Category: Speeches

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the security services in tackling terrorism in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The PSNI do an outstanding and vital job keeping people safe from violent dissident republicans.

    That is why they will receive £160 million extra security funding over the next five years from the UK Government to tackle this threat.

    This builds on £231 million additional security funding we have provided since 2011.

  • 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 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) drugs of each type and (b) other items were confiscated from visitors to each prison in each year since 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    We have a range of security measures and searching techniques to prevent smuggling into prisons and to detect items of contraband including drugs. We have legislated to make smuggling New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) into prison illegal, use specially trained dogs to detect illicit drugs and will evaluate the use of Body Scanners to reveal drugs concealed within the body.

    We refer all visitors to prisons found in possession of drugs to the police. We also use closed visits, where the prisoner and visitor are prevented from physical contact, to deal with visitors and prisoners who smuggle or are suspected of conveying drugs through visits.

    The table below shows the number and type of drugs confiscated from visitors in each prison for the period 01 October 2015 to 31 December 2015. Prior to 01 October 2015 the Incident Reporting System (IRS) did not specifically record who possessed the drugs found.

    Number of incidents where drugs were found in visitor’s possession, October to December 2015, by establishment and drug type

    Establishment

    Drug type

    Number of incidents12

    Aylesbury

    Cannabis

    3

    Birmingham

    NPS: Black Mamba

    1

    Brinsford

    Cannabis

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Bristol

    Other

    1

    Bullingdon

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Cardiff

    Amphetamines

    1

    Buprenorphine/Subutex

    1

    Heroin

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Channings Wood

    Heroin

    1

    Chelmsford

    Cannabis

    2

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Coldingley

    Unknown

    1

    Doncaster

    Amphetamines

    1

    NPS: Other

    1

    Other

    2

    Unknown

    3

    Dovegate

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Elmley

    Cocaine

    1

    Featherstone

    Unknown

    1

    Feltham

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Forest Bank

    NPS: Black Mamba

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Guys Marsh

    Unknown

    1

    Haverigg

    Unknown

    3

    High Down

    Unknown

    1

    Highpoint

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Hewell

    Cannabis

    3

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Other

    1

    Steroids

    1

    Holme House

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Humber

    Amphetamines

    1

    Lancaster Farms

    Unknown

    1

    Leeds

    Amphetamines

    1

    Cocaine

    1

    NPS: Other

    1

    Lindholme

    Cannabis

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Lowdham Grange

    Cannabis Plant

    1

    Manchester

    Cannabis

    1

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Moorland

    NPS: Spice

    3

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Morton Hall

    NPS: Spice

    1

    New Hall

    Unknown

    1

    Northumberland

    Unknown

    2

    Norwich

    Heroin

    1

    Oakwood

    Heroin

    1

    Other

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Onley

    NPS: Spice

    1

    Steroids

    1

    Unknown

    1

    Parc

    Unknown

    1

    Peterborough Male

    Other

    1

    Peterborough Female

    Crack

    1

    Heroin

    1

    Ranby

    NPS: Other

    1

    Risley

    Cannabis

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Unknown

    2

    Rochester

    Cannabis

    1

    Crack

    1

    Unknown

    2

    Stoke Heath

    NPS: Other

    1

    The Mount

    Cannabis

    1

    Heroin

    1

    NPS: Other

    1

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Verne

    NPS: Other

    1

    Wayland

    NPS: Spice

    2

    Wymott

    NPS: Other

    1

    (1) Number of incidents where each drug type were found.

    (2) Where establishment is not listed, no confiscations were reported in the period

    Data Sources and Quality
    These figures have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations his Department received on the requirements to be set for businesses in the retail and commercial enterprise sector to qualify for funding under the apprenticeship programme before those requirements were determined.

    Nick Boles

    In England, to qualify for apprenticeships funding, an apprenticeship offered in any sector must comply with the Skills Funding Agency’s funding rules: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/sfa-funding-rules-2016-to-2017.

    “

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs were working in (a) Enfield North constituency, (b) Enfield and (c) London (i) in total and (ii) per head of population in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The attached table shows the total general practitioner (GP) headcount and headcount per head of population in Enfield and London between 2010-14.

    Information on the availability of GP appointments in Enfield North is not collected centrally.

    We have invested in the Prime Minister’s GP Access Fund to test improved and innovative access to GP services. Across the two waves of the Fund, there are 57 schemes covering over 2,500 practices and over 18 million patients have benefited from improved access and transformational change at a local level. A wide variety of approaches are being tested through the Access Fund, including: evening and weekend appointments and better use of telecare and health apps; more innovative ways to access services by video call, email or telephone; and developing more integrated services with a single point of contact to co-ordinate patient services.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-04-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have not prosecuted the reported 350 Jihadis who have returned to the UK and are suspected of having fought in Syria or Iraq.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has successfully prosecuted 35 cases involving 54 defendants who have returned to the UK and are suspected of having fought in Syria and / or Iraq. It currently has 13 such ongoing prosecutions involving 30 defendants. The Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland (PPSNI) is also dealing with one ongoing Syria-related prosecution. If there is evidence that people are going abroad to engage in terrorist activity, they can be arrested and prosecuted. They can also be arrested and prosecuted if they return to the UK. There are a wide range of offences that can be used to prosecute such individuals but each case has to be considered individually on its merits and whether an arrest or prosecution can take place will depend on the evidence available. If the police refer a case to the CPS, they consider whether the test in the Code for Crown Prosecutors is met. That is, whether there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for any offence and, if so, whether it is in the public interest to prosecute.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, if he will place in the library an unredacted copy of Lady Macur’s review of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the abuse of children in North Wales.

    Alun Cairns

    No. Lady Justice Macur specifically cautioned Ministers against publishing certain groups of names, for example to protect against prejudicing pending and ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions.

    An unredacted version of the report has been provided to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, chaired by Justice Lowell Goddard, and was seen by representatives from Operations Pallial, Hydrant and Orarian.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of maximum workplace temperature regulations in protecting workers’ health and well-being.

    Penny Mordaunt

    A review of maximum workplace temperatures took place in 2010 and concluded that the legislation and supporting guidance is sufficient.

    The existing law on workplace temperature, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, places a legal obligation on employers to provide a ‘reasonable’ temperature in the workplace. A meaningful figure is not set out in regulations due to the factors, other than air temperature, which determine thermal comfort (for example, the radiant temperature, humidity and air velocity). These factors become more significant and the interplay between them more complex as the temperature rises.

    Detailed guidance on workplace temperature and thermal comfort is available on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website (http://www.hse.gov.uk/temperature/). This includes how to undertake a thermal comfort assessment and measures that can be taken to improve thermal comfort.

    “

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate additional funding to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

    Mr David Gauke

    At the Spending Review in 2015, the Government set out its plans to invest more than £300m to support the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. This will increase cycling and walking by improving infrastructure and encouraging active travel, particularly in children.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been referred by the National Crime Agency to regional police forces in (a) 2014 and (b) so far in 2015; and how many of those people are under suspicion of involvement in crimes of child abuse.

    Mike Penning

    The National Crime Agency does not collect data on the number of people referred to police forces. In respect of child abuse, the NCA disseminates information related to child sexual exploitation to law enforcement partners on a regular basis.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what research her Department has recently commissioned on the effects of pesticides on UK ecosystems.

    George Eustice

    Defra has funded a number of projects over recent years to develop its understanding of the effects of pesticides. This includes work to examine the fate and behaviour of pesticides in the environment, their effects on non-target organisms and measures to reduce adverse effects. A list of all Defra-commissioned Research and Development (R&D) projects is available from the Defra R&D website.

    “