Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding HM Young Offender Institution (a) Werrington, (b) Feltham and (c) Cookham Wood has received from the European Social Fund via the National Offender Management Service Co-Financing Organisation in each year since January 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    Money received from the European Social Fund (ESF) by the NOMS Co-financing Programme is published in the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts. No ESF funding has been used to finance employer roadshows at Sudbury, Drake Hall and Wayland prisons. Neither has any ESF money been awarded direct to HM Young Offender Institutions Werrington, Feltham or Cookham Wood.

    It is a condition of any award of core ESF funding to the NOMS Co-financing programme that it has to be spent on front line services for offenders (excluding the administration budget. Because of this, a separate application was made under the Technical Assistance grant to fund, among other things, the setting up and running of the Employers’ Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFRR). The aim of the Technical Assistance grant is to fund services that will support the objectives of the main programme – employability of offenders. The amount spent from the ESF Technical Assistance fund on the EFRR from 2010 to 2015 was £280,403.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to renew or update the cardiovascular disease outcomes strategy.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England continues to support implementation of the action points listed in the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Outcomes Strategy: it has no plans to renew or update it. It is working closely with Public Health England (PHE) on a range of preventative issues which support implementation of the strategy and promote wider improvement in outcomes.

    In addition to CVD work undertaken by Right Care and as part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Review, NHS England also hosts a collaborative group which brings together the relevant National Clinical Directors, the main relevant national charities, the National CVD Intelligence Network, PHE and the Department. This collaborative group continues to work together to reduce premature mortality in both primary and secondary care settings in relation to people with, or at risk of having, CVD.

  • Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proposals they have, if any, to provide assistance to British citizens, particularly British children, in La Linière refugee camp outside Dunkirk.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is not aware of any British citizens, including children, residing in the La Linière migrant camp.

  • David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she has taken to ensure that organic food producers are subsidised under the Common Agricultural Policy.

    George Eustice

    Organic farmers in England are eligible to claim Common Agricultural Policy support under the Basic Payments Scheme and are also eligible to apply for funding under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance he is providing to help defeat (a) Boko Haram in West and Central Africa, (b) al Shabab in Somalia and East Africa and (c) al Qaeda affiliates in Yemen.

    Mark Lancaster

    The UK is increasing support to the Nigerian Forces in tackling the Boko Haram threat. We have a resident British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) that has grown in size since the government announced last year that the UK would increase its support to Nigeria to combat Boko Haram. UK military personnel are working with US, French and Nigerian experts in an intelligence fusion cell in Abuja, and the Coordination and Liaison Cell in N’Djamena, Chad. The Defence Secretary has announced the additional deployment of a small team of experts who will work alongside the Armed Forces of Nigeria to provide assistance in countering improvised explosive devices as well as medical training and advice.

    UK Defence is currently contributing to wider international efforts to achieve stability and security in Somalia and the wider East Africa region and defeat Al Shabaab. We are achieving this through supporting a range of UN and EU Missions to provide training, mentoring, and logistical support to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and develop the Somali National Army.

    Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) continues to pose a threat to both the UK and globally. We are committed to supporting the Yemeni government in establishing a stable and secure Yemen and we continue to work with regional and international partners to tackle the threat posed by AQAP and Daesh in the Yemen. Ongoing peace talks are the top priority as a political solution is the best way to bring long-term stability to the country.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people from other EU countries have been admitted to (1) work, and (2) live, in Northern Ireland in each year since 2010.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to repeal the provisions contained within the Vagrancy Act 1824, which allow for homeless people to be arrested for begging.

    Lord Bates

    We have no plans to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the spoil from Crossrail tunnelling deposited at Wallasea Island was authorised under a landfill or recovery permit or licence and whether the same designation will apply to spoil deposited from the Thames Tideway Tunnel excavations.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The site at Wallasea Island received the Crossrail tunnel excavated material under a deposit for recovery permit.

    Tideway, the Infrastructure Provider set up to finance, build, maintain and operate the Thames Tideway Tunnel, is assessing several sites that were identified as part of the information submitted for the Development Consent Order consent to receive the tunnel excavated material. In order to meet its commitment to transport by river Tideway is focussing on sites in the Thames Estuary. The type of permit these sites require is being assessed in line with current statutory guidance. A number of applications have been made and are being determined by the Environment Agency.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority have been assigned to work on the Government’s Successor submarine programme; and what (a) their grades, (b) their job titles and (c) the dates of their assignment to work on that programme are.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Successor programme is one of 188 projects reported on the Government Major Project Portfolio (GMPP) at the time of the last Major Projects Annual Report. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority undertakes a number of activities across the 188 major projects on the GMPP, including collecting quarterly programme performance data; the arrangement of independent assurance; and, providing expert advice to project and departmental leadership. These activities do not involve the assignment of individual IPA staff to work on this project specifically, but are undertaken by a number of staff working in a range of functions across the IPA.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36052, on diesel vehicles: exhaust emissions, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of a pre-Euro 4 diesel scrappage scheme; how many vehicles in the UK were estimated to have been potentially eligible for a claim under such a scheme; and whether a benefit-cost ratio was calculated for that proposal.

    Andrew Jones

    Improving the UK’s air quality is a priority for this Government; we want the UK to have the best natural environment, and clean air is an essential part of this ambition.

    The Government’s National Air Quality Plan, published on 17 December 2015, sets out a comprehensive approach to improving UK air quality. A key measure of this is the introduction of new Clean Air Zones in five UK cities (Birmingham, Leeds, Southampton, Nottingham and Derby), along with the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London. The Plan will tackle the most polluting vehicles in air pollution hotspots, and will enable us to reach compliance with legal limit values as quickly as possible.

    A national scrappage scheme for diesel cars was considered, which included a high-level cost estimate looking at offering grants for scrappage of the dirtiest vehicles.

    It was found that even if only offering the scheme to pre-Euro 4 diesel cars only, the costs ran into the billions and impact on emissions was marginal.

    This would have minimal impact on compliance with legal limit values for air quality in 2020. It is estimated that 400,000 pre euro 4 diesel cars will remain in the national fleet by this time.

    As the costs of a scrappage were considered prohibitively expensive this option was judged an ineffective use of resource, and further analysis was not carried out.