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Category: Speeches

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the performance of his Department’s UK National Contact Point in investigating complaints on private sector contract compliance with UK human rights commitments.

    Anna Soubry

    The UK National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Multi-National Enterprise Guidelines considers complaints that UK based multinationals have not met the voluntary obligations of the Guidelines in regard to responsible business behaviour. Ministers have no role in the NCP’s investigation of complaints, but ensure that its final statements on complaints are available for scrutiny in the House Libraries. The UK NCP also reports annually to the OECD Investment Committee which is responsible for the Guidelines and their implementation.

    The UK Government is committed to fulfilling its obligations under the OECD Multi-National Enterprise Guidelines and maintaining a NCP which operates in line with international best practice. The UK NCP is regularly invited by the OECD to contribute to best practice sharing and the OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria has praised its effectiveness and positive outcomes.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Heathrow Hub runway extension is being considered as an alternative to a third runway.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    On 14 December 2015, the Government formally announced that it accepted the Airports Commission’s case for new runway capacity in the South East, as well as the Commission’s three shortlisted schemes – namely additional runways at Gatwick or Heathrow, or an extension to the existing northern runway at Heathrow. The Government will not be considering any other options.

  • Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Viscount Waverley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Viscount Waverley on 2016-04-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for International Development overspent their budget in the last financial year, and if so, for what reason.

    Baroness Verma

    In 2014-15, the most recent year for which audited accounts are available, the Department for International Development did not overspend its budget.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to implement the provision of 15 additional hours of free childcare for working parents provided for under the Childcare Act 2016.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    At the 2015 Spending Review, the Government announced that we would provide £300 million for a significant uplift to the rate paid for the free childcare entitlements for two-, three- and four-year-olds from 2017-18. Together with the funding announced at last summer’s Budget, we will be investing over £1 billion more per year by 2019-20 to fund our commitments on the entitlements.

    The Childcare Act, which provides the legal framework for the extended entitlement, received Royal Assent in March. We also announced in February the eight early implementer local authorities which will offer the extended free childcare entitlement from September 2016. This means around 5,000 children will be able to benefit from 30 hours of high-quality free childcare places a year earlier than planned.

    The Department is also consulting on key elements of the operation and delivery of the extended free entitlement. This includes how the entitlement will be delivered, and how it will meet and be responsive to the needs of working parents. To date we have received over 1000 responses from a wide range of childcare providers, local authorities and provider organisations. We will use these views to inform our thinking as we move to delivering the 30 hours policy. The consultation is available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/early-years-funding/childcare-free-entitlement

    “

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to publish the report of her Department’s implementation review of employment tribunal fees which was initiated on 11 June 2015.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    We will publish the outcome of our review into Employment Tribunal Fees in due course.

  • Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to raise the level of the maximum fine that can be imposed by the Information Commissioner.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will come into force in all EU Member States on 25 May 2018, establishes a tiered approach to penalties for breaches which enables Data Protection Authorities to impose fines for the most serious infringements of up to the higher of 4% of annual worldwide turnover or EUR20 million. Other specified infringements would attract a fine of up to the higher of 2% of annual worldwide turnover or EUR10m.

  • Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Greaves – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of, and what conclusions they have drawn from, the report by JMP Consultants Ltd for the Passenger Transport Executive Group Destination Growth: the Case for Britain’s Regional Railways.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Passenger Transport Executive Group’s Destination Growth report is a useful contribution to the research that underpins the case for Britain’s Regional Railways.

    The Government is investing record amounts in building a world-class rail network across Great Britain, helping to create jobs, boost businesses, and secure long-term economic growth in every part of the country.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paula Sherriff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.114 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what the evidential basis for the estimate of £15 million annual tax receipt on sanitary products; and to what range of products that estimate applies.

    Mr David Gauke

    The £15m estimate of the annual VAT revenue from sanitary products is produced by HM Revenue and Customs and is consistent with the published estimate of the cost of the current 5% relief for sanitary products (available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/minor-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs ).

    “

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many IT contractors engaged by HM Revenue and Customs work through a personal service company.

    Mr David Gauke

    All IT contractors have been engaged by HMRC through centralised Government contracts and Frameworks that comply fully with Cabinet Office procurement guidelines.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts (a) in South America and (b) elsewhere on steps to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    British officials across the region have been working closely with their counterparts on steps to understand and prevent the spread of the Zika Virus. We have focused particularly on Brazil, which has seen the highest number of cases in the region. On 26 January, the UK announced a new Zika research project between Glasgow University and Fiocruz, a leading biomedical research centre in Brazil. The following day, a scientist from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine arrived in Recife to support Zika research led by the Pan American Health Organisation. Discussions are also ongoing between Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency with regards to combating this virus. On 1 February, I discussed Zika with Ambassadors from the Group of Latin America Countries (GRULAC), highlighting UK assistance to date on this issue and stressing the importance of providing information to those planning their travel now, not least to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.