Category: Speeches

  • Lord Turnberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Turnberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Palestine about the re-opening the Red Cross offices closed by recent violence in Gaza.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We understand that the International Committee of the Red Cross office in Gaza closed on 7 February for security reasons following protests in solidarity with a Palestinian hunger striker in Israeli detention. We have not raised this specific issue with the Palestinian Authority (PA) but we have urged the PA to make progress on resuming control in Gaza.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what checks his Department carries out to ascertain the (a) immigration status and (b) nationality of benefits claimants.

    Priti Patel

    Access to means-tested benefits is conditional upon satisfying the Habitual Residence Test (HRT) where claimants must provide proof of their nationality and immigration status; their employment (where appropriate) and habitual residence in the UK.

    Generally, access to disability benefits is conditional upon satisfying the Past Presence Test (PPT) where claimants must provide proof of their nationality and immigration status; their habitual residence in the UK; and presence in the UK for 2 years out of the last 3 years.

    Access to contributions-based benefits is not dependent on a residency test, but the claimant must be present in the UK and they must have made the required number of national insurance contributions.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the projected savings accruing to the public purse are from the proposed closure of the Marine Offices in (a) Tyne and (b) Plymouth in 2017; and what the value of (i) land and (ii) buildings is on each site.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Both (a) Tyne and (b) Plymouth operate from leasehold properties ((i) land and (ii) building), as such the only value to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is the cost of the lease.

    (a) Assuming that the office at Tyne closes in September 2017, the projected savings realised to the public purse in that year would be £50K. The projected annual steady state savings would be £103K.

    (b) Assuming that the office at Plymouth closes in December 2017, the projected savings realised to the public purse in that year would be £12K. The projected annual steady state savings would be £50K.

    Through the proposed new ways of working both Tyne and Plymouth would continue to see a surveyor presence through remote working, either within spare civil estate, such as the Marine Management Organisation or the Land Registry, or working from home depending on the operational and business need

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the (a) land and (b) buildings on the site of the Marine Office in Norwich are worth.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The only value to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for Norwich Marine Office is the value of the lease, which is 66k per annum. The value of the land and building resides with the landlord.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have a strategy to combat the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Prevent Strategy sets out the Government’s approach to combatting the use of social media as a tool for radicalisation and the promotion of terrorism, focussing on restricting access to terrorist and extremist content online; supporting those who are challenging them online and helping people resist poisonous ideologies.

    Through the Home Office’s Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU) the Government works with a range of civil society groups to counter extremist ideologies online by providing advice and support to deliver their own online campaigns. 26 RICU supported national campaigns have generated over 29.8 million online engagements since January 2014.

    The police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) refers content that they assess as contravening UK terrorism legislation or company terms and conditions to Communication Service Providers (CSPs) for removal. Since February 2010, CTIRU has secured the removal of more than 190,000 pieces of online terrorist-related content.

  • David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Warburton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Warburton on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s timetable is for publishing and implementing the secondary legislation required to implement the increase in the Pension Protection Fund compensation cap provided for under the Pensions Act 2014.

    Richard Harrington

    On 15 September I tabled a written statement saying that I had begun the consultation on this secondary legislation with the intention that the increase in the compensation cap will be implemented from April 2017.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the differences in provision of healthcare in areas adjoining the border between England and Wales.

    Stephen Crabb

    Everyone should have access to the very best healthcare possible wherever they live. The presence of a border between England and Wales should not create disadvantages for patients.

    While the NHS in England exists to benefit the people of England, and the NHS in Wales exists to benefit the people of Wales, NHS commissioners in either country are able to commission services from providers on both sides of the border.

  • Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Myners – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Commissioners of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact receive funding to cover travel and hotel expenses ahead of visits, or whether they are reimbursed for meeting those costs personally.

    Baroness Verma

    The majority of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) commissioners’ air and rail journeys and hotels are booked in advance by the ICAI secretariat through DFID’s internal travel system to ensure value for money in line with DFID/ICAI guidance. These invoices are then verified and settled by the Secretariat. In the minority of cases where travel cannot be booked in advance, commissioners pay up-front and their submitted expense claims with receipts are then verified by the Head of the Secretariat and reimbursed.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Danny Kinahan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when HPV vaccinations are planned to be available at sexual health clinics to men who have sex with men.

    Jane Ellison

    In November 2015, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the expert body that advises the Government on all immunisation matters, advised that a targeted human papilloma virus vaccination programme should be undertaken for men who have sex with men up to 45 years of age who attend genitourinary medicine and HIV clinics. They noted that this should be subject to procurement of the vaccine and delivery of the programme at a cost-effective price.

    The Department is considering the JCVI’s advice and will confirm its plans in due course.

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

    Lord Willoughby de Broke – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Willoughby de Broke on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Payments Agency will receive a bonus payment this year.

    Lord Freud

    Universal Credit is a single, indivisible benefit. Universal Credit claimants receive a single monthly amount based on various criteria, including family size and the level of any housing or childcare costs and taking into account earnings and other household income. The final award is therefore a single amount and elements cannot be separated.

    The final agreed Decision of the Heads of State and Government adopted at the European Council on 20 February 2016 makes clear that the emergency welfare brake will apply to non-contributory in-work benefits. All EU workers arriving in the UK while the brake is in operation will have to wait for four years before getting full access to these benefits.