Category: Speeches

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to review the rate at which small businesses can recover statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave pay.

    Priti Patel

    Small employers, defined as those who have paid £45,000 or less in gross national insurance in the preceding tax year, can recover all of the Statutory Maternity, Adoption, Paternity and Shared Parental Pay they pay out plus an additional amount in compensation for the employer’s share of the National Insurance Contributions (NICs) due on the statutory payments.

    The current rate of compensation paid to small employers is 3%. The Statutory Maternity Pay (Compensation of Employers) and Miscellaneous Amendment Regulations 1994 set out how compensation is calculated and, in addition, require it to be assessed annually which is done alongside the annual uprating of benefits.

    The rate derived for Statutory Maternity Pay is also applied to Statutory Adoption, Paternity and Shared Parental Pay.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many highly specialised technologies are awaiting assessment by NHS England which were not selected for consideration by NICE’s highly specialised technology appraisal process.

    George Freeman

    NHS England is currently developing a refined process for the prioritisation of proposed new investments in specialised services and highly specialised services.

    The number of technologies to be routinely commissioned by NHS England will be determined by the new process.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the national roll-out of the minimising and managing physical restraint system is to be fully completed and implemented.

    Andrew Selous

    The Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) system has been rolled out across the youth secure estate with the exception of Feltham Young offender Institution (YOI), which goes live at the end of February 2016 and Parc YOI, which goes live by the end of this year.

    MMPR will also be rolled out to the under -18 secure escort service for Secure training Centres and Secure Children’s Homes, and will go live in April 2016.

  • Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hamilton of Epsom – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hamilton of Epsom on 2016-02-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they contribute to the EU programme of assistance to the Palestinians; what is the gross annual amount of funding for that programme, and what percentage of that funding the UK’s contribution, if any, represents; and what percentage of that programme’s funding is provided to the Palestinian Education Authority.

    Baroness Verma

    The EU is a major donor to both the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA, providing over €290 million in 2016 to the Palestinian people, including the refugees who live outside Occupied Palestinian Territories in the camps of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The UK contributes to the EU budget as a whole, not individual instruments within it. The UK’s share on EU expenditure in EU instruments is approximately 14.5%. The EU funding to the Palestinian Authority is through the PEGASE mechanism, providing the salaries for vetted civil servants only.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment he has made of which of his Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to his Question 31527 on 22 March 2016.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what beneficial shifts in the human rights approach of the Chinese government there have been as a result of steps taken by his Department.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the Hon. Member to the 2015 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy. The report, published on 21 April, is available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-rights-and-democracy-report-2015

  • Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle smuggling and trafficking at British ports.

    James Brokenshire

    Border Force works closely with other law enforcement agencies, including the National Crime Agency and Police, to combat suspected human trafficking and people smuggling and to target and disrupt those who would attempt to smuggle prohibited and restricted goods such as firearms and illegal drugs in to the UK.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the uprating of British pensions for UK state pension holders living abroad.

    Richard Harrington

    We are about to begin negotiations for Britain’s future relationship with Europe and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance. At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the effect of the UK leaving the EU on her policy on Tech City UK.

    Matt Hancock

    We are working to assess the effect of the decision to leave the EU on all parts of the UK digital sector. Tech City UK has been successful in supporting the growth of thriving digital clusters across the UK and they are an important partner in ensuring that we continue to support the sector as we prepare to leave the EU. We are drawing on their insight into the needs of digital businesses and start-ups across the UK to help ensure we get the best deal for the future of the digital sector, and for the wider economy.

  • Lord Boateng – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Boateng – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Boateng on 2015-11-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the resources allocated by the EU to address the root causes of informal migration in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK welcomes the EU’s ongoing, and growing, commitment to supporting development in Africa. At the Valletta Summit, EU and African leaders made clear their shared determination to provide a comprehensive solution to irregular migration that deals with the root causes as well as responds to the consequences. To support these efforts the EU launched a £1.3billion Trust Fund to improve stability in Africa and tackle the drivers of migration, to which the UK announced a £2million direct contribution. Factoring in our contribution via other EU funds, the UK’s total contribution to the overall fund is approximately £187million. In total the EU will spend around €10billion in Africa between now and 2020 to help create jobs, security, better living standards and better governance. We believe that this increased assistance will play an important role in helping tackle the root causes of irregular migration.

    Member States also contribute through bilateral funding, and the UK alone provides £4billion a year in aid to Africa. At Valletta the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced an additional £200 million package for Africa, which will help build more resilience to economic and environmental pressures; support those displaced by recent crises; and provide greater access to services, education and economic development programmes.