Category: Speeches

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 23 February (HL6044), whether they will clarify whether the Conference held in 2007 was the final meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference or its most recent meeting.

    Lord Dunlop

    The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference remains part of the architecture of the Belfast Agreement and its most recent meeting was held in 2007. There are no plans to hold a meeting of the Conference in the immediate future.

    Interaction between the UK Government and Irish Government takes place regularly at all levels and in many different forums. These include an annual summit between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, and regular meetings between the heads of UK and Irish government departments.

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what public awareness campaigns his Department has planned to improve awareness of work-related respiratory illness.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as the national regulator for health and safety at work, takes a lead role in raising awareness of work related respiratory diseases. HSE has run campaigns targeted at specific at-risk workers and/or their employers, a recent example being the ‘Beware Asbestos’ campaign which ran from October 2014 to March 2015 and focussed on tradespeople such as carpenters, electricians and plumbers. HSE has also supported other organisations such as the British Occupational Hygiene Society to develop its ‘Breathe Freely’ campaign targeted at work in the construction industry.

    HSE has recently published a new strategy for the GB health and safety system called ‘Helping Great Britain work well’. One of the six themes of the strategy is ‘Tackling ill health’ which will include long-term and coordinated action across all sectors, bringing in additional partners such as the NHS and others to support the substantial behaviour change and awareness programmes that will be required.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which agreement takes precedence in areas where she has accepted a business case for the police and crime commissioner to become the fire and rescue authority, or where such a transfer is in progress, and where the Government has also agreed a City Deal that would give combined authorities responsibility over fire and rescue services.

    Mike Penning

    The transfer of responsibility for fire and rescue services to either Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) or mayoral combined authorities is consistent with the Government’s broader approach to devolution. Joining up oversight of public services in this way will promote further collaboration and enable local leaders to pursue ambitious reforms that improve local services and deliver value for money.

    The Government has been clear that it is for local leaders to determine how fire and rescue services are delivered in the best interests of their communities. The Government will consider any proposals to transfer responsibility for fire and rescue to a PCC or to a combined authority mayor on a case by case basis. There is no pre-determined order of preference.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 12 May 2016 to Question 36856, on heart diseases, when his Department plans to instruct NICE to develop specific clinical guidelines on the diagnosis, referral and treatment of patients with heart valve disease.

    George Freeman

    NHS England is responsible for commissioning clinical guidelines on healthcare topics from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

    NHS England has advised that it has no plans to ask NICE to develop specific clinical guidelines on the diagnosis, referral and treatment of patients with heart valve disease at this time.

  • Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-07-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the treatment of Russian minorities in the Baltic States, particularly Lithuania, and (2) whether such treatment would attract a response from Russia; and if so, what type of response that would be.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    There are sizeable Russian-speaking communities in Latvia and Estonia, and a smaller community in Lithuania. All EU Member States are obliged to meet the standards for minority rights and are subject to obligations and monitoring mechanisms, such as through the Council of Europe. Our Embassies in the Baltic States have supported programmes run by their host governments and non-governmental organisations to encourage integration, tolerance, diversity and respect for minorities – including programmes to support media plurality and social cohesion.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many emergency travel documents were issued by HM Passport Office in each of the last five years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issues Emergency Travel Documents to British nationals overseas who need to travel urgently and do not have access to a Full Validity Passport. An emergency travel document is valid for a specific journey made at a specified time. In the past five years, the FCO have issued the following number of documents:

    2012 – 28,737

    2013 – 29,945

    2014 – 39,167

    2015 – 30,844

    2016 – 23,907

    Please note that 2016 figures cover up until the end of September.

  • Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited or paid less than the minimum wage.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The appointment of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement, due shortly, will strengthen our ability to find and stop exploitative employers. We are currently consulting on proposals to create a new offence of an aggravated breach of labour market legislation and to widen the remit and strengthen the powers of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to enable it to tackle serious exploitation.

    Migrant workers who are entitled to other employment rights in UK law are also entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate relevant to their age. Anyone concerned about underpayment of the NMW should call Acas’s confidential helpline on 0300 123 1100 or visit http://www.acas.org.uk/nmw. HMRC will investigate every complaint it receives.

    “

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18747, whether people are made aware of advance Universal Credit payments being made available to them at the initial work search interview.

    Priti Patel

    To be eligible for a Universal Credit (UC) Advance payment, the claimant has to have an underlying entitlement to UC, be in financial need, and be able to afford to repay the Advance. These criteria are contained within the Social Security (Payments on Account of Benefit) Regulations 2013.

    If during the initial work search interview, a work coach identifies a claimant is in financial need, or cannot manage until they receive their first UC payment, they will advise them about advance payments.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Economic Secretary to the Treasury of 19 January 2016, Official Report, column 1254, what the nature and scope is of the Financial Conduct Authority’s investigation into Symphony interbank communications software.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The FCA does not directly regulate the activities of Symphony Communication Services LLC or any other electronic messaging platform. However, firms that are authorised by the FCA who use messaging services such as Symphony are subject to a range of applicable requirements, including the recording and storage of such tapes and electronic communications. The FCA is monitoring developments in relation to the use of Symphony by FCA-regulated firms.

    The FCA is also in touch with regulated firms to monitor how they are using new technology in this area, and any risks that may exist.

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

    As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

  • Nicola Blackwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicola Blackwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicola Blackwood on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to reform compensation for armed forces veterans affected by mesothelioma.

    Mark Lancaster

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris) to question number 903759.