Category: Speeches

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will discuss with the retailer Amazon banning the sale of zombie knives in the UK.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government continues to work with the police and partners to ensure we reduce violence and knife crime, and in the year ending June 2015, knife crime recorded by the police was 17% lower than 2010. We are aware of concerns about zombie knives and we are currently considering representations including the letter of 13 January from the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the West Midlands and on 21 January from the prospective mayoral candidate for London Zac Goldsmith. A reply will be sent shortly and we will offer to meet with the PCC.

    We are currently considering what action to take against the prevalence of zombie knives on our streets. We are talking to retailers, including Amazon, about the action they can take. There are strict laws on the sale of knives to under 18s and on how knives can be marketed. We are concerned about any knives being carried in public especially if used to threaten and inflict violence. It is a criminal offence to possess a knife in public without good reason, and if a person is convicted a second time they now face a minimum mandatory custodial sentence following the introduction of this change by the Government in July 2015.

  • Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Mark Durkan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Durkan on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether the amendments to the Child Poverty Act 2010 in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill require a Legislative Consent Motion to be brought before the Northern Ireland Assembly.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions wrote to the Northern Ireland Executive in July 2015 on introduction of the life chances clauses in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill. As well as setting out the Government’s approach to child poverty and improving life chances, and inviting the Northern Ireland Executive to consider amendments they might wish to have introduced, he set out that he did not consider that legislative consent was required for any of the provisions as introduced.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the reasons are for late payments being made under the Basic Payment Scheme by the Rural Payments Agency; and how many farmers have received late payments to date.

    George Eustice

    The payment window for the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme runs from 1 December 2015 to 30 June 2016. While in recent years, the RPA has been able to make a higher proportion of payments earlier in the payment window, the new CAP is very complex and has created new administrative burdens for the RPA.

    As of 2 March 2016 some 71,700 claimants, representing over 82% of all eligible claims, have received their payments, bringing the total paid to date for the 2015 scheme to £1.13 billion.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to tackle premature mortality among people on the autism spectrum who do not have co-occurring learning disability.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department does not collect information on how many of its staff have received autism awareness training. However following the success of its own pilot sessions, the Department will be offering further autism awareness sessions to staff over the summer.

    Through the Cross Government Autism Strategy, most recently updated as Think Autism, we have worked alongside people with autism, their families and carers to improve their lives and mortality through better access to healthcare by making adjustments for their conditions. This includes supporting the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGPs) Autism Initiative to improve understanding of autism amongst GPs.

    Information on how many people with autism were admitted to hospital as an emergency in 2015 is not collected by the Department.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on the establishment of an independent international investigation into reported violations of international humanitarian law in the conflict in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We want to see the Saudi Government investigate allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law (IHL) which are attributed to them; and for their investigations to be timely, thorough and conclusive. Saudi Arabia has publicly stated that it is investigating reports of alleged violations of IHL, and that any lessons learned will be acted upon. We are also concerned by reports of alleged IHL violations by Houthi/Saleh pro-government forces. We have raised our concerns with the Houthis on the importance of compliance with IHL and the need for thorough and conclusive investigations.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to consult opposition parties on and during the process of negotiating the UK exit from the EU.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    This will be a decision for the next Prime Minister.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much private funding (a) Heathrow Airport and (b) Gatwick Airport declared to the Government would be invested as part of its expansion plans.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Airports Commission shortlisted three airport expansion schemes, two at Heathrow and one at Gatwick. The Airports Commission considered that all three of the shortlisted schemes were commercially viable and privately financeable.

    The Government is carefully considering all the evidence set out, including that on costs and financing, before making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce and prevent incidences of pneumococcal pneumonia.

    Jane Ellison

    A national pneumococcal vaccination programme is in place to protect individuals for whom pneumococcal infection is likely to be more common and/or serious. Vaccination is provided to children as part of the routine childhood immunisation programme; those aged 65 years or over; and those aged between 2 and 64 years of age who are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease.

    There is an increased risk of getting pneumococcal pneumonia following influenza infection. Therefore people aged 65 years and older and those under 65 years of age in clinical risk groups are offered influenza vaccination each year to lower their risk of flu and also pneumococcal disease.

    There has been a significant reduction in pneumococcal pneumonia in the United Kingdom, in all ages, this has mainly been the result of the impact of the UK childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccination programme.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he plans to reply to the letter of 26 November 2015 from the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West regarding mass executions in Saudi Arabia.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) received the letter from the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier) on 27 November 2015. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) will respond to the hon. Member by 24 December.

    FCO Ministers aim to respond to all correspondence from Members of this House, both written and electronic, within 20 working days of receipt, in line with Cabinet Office guidance.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441892/Cabinet_Office_Guidance_on_correspondence.pdf

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people subject to benefit sanctions applied to a hardship fund in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) Edinburgh in 2015.

    Priti Patel

    The information is not available at the level requested and could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

    The Department has, however, published information on the number of hardship applications and awards for Jobseekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance which can be accessed via the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/jsa-and-esa-hardship-applications-and-awards-apr-2012-to-jun-2015

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