Category: Speeches

  • 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 training her Department provides to immigration officers on handling asylum cases in which a claimant has been raped or sexually abused.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office is committed to treating all those who seek asylum with dignity and respect, including those whose fears may be based on sexual violence or gender related persecution.

    All general Immigration Officers receive training in Modern Slavery issues and those based at dedicated Asylum Intake Unit where claims may be first registered also receive training in sexual violence awareness. However, all asylum claims are dealt with by specially trained caseworkers rather than Immigration Officers.

    The current training and support available for asylum caseworkers includes a UNHCR endorsed Foundation Training Programme, which covers all aspects of the asylum interview and decision making process, including dealing sensitively with vulnerable claimants.

    Furthermore we have also worked closely with stakeholders, such as, the Refugee Council, to develop a dedicated referral process, so that women are formally referred to special counselling services where they disclose issues relating to sexual violence as part of their asylum claim.

  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what specific support they provide to deaf children in developing countries.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    People with disabilities are the largest minority group globally. An estimated one billion people have a disability globally, 80% of whom live in developing countries. People with disabilities are often the poorest in their community and many face considerable levels of stigma, discrimination and persecution.

    DFID follows a ‘twin-track’ approach to disability inclusion. This means we aim to attach priority to disability in all our policies and programmes as well as supporting disability-targeted programmes.

    Over the last two years, DFID has strengthened our capacity to work on disability inclusion, including by appointing a director-level champion, employing three full-time staff to work solely on disability, and developing a group of Internal Disability Expert Advisers from across our organisation.

    DFID’s efforts to date have included:

    • Furnishing schools with equipment and training teachers so children with disabilities can get a quality education.
    • Providing grants to local Disabled People Organisations, allowing people with disabilities to come together and lobby governments on the issues which affect them.
    • Collecting data on disability so we can fully understand the scale of impact and how best to support those people it affects.

    For example, two projects in the UK’s flagship Girls Education Challenge are exclusively focused on addressing the issue that girls with disabilities are less likely to access education. Specific interventions include provision of assistive devices and scholastic materials for girls with hearing impairments and improvement of teacher skills to enable them to communicate in sign language, which has encouraged parents to enrol their children in schools.

  • Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Smith of Finsbury – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Smith of Finsbury on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to bring forward any legislative proposals, following the current consultation, to give effect to the green paper on higher education Fulfilling our Potential.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    The Government’s consultation on the higher education green paper, Fulfilling our Potential: Teaching Excellence, Social Mobility and Student Choice, closes on 15 January 2016. The Government will issue its response No decisions have yet been taken on the proposals in the green paper or how they would be implemented.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Philip Hollobone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will encourage the use of the customer services centre at Kettering Borough Council as an example of good practice for other local authorities to follow.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is keen to encourage all local authorities to look at how they work more effectively and efficiently with services providers and partner organisations in their area to ensure that their residents receive high quality and cost effective services.

    I am aware of the progress made by Kettering Borough Council in this area including the significant savings made and increased customer satisfaction and I am happy to encourage other authorities to look at its customer service centre as an example of good practice.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that London is accessible by rail to people who cannot afford peak-time prices and are on lower incomes, when they are travelling to London for meetings during working hours.

    Claire Perry

    We recognise the pressure and concerns about the cost of some rail fares and the impact that this can have on people’s budgets which is why we have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (Retail Price Index) for three years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this Parliament. This means those commuter fares we regulate are only rising by 1% in 2016 making it the lowest fare increase since 2010. Keeping ticket prices low will benefit over a quarter of a million annual season ticket holders, providing an average saving of £425 over the next five years.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding from the (a) European Regional Development Fund and (b) European Social Fund he forecasts will be spent in (i) London and (ii) each London borough in each year from 2016 and 2020.

    Anna Soubry

    The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) are administered in London by the Greater London Authority and will respond to priorities set out in the European Structural and Investment Strategy prepared by the London Enterprise Panel and other local partners. The Strategy updated in February 2016 sets out the amounts to be spent in London from ERDF and ESF and can be found on the London Enterprise Panel website.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which banks are permitted by his Department to hold government funds.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The vast majority of funds is held within the exchequer at the Government Banking Service. It is not held in commercial bank accounts. Public sector organisations require permission from HM Treasury and the Crown Commercial Representative for banking, currently the Head of the Government Banking Service, to open a commercial bank account. Public sector organisations should follow guidelines set out in the banking annex of “Managing Public Money”. The key points within these guidelines are that the balances held in commercial accounts should be minimised and the commercial bank providing the banking service needs to be a member of relevant UK clearing bodies.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether, in the event of the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Börse, LCH and Eurex will have a regulator in common, and if so, whether that regulator will be the Financial Conduct Authority.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    I refer the noble Lord to the investor relations section of the London Stock Exchange Group website, which contains information about the proposed merger, including some information on the combined group’s proposed structure. I also refer the noble Lord to my previous written answer HL7153.

    Once formally notified of the proposed merger, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (as supervisors of the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK-authorised subsidiaries) must assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint.

    In addition the proposed merger must be approved by competition authorities and is subject to a range of other assessments including those of overseas regulators and shareholders.

    European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) sets out detailed standards on the quality of collateral that a central counterparty (CCP) can accept, and includes a general requirement that the CCP can demonstrate to its supervisor that the form of collateral in question does not present unmanageable risk to the CCP. Furthermore, CCPs are permitted under EMIR to invest their collateral “only in cash or in highly liquid financial instruments with minimal market and credit risk.”

    Any proposals for inter-CCP links would need to be assessed against relevant parts of EMIR by the Bank of England, as supervisor of LCH. EMIR requires that models used to set CCP margin requirements (and any changes to them) are validated by the CCP’s supervisor. EMIR also requires that a CCP wishing to extend its business to additional products or services must obtain the authorisation of its supervisor.

  • Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what criteria her Department uses to determine the award of contracts for projects overseas.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    To determine the award of contracts, tenders are assessed against pre-defined and published evaluation criteria by an evaluation panel with relevant expertise. This assessment follows the EU Public Procurement principle of selecting the ‘most economically advantageous tender’. The evaluation has two main sections – technical evaluation and commercial evaluation.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy that (a) plug sockets, (b) tables and (c) WiFi equipment should be installed in all standard class Thameslink Class 700 carriages.

    Claire Perry

    Contract variations have been proposed by my Department to introduce seat back tables and WiFi infrastructure throughout the new Class 700 Thameslink trains and officials are negotiating the details with the other contractual parties. My officials are also exploring with Siemens, the manufacturer of the new Class 700 Thameslink trains, the scope for increasing the number of plug sockets.