providers who need to dig up the highway and footway to maintain, repair and replace their services.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government has not undertaken an assessment of the co-operation between highway authorities and statutory undertakers.

However, section 59 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 places a duty on local highway authorities to co-ordinate works on the highway and section 60 provides a mirror duty on statutory undertakers to co-operate with them in that role.

Additionally the Traffic Management Act 2004 introduced the Network Management Duty which requires local authorities to manage their networks with a view to making the most effective use of them. The 2004 Act also introduced permit schemes, which enable highway authorities to have a more proactive role in the management of their road networks.

January 1, 2023
Teresa Pearce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Teresa Pearce on 2016-01-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his policy is on public sector and charitable provision of consumer debt advice services.

Damian Hinds

The Money Advice Service (MAS) is responsible for the coordination of publicly funded free to client debt advice. MAS is financed by a levy on the financial services industry. MAS is currently consulting on its business plan; it has proposed levying for a constant budget for debt advice for 2016/17 providing around £45 million to its third sector partners for the provision of debt advice.

More broadly the Government is currently reviewing how the public provision of free-to-client, impartial financial guidance, including consumer debt advice services, should be structured to give consumers the information they need to make financial decisions. The Public Financial Guidance consultation closed in December 2015 and the Government will report back by budget.

January 1, 2023
Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterparts on the siege of Cizre by Turkish government forces.

Mr David Lidington

Security operations, including military curfews, are continuing in Cizre and other towns in south-east Turkey against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its youth wing, the YPS (Civil Protection Units, formerly the YDG-H). There has been intense fighting in recent days. One policeman and one soldier were killed on 9 February. Our condolences are with the families of the soldiers and police who have been killed, and with civilians caught up in the violence. We continue to call for the PKK to end its terrorist attacks and for the peace process to be resumed. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Turkey have emphasised to the Turkish government the need to respect human rights and avoid civilian casualties. We stand ready to help in any way we can.

January 1, 2023

Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many export extradition requests her Department received from Category 2 territories in each year since 2009-10; how many such requests she certified; how many of those requests were approved by district judges at extradition hearings; and in how many such cases she ordered extradition.

James Brokenshire

“Category 2 territories” refers to countries designated as extradition partners under Part 2 of the Extradition Act 2003. Not all the information requested is held centrally. The tables below set out the information which is centrally held by the Home Office.

Figures for the numbers of people extradited or requests refused in a particular year may include those for whom a request was made in a previous year.

Import extradition requests involving Category 2 territories

Year	Requests submitted to the Home Office for Category 2 territories	Requests sent to Category 2 territories	Number of people extradited to the UK
2009	35	35	26
2010	33	33	19
2011	49	49	22
2012	32	32	25
2013	23	23	26
2014	37	37	11
2015	45	45	26

January 1, 2023

Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the outcome has been of its programme to improve the effect of public expenditure on the quality of service delivery and poverty reduction in Uganda.

Mr Nick Hurd

Supporting public financial management is essential in promoting accountability and ensuring the efficient use of public resources to drive poverty reduction, as well as being fundamental in the fight against corruption.

The Financial Management and Accountability Programme (FINMAP) works across the public financial management system. The programme has registered a number of achievements. The Public Finance Act was passed by Parliament in November 2014 thanks to technical support provided by FINMAP. A new Government of Uganda Public Financial Management reform strategy for 2014–2018 was launched in August 2014. The programme has also strengthened the Office of the Auditor General.

January 1, 2023
Marie Rimmer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marie Rimmer on 2016-05-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the Government’s plans are for consultation on the top-up and tariffs system that is set to operate once business rates have become fully devolved.

Mr Marcus Jones

The retention of business rates locally is an important part of our plan to take power out of Whitehall and return it to local government. This means we will no longer be taking local business rates income into Whitehall for redistribution as grant. All locally collected business rates will stay with local government.

We have already been clear that we will retain redistribution within the system. We recognise that we will need to redistribute to ensure councils don’t lose out merely because they currently collect less in rates.

The Government is currently working with the Local Government Association, and engaging directly with local authorities, to develop the detail of this change. This includes developing the mechanics of redistribution. As previously announced, we will consult later this year and implement this important change to the local government finance system by the end of this Parliament.

January 1, 2023
Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37125, whether his Department has any plans to collect data on the number of student nurses that have already studied for a degree before entering nurse training.

Ben Gummer

The Department has no plans to introduce a new central data collection on the number of student nurses that have already studied for a degree before entering nurse training.

January 1, 2023