Category: Speeches

  • Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Nigel Adams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 2 August 2016 to Question 42624, what the evidential basis is for the conclusion that there has been a decrease in autocomplete suggestions from search engines providing access to stream ripping and online converter websites.

    Joseph Johnson

    Work to reduce the prevalence of autocomplete suggestions which are likely to lead search engine users to infringing websites is still ongoing, and so it is not yet possible to analyse the resultant effectiveness of these measures.

    This work is discussed by representatives of the creative industries and search engines at the round table meetings chaired by my noble Friend Baroness Neville-Rolfe as Minister for Intellectual Property. OFCOM provide research for these meetings utilising results which they take from publicly accessible search interfaces.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of children entering secondary education who are unable to read.

    Nick Gibb

    The Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests provide information about the proportion of pupils entering secondary education who have reached the national expected standard in reading. The latest Key Stage 2 results are published in table N2 of the the “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2 in England, 2016 (provisional)” statistical first release (SFR)[1].

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-key-stage-2-2016-provisional (Table N2)

    “

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount paid for the reimbursement of childcare costs to claimants in receipt of the childcare element of universal credit was in the most recent month for which figures are available.

    Priti Patel

    The information you have requested is not currently available. The Department published its strategy for releasing official statistics on Universal Credit (UC) in September 2013. As outlined in the strategy, officials are currently quality assuring data for UC therefore it is not yet possible to give a definitive list of what statistics will be provided in the future. These statistics however will be published in accordance with the relevant protocols in the Code of Practice for official statistics.

    The latest official experimental statistics on UC and the Departments release strategy can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

    “

  • Lucy Powell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lucy Powell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in receipt of free school meals dropped out of grammar schools in each selective and partially-selective education authority area in the most recent year for which data is available.

    Nick Gibb

    The information required to answer this question is not held and compiling it would be a very complex task which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2016 to Question 20871, who the (a) applicants and (b) successful bidders were for the £5.5 million Human Rights and Democracy Programme; and how much funding each such successful bidder was allocated.

    Mr David Lidington

    For the Financial Year 2015-16, the Human Rights and Democracy Programme (HRDP) received 27 bids for democracy projects from the following applicants:

    Ba Futuru
    British Council Libya
    Carter Centre
    DanChurchAid
    Democracy Reporting International
    Global Partners Governance
    Guatemalan Archbishopric´s Human Rights Office
    International Media Support
    International Republican Institute
    Investigative Journalists NGO (HETQ)
    Jamii Media Company Limited
    John Smith Trust
    Law Association of Zambia
    Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice
    National School of Government International (NSGI)
    Northern Ireland-Cooperation Oversees (NI-CO) in partnership with Politics Plus
    Safer World Bangladesh and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI)
    Saferworld
    Stakeholder Democracy Network
    The Asia Foundation
    UN Development Programme
    Westminster Foundation for Democracy
    Young African Leaders Initiative
    Youth Association for Human Rights Promotion and Development (AJPRODHO)
    Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum,
    Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights

    These bids were then considered on a case-by-case basis by the Programme Team, and evaluated against criteria including: value for money, project design, evidence of need, viability, sustainability, risk and local influence. Seven applicants were successful, and were allocated the amounts listed below:

    DanChurchAid: £80,000
    Global Partners Governance: £99,727
    NI-CO in partnership with Politics Plus: £35,000
    NSGI: £37,220
    Safer World Bangladesh and BEI: £103,422
    The Asia Foundation: £99,168
    Young African Leaders Initiative: £51,397

    The £100,000 Magna Carta Partnerships Fund, to assist democracies in crisis or transition, is also channelled through the HRDP. In the financial year 2015/16, we have so far agreed funding for the following implementers:

    Bingham Centre: £9,993
    British Embassy Mexico City: £8,000
    Chatham House: £10,000
    Citizen’s Watch International: £10,000
    Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch: £20,000
    King Prajadhipok Institute: £2,752
    Northern Ireland Cooperation Overseas: £2,000
    Slynn Foundation: £9,020
    Westminster Foundation for Democracy: £5,150

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department has played in advising the Sovereign on the UK’s position on the future use, style and designation accorded to UK nationals of British dual nationals of the Queen’s Commonwealth realms; and what changes there have been to established practice in the last two years.

    James Duddridge

    I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 18 January 2016 (PQ 22935). The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative.

  • Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maggie Throup – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maggie Throup on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18621, what further assessment he has made of levels of preparedness among clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for the planned transfer of obesity surgery commissioning responsibilities to CCGs in April 2016.

    George Freeman

    NHS England is supporting the transfer of commissioning responsibilities to ensure that clinical commissioning groups are fully prepared to assume the role working through collaborative commissioning forums.

    NHS England have provided a commissioning information pack including a stocktake of local services, care pathways, waiting times and a quality overview for each local area. National clinical experts are currently finalising commissioning and clinical guidance on standards for the adult obesity surgery pathway.

    The draft service specification reflects best practice and describes the standard providers will need to meet for the surgical service.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department’s contribution is to the Government’s emissions reduction plan; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra is working with DECC towards the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan. This will be the successor to the 2011 Carbon Plan, which is available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-carbon-plan-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions–2.

    The Plan will set out our policies and proposals for meeting the UK’s carbon budgets.

    “

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 21 April (HL Deb, col 762–4) on religiously motivated crime, whether they will provide details of which community groups the Home Secretary is engaging with in the community round tables”

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    In his speech on countering extremism in July 2015, the Prime Minister said that he wanted to hear directly from those in our society who are challenging extremism. The Community Engagement Forum is one of the ways we are doing this. The Forums provide a platform for a wide range of partners to share their experiences and learn from each other. Attendance at the Forums is fluid to ensure Ministers can hear from a wide range of partners from a variety of backgrounds.

    To date, the Community Engagement Forum has met on 13 October 2015, 19 November 2015 and 14 January 2016. A list of those that have attended is available in response to written parliamentary questions HL6419 and HC20784. Further community forums are planned for later this year. In addition, I myself have chaired round tables with different faith communities and leaders.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications of the UK leaving the EU on (a) border controls and security and (b) the entry of criminals and terrorists into the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    Article 50 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union deals with the process of exiting the EU. More detail on implications of withdrawal from the EU is set out in Chapter 4 of the Government’s White Paper, ‘The process for withdrawing from the European Union’, published on 29 February. The White Paper is available using the following link:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-process-for-withdrawing-from-the-european-union