Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Burt of Solihull – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Burt of Solihull on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding will be provided to assist with the delivery of their commitment to double the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds entering higher education by 2020.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We will be issuing a grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England early in the New Year outlining the Government’s priorities for expenditure through the teaching grant, including on widening access. This will take account of the announcements made in the Spending Review on. The Director of Fair Access has agreed 183 Access Agreements for 2016/17 containing an estimated £745m to support the access and success of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, up from £404m in 2009/10.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our European Union membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

  • Stephen Tim – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Tim – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Tim on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what circumstances the housing element of advance payments of universal credit can be paid directly to a landlord.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit is paid as a single monthly amount. The advance payment provision is for the total UC payment, not for any particular portion of it.

    A payment of Universal Credit in respect of housing costs can be paid directly to the landlord, or in certain circumstances, via an Alternative Payment Arrangement.

  • Iain Wright – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish his Department’s impact assessment of the apprenticeship levy.

    Nick Boles

    HM Treasury published a Tax Information and Impact Note on 4 February 2016 at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy/apprenticeship-levy.

    “

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has held with his counterparts in the devolved administrations on proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

    Dominic Raab

    The Government has discussed human rights reform with a range of stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including ministers in the Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Northern Ireland Executive.

    We will continue to engage fully with the devolved administrations as we develop our proposals.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what future plans she has for the role of parents in the running of their children’s school.

    Nick Gibb

    There is a long standing tradition of parents’ involvement in the running of their child’s school, including a valuable role in governance, and we want that to continue. Academy boards will always be free to appoint parents for their skills and knowledge to govern in the best interests of all pupils. Academies will be required to engage with all parents to listen to their views and feedback particularly on key decisions about the school.

  • 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 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7189), and further to the findings of the United Nations Panel of Experts and paragraph 13 of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270, what assessment they have made of the role of personnel from the North Korean Embassy in London in nuclear proliferation activity and sanctions evasion; and whether any representations on this matter have been made to the North Korean Ambassador to the UK.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are concerned by the evidence in the Panel of Experts’ report that officials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) continue to play key roles in facilitating trade of prohibited items. We regularly raise our concerns about the DPRK’s nuclear weapons programme and nuclear proliferation with the North Korean Embassy in London. We remind all foreign diplomatic missions in the UK to operate in accordance with their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s (a) procedures and (b) protocols are for the placing of mental health patients in care homes.

    Nicola Blackwood

    A person who requires mental health treatment should have their needs assessed by a mental health professional who will then refer them for treatment in the least restrictive environment to meet their clinical needs and risk. For the majority of patients care and treatment will be provided while they are living in their own home.

    If a person needs treatment which can only be provided in hospital or their level of risk is such that it can only be managed in a hospital then that treatment would be provided in a hospital, which is registered to provide that type of care. It is unlikely that a care home could provide care and treatment for a person who has been assessed as needing hospital treatment.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016, to Question 44003, whether the battle damage assessment regarding airstrikes in Libya carried out by US forces operating from RAF Lakenheath on 19 February 2016 was shared with the UK.

    Mike Penning

    The US has, in confidence, shared the results of that strike with the UK. Clearly it would be inappropriate for us to release that detail or to comment on another State’s operations.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what position the UK’s representatives at the (a) Trade Policy Committee and (b) Foreign Affairs Council have taken on the replacement of the Investor State Dispute Settlements mechanism with an Investment Court System in the negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

    Anna Soubry

    On 16 September, the European Commission published a draft of its proposed text for the investment protection provisions in the EU-US free trade agreement, also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

    In discussions on these proposals with the European Commission and Member States, UK representatives have expressed support for the European Commission’s ongoing initiative to reform the investment provisions used in its trade and investment agreements. UK representatives have also raised questions of detail on how the proposed text will continue to safeguard governments’ right to regulate lawfully and in the public interest, while ensuring that UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments.

    The final content of the investment protection provisions in the EU-US free trade agreement will be subject to the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the US. The inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will not threaten the right of the UK or Devolved Administrations to regulate or determine public policy. The Commission has published a proposal for reforms to investment protections in this agreement, which includes a clause setting out governments’ right to regulate.

    The UK will work with the Commission on this proposal to ensure that UK investors are treated fairly overseas by foreign governments while allowing governments to regulate lawfully and in the public interest.