UKPOL.CO.UK

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 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 24 February (HL6089), which specific Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ministries the British Embassy in Pyongyang has met with since the release of the report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on 7 February 2014.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    As stated in my previous response, our Embassy in Pyongyang has met a number of officials from various ministries of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea since 7 February 2014, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of People’s Security, the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Education.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions have taken place with the government of Bangladesh about reforms of religious laws on marriage, divorce and separation and their impact on women’s economic situation.

    Baroness Verma

    At the heart of the UK’s strategy in Bangladesh is the recognition that empowering girls and women is the key to reducing poverty and driving sustainable economic growth. Combined with an improved enabling environment which makes girls and women feel secure at home or at work, this allows women to reach their full potential, resulting in job creation and higher incomes for women, as well as improved access to more efficiently produced goods and services.

    UK aid funds the Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) which we work in partnership with to promote the rights of women and children in the religious legal system in Bangladesh. For example, since 2009, MJF have advocated for the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, which was passed in 2012, and further strengthening of the law which would give the wife rights over her husband’s property and thus impact her economic situation. MJF and its partners are also working at a local level to mobilise communities to make use of the law.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on how many money service businesses had their bank accounts closed in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The FCA have recently published a report on the nature and scale of de-risking in the UK. The report reinforces the view that de-risking is driven by a variety of factors, not just anti money-laundering compliance or a fear of regulatory action. From a data set of 23 banks the report noted that “tracking the proportionately tiny number of closures linked to financial crime concerns within this immense dataset is thus inherently challenging, especially if the reason for closure is primarily commercial, with a small component of the equation relating to ‘increased compliance costs’.”

    However the report does indicate that the rate of customer exits has accelerated over the last 2-3 years.

    Data from HM Revenue and Customs (the supervisor of Money Service Businesses outside the banking sector) shows that there are about 2000 MSB’s principals registered to trade with approximately 45,000 agents around the UK. It is a large and diverse sector. HMRC does hold data on the number of de-registered MSB’s, however given that MSB’s are not required to provide HMRC with information on when they have had their bank accounts closed, data on MSB’s effected by de-risking is not available.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish its strategy for halving inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions by 2020.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Optimising prescribing is a key priority in the UK Five Year Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy 2013-2018.

    Public Health England and NHS Improvement are in the process of establishing a Joint Advisory Group to establish a central authority of national and local experts in the field to take forward the Government’s ambition to halve inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. This Group will produce a detailed implementation plan for delivery of this ambition. The Department will publish progress on halving inappropriate prescribing through its annual progress reports on the AMR Strategy.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made in retrieving the £3 million grant to Kids Company made by his Department immediately before that charity went into administration.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    We are currently in discussions with the Official Receiver regarding retrieving the grant Government recently provided to Kids Company.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Prime Minister, when he last met or spoke to the head of government in each British Overseas Territory.

    Mr David Cameron

    I met elected leaders, ministers and representatives of all of the twelve inhabited British Overseas Territories at Downing Street in December 2012. I met the leaders of Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar and Montserrat at Downing Street in June 2013, and the Gibraltar Chief Minister in August 2013.

    The Minister for the Overseas Territories, my hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (Mr Duddridge), met the Overseas Territories’ elected leaders and representatives at the most recent Joint Ministerial Council in December 2015.

    In addition other members of the Foreign Office Ministerial team and Ministers from across Whitehall Departments regularly meet leaders of the Overseas Territories at the annual Joint Ministerial Council.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons the universal service obligation for broadband was set at 10mb; and if he will make it his policy to increase the minimum universal service requirements to reflect higher levels set in other European countries.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Prime Minister’s announcement of the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) and our ambition to set this at 10Mbps, followed assessments of consumers’ broadband needs from a range of sources, including Ofcom’s annual infrastructure reports. This new broadband USO will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection, at a minimum speed, up to a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, on how many occasions in each year since 2009-10 he has directed that a planning application appeal which would otherwise be determined by a person appointed by the Secretary of State will instead be determined by the Secretary of State, using his powers under Schedule 6, Paragraph 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

    Brandon Lewis

    The attached table shows the number of S78 planning appeals that have been recovered over the last decade.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what new steps they are taking to improve identification and testing of people potentially infected with hepatitis C as part of a coherent approach to treatment of the population at large.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The United Kingdom Government takes the issue of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C very seriously. Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England continue working together with key stakeholders to establish a strategic approach to tackle hepatitis C, including monitoring treatment access and uptake, as well as establishing Operation Delivery Networks (ODNs).

    NHS England has invested in a Commissioning for Quality and Innovation scheme to incentivise ODNs to meet their agreed rate of roll-out. If their treatment rates deviate from this agreed rate of treatment, they are no longer eligible for these incentives.

    PHE is working together with NHS England and the National Offender Management Service to improve coverage of blood borne virus testing for people in prisons through implementation of opt-out testing.

    PHE has also commissioned the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Certificate in the Detection, Diagnosis and Management of Hepatitis B and C in Primary Care to help raise awareness in primary care and among other professionals working with groups at high risk of chronic viral hepatitis infection. To supplement this, a new RCGP course was launched in April 2015, Hepatitis C: Enhancing Prevention, Testing and Care which comprises four lessons: understanding hepatitis C; preventing transmission; testing and diagnosis; and treatment and care.

  • 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 regarding the creation of a Bible trail in East Jerusalem that entails demolishing Palestinian homes to make way for it.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    There has been a significant increase in Israeli demolitions since the start of 2016. While we have not raised this particular issue with government of Israel, we remain deeply concerned by Israel’s approach to demolitions, and regularly raise this with Israeli interlocutors.