Category: Speeches

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Turkey concerning that government’s response to the attempted coup d’état in July.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK Government has unreservedly condemned the failed attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government of Turkey on 15 July. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary spoke to their Turkish counterparts on the day following the coup attempt. The Minister for Europe and the Americas visited Turkey on 20-21 July to reiterate the UK’s support for democracy in Turkey, the first Minister to do so following the coup attempt. During his visit he stressed the need for Turkey to respect human rights and the rule of law, and the importance of taking measures under the State of Emergency that are proportionate and justified. The Foreign Secretary met his Turkish counterpart on 7 September in London.

  • Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Hayes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police forces are able to maintain existing levels of frontline policing over the next five years.

    Mike Penning

    Ultimately, decisions on the size and composition of a police force’s workforce are for individual chief officers and Police and Crime Commissioners. The police have demonstrated that, with reform, it is possible to deliver more for less and to prioritise available resource at the frontline.

  • Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jamie Reed – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to offer deadline extensions for tax due by businesses affected by flooding in Cumbria.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operates a dedicated Severe Weather helpline to offer help and advice on any tax matters to those people and businesses affected by the recent flooding. The helpline is 0800 904 7900

    Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8.00 am to 8.00 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 8.00 am to 4.00 pm, excluding bank holidays.

    HMRC will also:

    • consider instalment arrangements where customers are unable to pay as a result of the floods;
    • agree a practical approach when individuals and businesses have lost vital records to the floods;
    • suspend debt collection proceedings for those affected by the floods; and
    • cancel penalties when the customer has missed statutory deadlines due to the floods.

      The helpline is in addition to other HMRC telephone contact numbers.

  • 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 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that judges and other decision-makers have appropriate knowledge and training on issues relating to child arrangements orders made in the family court in cases in which there is a history of domestic abuse.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, responsibility for judicial training rests with the Lord Chief Justice and this responsibility 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 that judges, magistrates and their Legal Advisers have all received specific training on domestic violence issues and were trained in the new Child Arrangements Programme and Practice Direction 12J as part of the Family Justice Review reforms in 2014.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice has been provided this Session for ministers or senior officials in the Department of Health on whether to use secondary legislation or primary legislation for significant legislation.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    There has been no change in approach to the use of primary and secondary legislation since the General Election. Each piece of legislation is approached within the context of the policy and the existing legislative framework. There is no evidence of an increase in the number of statutory instruments laid since 2010 or since the General Election. Briefing produced by the House of Commons Library (CBP 7438) shows that the number of statutory instruments laid before the House of Commons peaked at 1,885 in the 2005-06 session, compared to 1,378 last session and 540 so far this session.

  • 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 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials in his Department have policy responsibility for deregulation.

    Matthew Hancock

    A cross cutting team has been established to lead delivery of Governments’ commitment to cut a further £10 billion of red tape over this Parliament. The joint team consists of 53 officials from both Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Treasury is working with the Department of Health on the implementation of the sugar levy, and if so, how.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    There are ongoing discussions between HM Treasury and the Department of Health on the implementation of the soft drinks industry levy.

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of freedom of expression in Turkey.

    Mr David Lidington

    We share the concerns of the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the EU over freedom of the expression in Turkey, including the arrest and detention of a number of journalists. As a friend and ally we strongly encourage Turkey to continue work towards the full protection of all fundamental rights, especially in the areas of minority rights, freedom of religion and freedom of expression – and will continue to do so.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to allow EU citizens resident in the UK to be able to continue to live in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    As the Prime Minister has said, there will be no immediate changes in the circumstances of European nationals currently residing in the UK.

    Under current arrangements EU nationals do not need to apply for a residence card or a permanent residence card in order to establish their free movement rights and responsibilities.

  • Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Mawhinney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawhinney on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many provider NHS trusts achieved an improvement in operating efficiency of four per cent or more without aggravating their debt position in the last financial year.

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    There is no nationally agreed metric for operating efficiency. However, an annual efficiency requirement is built into the tariff uplift calculation that is used by commissioners in their contract negotiation with providers. In 2015-16 this efficiency requirement was 3.5% over 2014-15. Therefore, we can assume that organisations are delivering this efficiency if they improve their financial position based on these efficiency adjusted prices.

    In February 2016, the Department published Lord Carter’s Operational productivity and performance in English NHS acute hospitals: Unwarranted variations report, a review of efficiency in hospitals which provided details of how operational savings can be achieved. A copy of the report is attached. This programme, along with ‎additional funding provided by the government, will help reduce deficits in this year and bring the sector back into financial balance in future years.

    The National Health Service will receive additional funding of £10 billion per year by the end of the current Spending Review period, with £3.8 billion provided in 2016-17 alone. From this £3.8 billion, we have created a £2.1 billion Sustainability and Transformation Fund that will help providers move to a sustainable financial footing.

    NHS Improvement’s 2016-17 quarter 1 performance report confirmed that things are improving in this year, with lower levels of deficit, fewer trusts reporting a deficit and savings on agency staff.