Category: Speeches

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of UK nationals in prison in other EU countries.

    Mr David Lidington

    We collate statistics on the numbers of British nationals detained globally twice a year. On 30 September 2015 we were aware of 797 British nationals detained (either pre- or post- sentencing) across European Union member states.

    This figure reflect only those British nationals who have chosen to notify the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of their detention, and includes those who were detained on remand at the time the information was collated.

  • Lord Stevens of Ludgate – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Stevens of Ludgate – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stevens of Ludgate on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Prime Minister’s comments regarding the stability of peace in Europe if the UK leaves the EU, what contingency plans they have made.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In his speech on 9 May, the Prime Minister, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), was clear that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off by remaining a member of the EU. If the UK were to leave the EU, the withdrawal negotiation would need to address a wide range of difficult issues, including co-operation on foreign policy.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the potential number of redundancies which will result from the decision to abolish the nursing, midwifery and allied health professions policy unit.

    Ben Gummer

    As part of the DH 2020 plan, the Department is making significant changes to the way it works. The Department’s approach is to flexibly access professional advice from a wide range of sources, including arm’s length bodies, regulators and professional bodies, rather than from a fixed standing team of internal advisers.

    These changes do not affect the role of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), who as CNO of the Department already advises, and will continue to advise all Ministers and the Department on the range of nursing issues.

    All staff in the Department, including staff in the current nursing, midwifery and allied health professions policy unit are eligible to apply for new roles in the organisation or to apply for a voluntary early severance scheme.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many of his Department’s staff he plans to have working on environmental and climate change negotiations in each of the next three years.

    Mr Robin Walker

    The Department for Exiting the EU now has over 200 staff, and is growing fast. The overall size and scope of the new Department, including staffing and budget, are regularly reviewed. We will ensure we are appropriately staffed to deal with all aspects of the forthcoming negotiation.

    The Department has welcomed staff on secondment with relevant expertise, including on the environment, and it will continue to have a close working relationship with all relevant Departments, in particular Defra as the lead on environmental policy. I am committed to working closely with my Ministerial counterparts, and recently appeared at the Environmental Audit Committee alongside Therese Coffey, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what involvement her Department has had in the grant originally made available to the Pioneer Communities Project that was administered through her Department.

    Edward Timpson

    No grant funding was made available by the Department for Education to support the Pioneer Communities Project.

  • Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mike Kane – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will discuss with her ministerial colleagues in other departments (a) reducing UK support for fossil fuels overseas and (b) ensuring that support for energy in developing countries is directed towards low-carbon technologies.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    My Department works closely with other government departments on UK energy policy overseas, including the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC), the Treasury, and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The UK Government has committed to end public funding for coal fired power plants, , except in rare circumstances, in the world’s poorest countries. This policy has been agreed with DECC and was announced at the Warsaw Climate Change conference in 2013.

    DFID will continue to support international initiatives to promote cleaner energy sources and other low carbon technologies. For example, the Energy Africa campaign will accelerate the expansion of the household solar market in Africa, helping to bring universal energy access to the continent. The International Climate Fund (ICF) managed by DECC and DFID also actively supports low-carbon technologies, and monitors this through Key Performance Indicators. The UK reports publicly on achievements through the ICF (see https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463954/ICF_Results_Note_Final.pdf).

    “

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ensure that family court judges receive training on the new offence of coercive and controlling behaviour created by the Serious Crime Act 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, responsibility for judicial training rests with the Lord Chief Justice and this is exercised through the Judicial College. Accordingly, the independence of the judiciary means that Government Ministers do not intervene with regard to the content of judicial training.

    The Judicial College has advised me that the new offence will be incorporated into existing training programmes for the family jurisdiction, particularly the modules that include domestic abuse.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which guests have (a) visited and (b) stayed at Dorneywood House since 7 May 2015.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This Government regularly publishes more information on the use of official residences and ministerial meetings than under previous Governments.

    Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and senior official meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/senior-officials-expenses

    “

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will take steps to ensure that at the point of sentencing all available information on previous offences committed by the person to be sentenced is made available to the court.

    Robert Buckland

    It is vital that all relevant available information on previous convictions and sentences (antecedents) is made available to the court that passes sentence. This allows the court to pass a sentence commensurate with the seriousness of the offence taking account the offender’s previous convictions. There are already procedures in place to ensure this

    The Crown Prosecution Service, or other prosecuting authority in the case, obtains relevant antecedents and previous convictions from the police so that it is available for service on the court, with further copies being served on the defence and Probation Services. It is the responsibility of the prosecution advocate to ensure that the information required is made available to the court at any sentencing hearing.

    The Criminal Practice Directions [2013] EWCA Crim 1631 prescribe minimum standards for the provision of antecedent information in the magistrates’ and Crown Court. There is an additional requirement in the Crown Court for brief details of convictions likely to be of interest to the court to be made available prior to sentence being imposed.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the administrative costs as a proportion of spending were of (a) the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and (b) every other acute hospital in England in 2014-15.

    Alistair Burt

    As a provider of front line services, costs incurred by acute hospitals do not contribute to the Administration budget allocated to the Department. Therefore, for the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, and all other acute hospitals in England, none of the total expenditure incurred in 2014-15 was considered to be administrative cost.