Category: Speeches

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL7103), why HMS Dauntless and HMS Lancaster are being placed alongside if there are sufficient people, spares and logistics support to run the Royal Navy.

    Earl Howe

    HMS DAUNTLESS entered the engineering training ship programme in February this year. Engineer training ships, generally in a period prior to undergoing a refit or an upgrade, are used to deliver training and provide accommodation alongside.

    HMS LANCASTER is presently alongside in Portsmouth and is being maintained with a minimal crew onboard until her refit. The Royal Navy has determined that HMS LANCASTER is not required as a training platform ahead of her refit, therefore a number of her crew have been redeployed in support of operational units and tasks.

    Such planned programming enables the Royal Navy to optimise the use of its ships and personnel through the operational cycles.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fraudulently-obtained genuine passports HM Passport Office has detected in each year from 2010 to date.

    James Brokenshire

    The number of detections over the last 6 years is provided in the table below. This data is drawn from management information and includes the detection of current and expired documents. We are continuing to invest in passport counter fraud techniques. For example, we are in the process on introducing new facial matching technology and new data analytics tools to enhance the security of our processes and support fraud investigations.

    Financial Year

    Fraudulently Obtained Genuine Document Detections

    2010/11

    825

    2011/12

    1,096

    2012/13

    956

    2013/14

    1,223

    2014/15

    548

    2015/16

    1,013
  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40440, on electoral register: Northern Ireland, if she will carry out an assessment of the effect on Northern Irish voters of the decision not to apply the extension to Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Electoral Commission will review and report on the management and conduct of the EU Referendum later this year.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of a compulsory micro-chipping scheme for cats.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    It is good practice for owners to have their cats microchipped with their name and address. However, it is not Government policy to make such microchipping compulsory. The case for compulsory dog microchipping does not apply in the case of cats. Stray cats do not present the same level of public nuisance as stray dogs, which are required to be kennelled by local authorities and charities at significant cost and to the detriment of their welfare.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to ensure that high-speed broadband provision can meet the likely demand for such provision by 2020 of creative and digital companies in geographic clusters.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    This Government recognises the need for creative and digital companies to have access to have access to high-speed broadband, wherever in the UK they are located. The Government’s Superfast Broadband Programme is on track to deliver superfast broadband coverage to 95 per cent of UK premises by the end of 2017.Inaddition we are supporting seven pilot projects to explore ways to extend superfast broadband beyond 95 per cent of UK homes and businesses. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020, with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps,nomatterwherein the countrytheylive.

  • Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alan Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17622, if he will identify separately the marginal costs associated with maintaining the Vanguard submarines in service for five years longer then envisaged.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As announced in Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) 2010 we can extend the life of the existing Vanguard class submarines into the early 2030s. Cost estimates for supporting the ballistic missile submarines during the transition from Vanguard to Successor are not materially affected by minor changes to scheduled dates.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to promote safety among older drivers; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The crucial factor for road safety is not a driver’s age, but their physical and mental fitness to drive. The current licensing arrangements support road safety without penalising those older drivers who remain fit and competent to drive.

    When drivers aged 70 and over renew their licences, they must declare any medical condition that could affect their fitness to drive and confirm that they meet the legal eyesight standards. Renewals are at three-yearly intervals and provide a timely reminder for drivers to consider their health in the context of driving.

    Additionally, all drivers have an ongoing duty to inform the DVLA at any time of the onset or worsening of a medical condition that may affect their ability to drive safely. When a driver declares a medical condition, the DVLA will investigate their ongoing fitness to hold a driving licence.

    The Department has provided grant funding to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to develop a dedicated older drivers website that will provide information to drivers and their families on driving safely. The website should go live within the next couple of weeks.

    We will consider the Older Driver forums review of older driver safety when it is published, subject to priorities set out in the British Road Safety Statement.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many insurance claims have been lodged as a result of accidents occurring during participation in the National Citizen Service since the establishment of that scheme.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The National Citizen Service Trust works with the Cabinet Office to deliver (NCS) in England. There have been no accidents that the NCS Trust is aware of where insurance claims have been lodged.

    The NCS delivery partner within Northern Ireland, Co-operation Ireland, has also confirmed that it has not received any correspondence from insurance companies in regards to claims relating to NCS accidents.

    The Cabinet Office coordinated a pilot programme in Wales in 2014 and is not aware of any resulting insurance claims by participants.

  • Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 22 September 2015 to Question 10382, what guidance the Valuation Office Agency provides to help organisations in the events industry better understand when liability for business rates will arise.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Valuation Office Agency has held meetings with the Events Industry Forum and others representing the events industry. Additional written guidance, beyond the Rating Manual, on the factors that determine rateability has been provided through these channels. The Agency encourages direct contact if ratepayers wish to discuss any aspect of a rating assessment.

  • Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate will be the net gain in social housing from the planned route for HS2.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    For Phase One the Government has committed to work with local authorities, housing associations, tenants and other key stakeholders in order to ensure that lost social rented housing is replaced in a manner sympathetic to local needs and reflective of the strategic approach to social housing driven by local authorities. Naturally the approach adopted for Phase One will inform that for Phase Two.