Category: Speeches

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) about reports that uranium from the DRC has been sold to North Korea.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 8 March, which I repeated in the House of Lords the same day [HLWS571], the Government remains deeply concerned by North Korea’s continued development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, and its sustained prioritisation of these programmes over the well-being of its own people. All states are obliged to abide by UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting uranium transfers to North Korea. We would take any credible reports of such transfers from anywhere in the world very seriously. We have not engaged with the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo on this issue.

  • Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Martin Docherty-Hughes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Docherty-Hughes on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to assist those suffering from hunger in Venezuela.

    Rory Stewart

    The current political, social and economic problems in Venezuela, in particular shortages of food and medicine are concerning. DFID is supporting Venezuela through our core contributions to United Nations’ (UN) agencies, the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department and the Red Cross, all of whom are currently working to support food and medicine distribution systems to the most vulnerable people in Venezuela.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what diplomatic steps her Department is taking to assist Ethiopia with famine relief and support in dealing with drought.

    James Wharton

    Ethiopia is coming out of its worst drought for 30 years. At the peak of the crisis, over 18 million people (approximately 20% of the population) were in need of food assistance.

    The UK responded quickly and decisively to the humanitarian crisis and was the second largest bilateral donor. We have provided emergency support for 3.8 million people to date. Through the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP), which boosts household food security for extremely poor and vulnerable people over five years, UK funds are supporting 1.7 million people in 2016.

    At the highest level, DFID and the FCO in Addis have undertaken diplomatic engagement and provided technical advice around the issue of chronic food insecurity with the Government of Ethiopia. My predecessor, Nick Hurd, met with Government of Ethiopia officials and committed to work together with the United Nations and others to assist them to cope with this crisis.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the British Business Bank will support UK productivity.

    Greg Hands

    The British Business Bank aims to make finance markets work better for smaller businesses. The Bank’s work improves productivity by encouraging investment and promoting a dynamic economy.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Indian government on the recent attack on an Indian military facility at Pathawkof.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Officials have been in regular contact with their Indian counterparts in London and in Delhi, including the National Security Adviser who spoke to the Indian National Security Adviser on 6th January. We have issued a statement offering condolences to the victims and their families and re-emphasising our commitment to work with India to counter terrorism.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government plans to provide transitional protection for tax credit recipients who have been naturally migrated onto universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    Natural migration occurs where people have had a significant change of circumstances that would previously have triggered a new claim to benefits or tax credits. They would always have had their entitlement recalculated based on a new set of rules. That principle is maintained in Universal Credit, and therefore transitional protection is not appropriate. Universal Credit is already proving better than the system it replaces with claimants moving into work faster and earning more. It also provides a seamless taper as well as better support for childcare.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will support changing the Air Traffic Management in the Future Airspace Strategy to give residents a higher priority than commercial interests.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    As part of the Government’s ongoing review of its airspace and noise policies, consideration is being given to ensuring that an appropriate balance exists between the beneficiaries of airspace changes and residents who may be affected by them.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people started studying for a PGCE in each year since 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    Figures from the initial teacher training data management system show the number of first year PGCE trainees from 2010:

    Number of first year trainees on PGCE course

    2010/11

    19,931

    2011/12

    18,913

    2012/13

    20,195

    2013/14

    21,858

    2014/15 performance profiles will be available from late July.

  • Mike Weir – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mike Weir – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the efficiency of the pension schemes of abolished non-departmental public bodies in (a) identifying pensioners as they become eligible for payments and (b) ensuring that payments are processed and triggered for payment on the due date.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Departmental preparations for the reform of non-departmental public bodies take account of the Checklist for Departments published by the Cabinet Office, which includes advice on pensions.

    In the past five years, the Department has reformed three bodies which employed staff.

    In two cases, staff pensions were provided by the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which has established procedures in place for identifying pensioners as they become eligible, and ensuring that payments are processed on time:

    The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission was abolished on 31 July 2012 and employed 7,652 full time equivalent staff, all of whom were civil servants;

    The Independent Living Fund legally closed on 30 June 2015, however a small residual team of 15 staff was retained until 30 September to deal with any residual closure issues. It had previously employed 99.5 full time equivalent staff.

    In April 2015, the Remploy business was sold to a new company outside Government control. The majority of its employees transferred to that company and left the Remploy Pension Scheme at the time. The pension scheme continues to be managed by its trustees and the scheme administrators, who remain responsible for identifying pensioners and ensuring they are paid appropriately once they become eligible. At 1 January 2016, the Remploy Pension Scheme had approximately 18,000 members, of whom over 9,500 were deferred members and thus potential future pensioners. From 1 April 2016, my Department is now the Principal Employer for this scheme.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process they plan to follow to identify eligible unaccompanied minors and bring them to the UK from refugee camps in Europe.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    As announced by the Prime Minister on 4 May and now reflected in the Immigration Act 2016, we will work to admit unaccompanied refugee children to the UK from elsewhere in the EU, where this is considered to be in the child’s best interests.

    The legislation is clear that consultation with local authorities is needed before any figure is set. We are working closely with local authorities and consulting NGOs, the UNHCR, UNICEF and relevant Member States to establish suitable processes to im-plement this initiative.

    We are committed to act as quickly as we can but we must take the necessary time to ensure we have the capacity to resettle and support those who are resettled.

    We must also ensure that we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in the UK. We will be working closely with local authorities to find suitable placements within the UK. Statutory agencies at a local level are best placed to understand and meet the needs of all children and will continue to make decisions about the right accommodation and support services for those who are looked after. Unaccompanied children will be eligible for foster care if it is considered that that this placement type will provide appropriate support and best meet their individual needs.

    The UK has well-established and effective safeguarding procedures to ensure the safety of children who come to the UK. All children brought to the UK will be given the care, support and education they require.