Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning recent power cuts in Gaza, in particular the impact on waste water management and sewage disposal.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have concerns about Gaza’s chronic power shortages, which have caused problems with water supply and sewage treatment. While the British Government has not specifically raised the recent power cuts in Gaza with the Israeli government or the Palestinian Authority, officials at our Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions on Gaza and to facilitate improvements in energy infrastructure.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new Ajax armoured vehicles will be produced (a) in the UK and (b) abroad.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    I refer the hon. Member to the reponse given by my noble Friend, the Minister of State for Defence in the House of Lords, Earl Howe, to the noble Lord, Baron Moonie of Bennochy on 27 April 2016 to Question HL7778.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to Greece to ensure that refugees have access to clear information on the Dublin III regulation and its family unity provisions in a language they can understand; and what steps expert personnel deployed to Greece in May 2016 are taking to ensure that detailed and coherent information is provided to refugees who are in accommodation sites across mainland Greece.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Home Office staff seconded to the Greek Government and the European Asylum Support Office are there to support the overall asylum system in Greece and improve the Dublin process. Two applicants have arrived in the UK since May 2016.

    Providing refugees with access to clear, detailed and coherent information is the responsibility of the Greek authorities. The UK believes that member states should meet their international obligations and provide due process and adequate care to those seeking protection within their territories.

    The Commission Implementing Regulation No 118/2014 clearly sets out the obligations for Member States to provide an information leaflet for applicants for international protection, including a specific leaflet for unaccompanied children.

    Following the EU-Turkey agreement and discussions with the European Commission and the Greek Government, the UK has offered a further 75 expert personnel to help with the processing and administration of migrants in reception centres, act as interpreters, provide medical support and bolster our existing team assisting the Commission to ensure effective and efficient coordination.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what specific steps he is taking to protect the site of HMS Warrior from illegal salvage activity.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) has carried out the following investigations (taking “disturbances” to mean thefts or alleged thefts and not limited to shipwrecks) under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986:

    YEAR

    2010

    1

    2011

    6

    2012

    1

    2013

    0

    2014

    0

    2015

    1

    The MDP has not received any information related to the illegal salvage of material from HMS Warrior.

    By invoking the principle of Sovereign Immunity, and by designating specific vessels under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, we endeavour to protect these important sites where we are able. Where we have definitive evidence of desecration of these sites, we will take appropriate action. However, it should be appreciated that, given the large number of Royal Navy wrecks around the world and the vast area they cover, there are limitations on what can be achieved with regard to protection.

  • Richard Graham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Graham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Graham on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse of provision of (a) accommodation and (b) support services for asylum seekers was in Gloucestershire in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not record the cost to the public purse of provision of (a) accommodation and (b) support services for asylum seekers within individual counties.

  • Ann Coffey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ann Coffey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked-after children have committed criminal offences in the last three years; what the (a) age and (b) gender was of each such child; what offence was committed in each such case; and what distance away from home each child had been placed when the offence was committed.

    Edward Timpson

    The numbers of looked after children who were convicted or subject to a final warning or reprimand in 2012, 2013 and 2014 by age and gender is published in Table 4 of the statistical first release ‘Outcomes for Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England as at 31 March 2014’ at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/outcomes-for-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities.

    The Department for Education does not collect information on the type of offence committed or the location of each child at the time of the offence.

    “

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of new HGV drivers who will be required in each of the next five years.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department is working with other parts of Government to encourage and enable more people to become lorry drivers, including via apprenticeships and action related to Jobcentre Plus.

    The Department is taking steps to ensure that the increased demand for driving tests is accommodated through recruiting driving examiners and providing increased numbers of test appointments.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet on 16 November 2015, what equipment his Department plans to procure under the £2 billion programme of new investment in the special forces.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As the Department announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review in November 2015, the additional investment in the UK Special Forces will include the acquisition of advanced communications equipment, information capabilities, specialist weapons and clothing and see upgrades to helicopters and transport aircraft. It is long standing policy not to comment on further detail of Special Forces. This programme of investment will enhance UK Special Forces’ counter-terrorism capabilities and their ability to operate covertly around the world, and allow them to deploy further and faster.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) date and (b) remit was of his authorisation to use RAF Lakenheath as a base to carry out airstrikes in Libya.

    Michael Fallon

    Authorisation for the United States to use UK bases to launch the airstrike against a Daesh training camp in Libya was given on 18 February 2016. Authorisation would be required for any operations of this nature involving the use of UK bases.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the proposal for the Supreme Court to function as a constitutional court and in particular that it would require significant constitutional change” and would pose “practical problems” for Scotland’s separate legal system.”

    Lord Faulks

    The Prime Minister indicated last year that he wanted to examine the way that Germany and other EU nations uphold their constitution and sovereignty. We have considered the Committee’s report with interest and will consult fully on our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course.