Category: Speeches

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-10-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to reduce homophobic hate crimes since January 2016.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office was part of the steering group of an Equalities and Human Rights Commission project to tackle homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime, which ended earlier this year.

    As a result, we have committed to work with organisations such as the anti-violence charity Galop to develop resources that specifically meet the needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) communities. We are also sharing existing good practice, including across the LGBT Hate Crime Network which was established by the project and is made up of over 30 groups across the country.

    The cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan, developed following consultation with a number of LGBT groups, contains actions designed to tackle hate crime against LGB&T people. This includes an assessment of the levels of homophobic bullying in schools, renewed CPS legal guidance on homophobic, biphobic and transphobic crime and funding for community groups who are working to tackle hate crime, including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic hate crime.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the level of growth of small and medium-sized enterprises across West Yorkshire since 2010.

    Anna Soubry

    Statistics on the small and medium-sized business population are not available for West Yorkshire. Covering a larger geographical area, The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Business Population Estimates, in 2015 show there were 50,200 (15%) more small and medium-sized businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber region than in 2010.

    The closest suitable geography is that of the Local Enterprise Partnership. ONS statistics show there were 98,500 small and medium-sized businesses registered for VAT or PAYE in 2015 in the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership area. The figure reported for 2010 was 83,200, although this was calculated on a different basis and is not strictly comparable.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rana on 2015-12-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action the new Commonwealth counter-extremism unit will take to tackle extremism.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are committed to tackling extremism and radicalisation. A number of Commonwealth countries face significant challenges. The Commonwealth Secretariat has done some work in this area but additional capacity is required to coordinate the sharing of expertise and support efforts to counter the causes of radicalisation. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), announced UK funding of £5m over 5 years to establish a Counter-Extremism and Counter Radicalisation Unit in the Commonwealth Secretariat. Setting up a new unit recognises that Commonwealth countries must work together to counter extremist ideologies and build their counter extremism capabilities. The unit will:

    •Provide technical assistance to governments developing counter-extremism strategies.

    •Mobilise Commonwealth civil society networks to counter radicalisation through targeted counter-narratives and strategic communication training.

    •Enable Commonwealth members to meet their international counter extremism obligations. There is a demand from Commonwealth countries for support in implementing international counter extremism obligations (e.g. in relation to UNSCR 2178.).

    We will work closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth members and key stakeholders to ensure that UK funding supports the work of countries across the Commonwealth to tackle the threat of extremism.

  • Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bill Esterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of late payment of claims by insurance companies on SMEs.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In the Enterprise Bill, Government has proposed to introduce a new requirement for insurers to pay claims within a reasonable time, which will also entitle policyholders to claim damages where a claims is paid late. An assessment of the impact of late payment of insurance claims, including on small and medium sized enterprises, has been published by the government:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/461200/BIS-15-517-IA-late-payment-of-insurance-claims.pdf

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had discussions with her EU counterparts during the renegotiation of the terms of UK membership of the EU on EU fisheries policy; and if she will take steps to secure a better outcome for the British fishing industry within that policy.

    George Eustice

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the UK, so that we get a better deal for the UK and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation. We believe we can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

    Separately, the UK continues to pursue effective implementation of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy through full use of the new provisions for regionalised decision making, and including the elimination of the wasteful practice of discarding fish. The UK is also seeking to simplify technical regulations in the fisheries sector, for the benefit of the UK fishing industry and the sustainability of fish stocks.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received a document from the Indian government on Sikh radicalisation in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    The department has not received any documents on Sikh radicalisation in the UK from the Indian government.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the UK aid budget will be allocated as (a) grants and (b) loans in 2016-17.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The information requested is not available for 2016-17.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many veterans are in receipt of war disablement pension; and what steps his Department takes to notify recipients of changes in the level of that pension.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    As at 31 March 2015, there were 116,049 disablement pensioners in receipt of a War Pension administered by Veterans UK. Whenever there is a change in an individual’s rate of war pension, Veterans UK will write to inform them. For 2016, Veterans UK elected not to issue an annual uprating letter to individuals as there was no change to payment levels. Instead, an alternative communication plan was put in place utilising automated messages on the Veterans UK helpline, letters to Third sector organisations for publication, and articles in Veterans World magazine, the Armed Forces pension newsletter, social media and on the gov.uk website.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2016 to Question 37474, how many full-time equivalent officials of his Department are responsible for any debt collection activity that the CMS system is undertaking to ensure that former Child Support Agency child maintenance arrears are received.

    Priti Patel

    Where CSA arrears are moved across to the CMS system we will actively pursue collection where the CSA clients fall within three specific scenarios. These include firstly where a re-application has been made to CMS relating to the same case; secondly where the CSA arrears were being paid in the last 3 months prior to being moved over to the CMS system; and finally where a client actively requests we collect them.

    Given this approach to the collection of these CSA arrears, they are collected through our business-as-usual processes within our Case Maintenance, Arrears and Enforcement Teams within CMS, where at June 2016 there were 3,256 full time equivalent staff.

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

    Lord Hague of Richmond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hague of Richmond on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government  what steps they have taken to secure a total ban on ivory sales, and what discussions they have had with other countries about implementing such a ban.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Government has conducted informal discussions with representatives of the arts and antique sector on the scale of legal trade in ivory currently taking place. An accurate assessment is challenging as records for antiques may not necessarily record an item as containing ivory where this is only a small component of a larger item. Extrapolation from available data indicates that sales of items containing ivory may be worth in the order of several tens of millions of pounds per annum.

    TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring organisation, has recently published its report: “A Rapid Survey of the UK ivory market”. Although not an exact comparison with a survey conducted in 2004, TRAFFIC’s survey found the number of market stalls offering ivory for sale had declined by approximately two-thirds and the number of items offered for sale had halved. No new or raw ivory was seen in any of the physical market outlets or online platforms; only one ivory item seen for sale was reportedly from after the legal cut-off (1947) for antique ivory being sold without Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) documentation within the EU. Ivory is a key UK wildlife crime priority with an enforcement action plan in place to tackle risk. For example, UK Border Force through Operation Quiver has in particular successfully targeted ivory sent through postal systems.

    We are actively exploring options with interested parties and other Government Departments about how to implement the UK Government’s manifesto commitment to press for a total ban on ivory sales. The UK has successfully lobbied for the EU-wide adoption of the existing UK ban on trade in raw ivory tusks, which was agreed through European Council Conclusions on an EU Action Plan on Wildlife Trafficking adopted in June. Trade in such tusks presents the greatest risk of poached ivory entering the legal market. In addition, these conclusions urged EU Member States to consider further measures to put a halt to commercial trade in ivory from elephants.

    A substantial number of proposals on elephant and ivory related issues will be discussed at the Conference of Parties to CITES to be held in South Africa between 24 September and 5 October 2016. This will include discussions on the existing global ban on the trade in ivory, which the UK is committed to maintaining, and the role of domestic ivory markets in illegal trade. The UK is, and will continue to, play a full role in these discussions.

    In relation to the confirmation by the USA Government to limit commercial trade in African elephant ivory to items more than 100 years old, with some exemptions, the then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment and Rural Affairs, Rory Stewart, discussed this issue with the USA Government during a trip earlier this year. In addition officials in Defra are in regular contact with their US counterparts and have discussed the US measures on a number of occasions.

    Finally on the Elephant Protection Initiative, this has grown from 5 to 14 members since the London Conference in February 2014. A Ministerial-level meeting of members to agree governance arrangements took place in Addis Ababa in September 2015. Range states have been supported to develop their National Elephant Action Plans and through these a number of priority conservation projects have been funded.