Category: Speeches

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the blog item on his Department’s website, entitled FCO – Abolition of the death penalty remains a high priority, published on 4 August 2015, which countries have caused concern by their increased use of the death penalty.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The long-term trend is for the number of executions carried out and the number of states continuing to execute, to reduce each year. The Government’s hope and expectation is that this trend will continue. It is therefore a matter of concern when states which have refrained from executing for some years revert to use of the death penalty. One such country is Pakistan, which lifted its seven year moratorium on executions in 2014 following the attack on a school in Peshawar. Since then, Pakistan has executed an estimated 340 people. Our comprehensive list of countries of concern can be found in the 2014 Annual Human Rights Report, which includes our concerns with countries such as Saudi Arabia and their use of the death penalty. We continue to oppose its use in all forms, in all countries.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings (a) she and (b) Ministers of her Department have had with (i) arms manufacturers, (ii) tobacco manufacturers and (iii) representatives of the Israeli embassy since the period covered in the Cabinet Office’s most recent ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings data release.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26th February 2016 to Question 27634:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-02-22/27634/.

    “

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training modules are provided to armed forces personnel in international humanitarian law.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK Government acts in accordance with domestic and international law at all times and Ministry of Defence policy is assessed to ensure compliance with it.

    All Service personnel are provided with training on the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), including during initial basic training phases, staff and promotion courses. Personnel are required to undertake periodic LOAC training to agreed standards.

    Single Service LOAC training is as follows:

    Naval Service

    Royal Navy Core Maritime Skill (CMS) 7 (annually). Personnel must also be familiar with Operational Detention and Use of Force in accordance with the latest published guidance.

    Army

    Army Military Annual Training Test (MATT) 7. This test provides training and assessment in LOAC, investigations and accountability, captured persons (CPERS), and the use of force. All Army personnel conduct MATT 7 training Module 1 (LOAC), Module 2 (Investigations and Accountability), and Module 3 (CPERS) on an annual basis and are required to pass tests. Those who are completing initial training, and personnel that are deployable, also conduct MATT 7 training Module 4 (Use of Force) and pass a test. Deployable Service personnel must complete Module 4 on an annual basis.

    Royal Air Force (RAF)

    RAF Individual Reinforcement Training (IRT). All RAF personnel are provided with periodic LOAC training on a modular basis as determined by readiness posture. This training is complemented by other Phase 3 and Individual Pre-Deployment LOAC training provision.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time was for a Disclosure and Barring Service check to be completed in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service is a non-departmental public body which provides access to appropriate criminal record information for employers through its disclosure service for England and Wales. It also makes independent barring decisions about people who have harmed, or where there is considered to be a risk of harm to, a child or vulnerable person within the workplace. Given the sensitive nature of this work and the reliance on police forces to provide locally held intelligence, it would not be appropriate to introduce competition.

    Whilst no assessment has been made of the affect of timeliness on the number of job opportunities which may have been lost, the impact which delays may have on applicants is recognised. The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. In very exceptional cases, where it is apparent that a delay is likely to cause undue hardship to an applicant, the DBS will do all it can to expedite the process by raising an escalation with the relevant police force.

    The average end to end time taken to complete a DBS check, including the time taken by police forces, is listed in following table.

    Financial Year

    Average calendar days for a disclosure to be processed

    13/14

    11.5

    14/15

    14.4

    15/16

    14.5

    The proportion of checks which took longer than (a) eight weeks (b) 12 weeks and (c) six months is listed in the following table.

