Category: Speeches

Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will issue a response to Early Day Motion 116, Slavery in Mauritania.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We welcome the release of anti-slavery activists Biram Dah Abeid and Brahim Bilal Ramdhane following the decision of the Mauritanian Supreme Court. We also welcome the decision by the newly formed anti-slavery court to convict two men on charges of slavery.

We continue to encourage the Mauritanian government to support the anti-slavery courts in prosecuting cases in full under the 2015 anti-slavery law and to take steps to facilitate the collection of data on slavery to support eradication efforts.

01/01/2023
Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to implement provisions in the European Landscape Convention.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

The United Kingdom ratified the European Landscape Convention in 2006. Its principles are reflected in Government and local policies, for example, that local communities are engaged in the setting of priorities and objectives for their local landscapes and that opportunities are sought to align conservation and landscape objectives for designated areas.

National Park and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Management Plans are an example of delivering on the convention’s principle of stronger alignment of conservation and landscape objectives for designated sites.

The right of communities to shape development in their areas through the production of Neighbourhood Development Plans, introduced through the Localism Act 2011, delivers on the convention’s principle that local communities should be engaged in the setting of priorities and objectives for their local landscapes.

The National Planning Policy Framework outlines strong protection of designated landscapes and the duty on decision-makers to consider landscape impacts in plan making and planning decisions. We consider it compliant with the convention.

01/01/2023

Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools applied successfully to the Education Funding Agency for funding for asbestos removal between 2010 and 2016; and what the (a) name, (b) type and (c) local authority is of each such school.

Nick Gibb

The Education Funding Agency (EFA) does not hold a breakdown of funding information, in the format requested, in relation to the removal of asbestos or renovation of school buildings.

Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012, the primary responsibility for managing asbestos lies with the person or persons responsible for the maintenance or repair of a building. For schools, this will be the local authority, school governors or academy trust.

The table below summarises the capital budgets from 2011-12 to 2016-17 that were provided for school maintenance, refurbishment and rebuilding, including where appropriate the removal and/or safe containment of asbestos-containing materials. As these works are covered by the capital funding programmes listed below, the Department does not allocate a separate budget for this purpose; and there are no plans to do so in future years.

The Department does not hold directly comparable allocation or expenditure data on prior years.

(All values £m)	2011-12 Budget	2012-13 Budget	2013-14 Budget	2014-15 Budget	2015-16 Budget	2016-17 Budget
School Condition Allocations (funding provided to local authorities and voluntary-aided schools)	1,054	861	749	699	690	661
Devolved Formula Capital (funding provided direct to schools)	185	162	149	138	134	130
Funding for academies, multi-academy trusts, state-funded special schools and other specialist providers for state-funded pupils (including DFC).	161	376	504	562	576	617
Priority Schools Building Programme (PSBP) (delivered by central government)	0	0	90	603	999	1,050
Total	1,400	1,399	1,492	2,002	2,399	2,458

01/01/2023

Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-11-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on maintenance aboard HMS (a) Torbay, (b) Trenchant, (c) Talent and (d) Triumph in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne

The cost of maintenance onboard submarines is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent in total on the Help to Work scheme to date; and what estimate he has made of the cumulative total cost of Help to Work over the duration of the current contracts.

Priti Patel

The Help to Work scheme contains a number of initiatives and programmes, delivered through Jobcentre Plus and Contracted Employment Provision.

It is not possible to identify the costs of Help to Work activities separately from the total expenditure in Jobcentre Plus.

01/01/2023
Lord Whitty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Whitty on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the effect of the reduction of the budget of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on staffing, and scientific expenditure and activity, at Kew Gardens.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble

Budgets for 2016/17 to 2020/21 have not yet been finalised. Defra’s internal business planning process is still underway, and it would not, therefore, be appropriate at this time to comment on how particular policy areas may be affected.

01/01/2023
Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2015 to Question 8250, when the three academies in the Park View Educational Trust (a) applied for and (b) were granted permission to employ teachers without qualified teacher status.

Edward Timpson

The Park View Educational Trust formally sought for permission to employ teachers without qualified teacher status on 7 March 2013. This was granted on 15 March 2013.

01/01/2023
Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-03-01.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to make representations to the governments of other European countries that riot police should not normally be used to control refugees and migrants in Europe.

Lord Bates

Our consistent focus has been on encouraging a comprehensive solution to the current migratory situation in Europe. This includes strengthening the EU’s external border and enhanced cooperation with Turkey and Western Balkans countries, as well as short and long term work with countries of transit and origin further upstream, and efforts to combat the people smugglers and traffickers who take advantage of the situation to put lives at risk.

Public order is a matter for national governments and we expect all our international partners to ensure that migrants’ human rights are fully respected.

We continue to work closely with our European partners to address all aspects of the current situation as it continues to develop. For those in genuine need, we are clear that protection in the region of origin is often the best solution and that those reaching the EU should claim asylum in the first Member State they enter (as per EU rules) rather than seeking to travel further across Europe to their destination of choice.

01/01/2023
Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to publish a draft agenda for the Anti-Corruption Summit to be held in May 2016.

Matthew Hancock

Information about the London Anti-Corruption Summit can be found on the summit web pages of the GOV.UK website. Further details about the summit will be announced in due course.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, under what circumstances the Government can take ships up from trade which are registered with flags of British Overseas Territories.

James Duddridge

Any vessel registered in the UK, an Overseas Territory or a Crown Dependency, is a ‘British ship’ and is entitled to fly the British Merchant Shipping flag (the ‘Red Ensign’). The UK remains the flag State for all ships flying the Red Ensign and is ultimately responsible under international law for these ships. The UK has general superintendence over the ship registers in the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. This general superintendence derives from the UK’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea regarding ships flying its flag; these obligations have been implemented in domestic legislation.

Under prerogative powers all British flagged vessels (including those on UK Overseas Territories and Crown Dependency registers) can be requisitioned where there is deemed to be a threat to the realm. Conscription of all British flagged vessels is done by Government Order. Such Order is enacted only during national crisis, such as war. The decision to use such Order is decided on a case by case basis by the Government of the day. For example, this Order was enacted during the Falklands War.

01/01/2023