Category: Speeches

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking, and advocating to others, in order to boost Palestinian economic activity in Zones B and C of the occupied West Bank.

    Earl of Courtown

    DFID is promoting economic development which is vital for Palestinian development. We are providing £15 million (2013-2019) through the Palestinian Market Development Programme (PMDP) which seeks to improve the competitiveness of 570 Palestinian businesses and address market failures. So far 190 firms in the West Bank including Areas A, B, and C have been assisted and were able to develop 117 products and enter 63 new markets. Through the UN FAO, DFID has helped vulnerable rural farmers in Area C support their families through increased incomes from agricultural production. We also continue to fund the development of Palestinian outline plans to improve Palestinian communities’ access to services in Area C.

    The UK remains deeply concerned about the impact of Israeli restrictions on the movement of people and goods, which continue to be the main impediment to sustainable economic growth in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including Area B and C. We have consistently called on Israel to improve movement and access in the OPTs, including in visits by the Minister of State for International Development and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We fund advisers to support the work of the Office of the Quartet (OQ) on easing movement and access restrictions in the OPTs and to improve the environment for businesses operating there.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has contacted the Saudi Arabian government on the human rights element in the case of Waleed Abu al-Khair.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are very concerned about the case of Waleed Abu Al-Khair and we have raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities. Our Ambassador in Riyadh, as well as our Embassy team, continues to make representations on cases like this on a regular basis.

    The UK’s position on human rights in Saudi Arabia is a matter of public record. We frequently raise our human rights concerns with the Saudi Arabian authorities using a range of Ministerial and diplomatic channels.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings Ministers and officials of his Department have had with representatives of Uber since July 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website.

    Since July 2015, representatives of Uber have had one meeting with Department for Transport officials.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, which hon. Members have security clearance for access to 10 Downing Street.

    Mr David Cameron

    It has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on security issues.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.149 of the Budget 2016, how much of the increased funding available to prevent and reduce homelessness is in addition to the funding allocated to his Department in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We announced in the Budget that £10 million of this would be spent to support and scale up innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, particularly in London and that funding for the Rough Sleeping Social Impact Bond announced in the Spending Review will be doubled from £5 million to £10 million.

    We also announced in the Budget an additional £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living. We will re-prioritise money within our existing capital budgets to deliver this accommodation. This will not affect delivery of the Government’s Starter Homes and Shared Ownership programmes.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25156, if he will publish the list of circumstances that would trigger natural migration from tax credits to universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    The events that can trigger a change of circumstances depend on many factors. They are similar to the circumstances that would trigger a new claim to existing benefits or tax credits.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Home Office refused visas to two marathon runners from Palestine who were due to compete in the Derry Walled City marathon on 5 June.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Sarah Newton

    All permanent members of staff directly employed by the Home Office and its agencies are paid the Living Wage Foundation rates or above. The Home Office and its agencies do not retain any directly employed staff on zero-hour contracts.

    All temporary agency staff are employed in accordance with the Agency Workers Regulations which ensures parity with directly employed staff after 12 weeks. Starting pay rates comply with the requirements of the current Government Living Wage legislation; this is a contractual obligation on the supplier and is monitored through contract compliance mechanisms.

    The Home Office only requires its outsourced contractors to comply with the legal minimum standards of pay of their staff as set out in the Government National Living Wage legislation; again this is a contractual obligation on the supplier and is monitored through contract compliance mechanisms and annually through out supplier assurance programme.

    The Home Office does not however require outsourced contractors to pay the Living Wage Foundation rates or requires or monitors that such outsourced contractors do not employ staff on zero hours contracts.

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of UK withdrawal from the EU for the rice milling industry.

    George Eustice

    We are preparing for negotiations to exit the EU. As part of these preparations, we will consider future global trading relationships and the impacts on different agricultural sectors

  • Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of psychological support for (a) patients who have received and (b) the families of patients who have received a stem cell transplant.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government recognises the importance of supporting cancer survivors and is committed to working with the National Health Service, charities and patient groups to deliver the new Cancer Taskforce strategy.

    The report of the independent Cancer Taskforce, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes: A Strategy for England 2015-2020 (July 2015), states that we need to transform our approach to support people living with and beyond cancer. The strategy notes that depression in cancer patients can be treated by medication and by psychological treatment. These treatments are most effectively and efficiently delivered using a systematic collaborative care model, such as Depression Care for People with Cancer. Cancer Taskforce strategy recommends accelerating the roll-out of the Recovery Package that includes a needs assessment that may lead to a patient being referred to support services that include psychological support. The Cancer Taskforce report says that the aim should be that by 2020 every person with cancer will have access to elements of the Recovery Package.

    We are working with the NHS, charities and patient groups to implement the independent Cancer Taskforce’s recommendations.