    Financial Year

    Disclosures which took longer than 8 weeks

    Disclosures which took longer than 12 weeks

    Disclosures which took longer than 6 Months

    % of Disclosures

    % of Disclosures

    % of Disclosures

    13/14

    2.6%

    0.8%

    0.0%

    14/15

    4.9%

    2.1%

    0.1%

    15/16

    5.2%

    3.5%

    0.3%

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) households and (b) businesses unable to access broadband speeds of (i) 10 Mbit/s and (ii) two Mbit/s in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2015 report – based on the state of the market in May 2015 – 8% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 10Mbp/s and 2% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 2Mbp/s. These figures are likely to have reduced due to continued commercial and BDUK broadband deployment across the UK – superfast broadband access has increased from 45% in 2010 to 90%, and by the end of next year, 95% of homes and businesses will have access to superfast broadband. In addition, all premises with speeds below 2Mbp/s now have access to speeds greater than this through the Government’s Basic Broadband Scheme, and the Prime Minister has announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, with a minimum speed of 10Mbps, to help ensure no-one is left behind.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2016 to Question 40374, what the estimated values are of Network Rail’s costs referred to in that Answer by (a) costs incurred with the supplier, (b) installation and (c) operational costs for the (i) Cardiff and (ii) Romford Rail Operating Centre.

    Paul Maynard

    The Department for Transport does not hold this level of detail on Network Rail’s costs.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Wales of the proposal to transfer responsibility for attendance allowance to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

    Alun Cairns

    The Government is committed to working closely with the Welsh Government to ensure the implications of any reforms for devolved administration services or budgets are properly understood.

  • 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 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how he plans to define (a) disability and (b) employment for the purposes of measuring the Government’s progress towards halving the disability employment gap.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Progress against the disability employment gap commitment is a key factor in progress towards full employment. This is consistent with the Government’s manifesto commitment which said ‘as part of our objective to achieve full employment, we will aim to halve the disability employment gap’. The annual report on progress towards full employment will include an update on the Government’s progress towards halving the disability employment gap.

    Disability is defined in the Equality Act 2010: “A person has a disability if (a) [they] have a physical or mental impairment, and (b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on [their] ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”

    Employment in the UK is measured by the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Statistics on disabled employment are published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics, based on internationally agreed definitions.

  • Baroness Falkner of Margravine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Falkner of Margravine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Falkner of Margravine on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in making their decision about how to vote on the implementation of real driving emissions tests at the 28 October meeting of the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles, whether they took into account (1) estimates from DEFRA and Public Health England that pollution from mono-nitrogen oxides is responsible for 23,500 premature deaths in the UK per annum, (2) the 2010 estimates from the WHO suggesting that air-pollution related deaths cost the UK $83,069 per annum, (3) the failure of London, Leeds, and Birmingham to maintain nitrogen dioxide levels within legal limits over the past five years, and (4) the Supreme Court’s ruling in R (on the application of ClientEarth) v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2015] UKSC 28 on 29 April that they should take immediate action to tackle air pollution.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government is committed to taking action on vehicle emissions testing that restores consumer confidence and delivers our wider air quality and climate objectives. We strongly support the current Real Driving Emissions agreement, which is expected to significantly reduce average real world NOx emissions from new diesel cars from 2017. It makes type approval requirements for diesel vehicles significantly more stringent by requiring manufacturers to ensure real-world emissions are maintained below 2.1 times the laboratory-testing limit in 2017 and at or below the laboratory-testing limit by 2020 (with a margin for measurement uncertainty). Issues relating to vehicle emissions are considered in the context of the UK Government’s plans for air quality. More detail is set out in the air quality plans published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the 17th December.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to decriminalise drug use and encourage the implementation and enforcement of anti-discrimination and protective laws, based on human rights standards, to eliminate stigma, discrimination, social exclusion and violence against young people who inject drugs based on actual or presumed behaviours and HIV status.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government has no intention of decriminalising drugs in the UK. Decriminalisation would not eliminate the crime committed by the illicit trade, nor would it address the harms associated with drug dependence and the misery that this can cause to families and communities.

    The Government’s approach to drugs, based on our balanced 2010 Drug Strategy, remains clear. We must prevent drug use in our communities and support people dependent on drugs through treatment and recovery. At the same time, we have to stop the supply of illegal drugs and tackle the organised crime behind the drugs trade.

    There are promising signs our approach is working, with a downward trend in drug use over the last decade and more people recovering from dependency now than in 2009/10.