Category: Speeches

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress he has made in increasing the long-term growth rate of Yorkshire to at least the long-term growth rate of the whole of the UK in accordance with the Long-Term Economic Plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.

    Greg Hands

    The Office for National Statistics have not yet published an estimate of how the Yorkshire economy has grown following the announcement of the Long Term Economic Plan for Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire in February 2015.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of an escalation of border clashes between Eritrea and Ethiopia on refugees in that region.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    We are concerned over recent reports of fighting between Ethiopian and Eritrean forces along the border near Tsorena. My colleague the Minister for Africa, Mr Duddridge, has called on both countries to exercise restraint and said that they should engage in meaningful political discourse to seek a resolution to the ongoing border issues.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed to DFID that the recent border clashes between Eritrea and Ethiopia have had no discernible impact on refugees in the border region. Services for refugees in the camps in Tigray region (which borders Eritrea) have not been disrupted by the clashes.

    Refugees have continued to cross from Eritrea to Ethiopia at a rate of around 2,000-3,000 per month in 2016 and there has been no change to this pattern.

    According to its global policy, UNHCR sites refugee camps ‘at a reasonable distance’ from international borders. The closest refugee camp to the Eritrean border is around 25 km away. Others are further away from the border.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether it is his policy that community services for people with learning disabilities should employ people with learning disabilities to provide those services.

    David Mowat

    The Government is committed to increasing the number of people with learning disabilities employed across the full range of National Health Service organisations. NHS Employers and NHS England have a range of tools and guidance to support organisations to increase their recruitment of people with learning disabilities, including providing real examples of jobs currently being done. People with learning disabilities bring their own expertise, personal experience and knowledge to roles. As such, roles that can specifically draw on this experience should be considered.

    Further information on the NHS Learning Disability Employment Programme is available on NHS England’s website at:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/gov/equality-hub/ld-emp-prog/

    “

  • Stuart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart McDonald on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees from each UN camp she expects to be resettled in the UK in 2015.

    Richard Harrington

    The Prime Minister has said that we want to see 1,000 Syrian refugees brought to the UK by Christmas. The Government is working closely with local authorities, international delivery partners and the voluntary sector, putting in place the plans and structures to deliver this and ensuring the system is scaled up in a way that protects the interests of all concerned. Details on numbers will be published in the regular quarterly immigration statistics.

    The UNHCR identifies and proposes Syrian refugees for the VPR scheme from among the whole of the registered refugee population in the region, over 4 million people. This includes people in formal refugee camps, informal settlements and host communities. Therefore, not all of those coming to the UK for resettlement will be coming from UN camps.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the status is of each prison building and site for prisons closed since May 2010.

    Andrew Selous

    Since May 2010 we have closed 18 prisons. This includes two partial closures (HMP Camp Hill, HMP Brockhill) and two former prisons (Morton Hall and The Verne) which have been re-roled into Immigration Removal Centres. The closure of these, and other uneconomic prison places, delivered £170m in savings between 2011-12 and 2014-15.

    Two former prisons, Wellingborough and Camp Hill, have been retained as a contingency measure to deal with unexpected events such as a larger than projected increase in the prison population. This allows us to have reserve capacity without the cost of keeping them fully operational.

    The status of each of the closed prisons is as follows:

    Former Prison

    Status

    HMP Ashwell

    Sold

    HMP Lancaster Castle

    Lease handed back

    HMP Latchmere House

    Sold

    HMP Wellingborough

    Reserve capacity

    HMP Bullwood Hall

    Contracts exchanged

    HMP Canterbury

    Sold

    HMP Gloucester

    Sold

    HMP Kingston

    Sold

    HMP Shepton Mallet

    Sold

    HMP Shrewsbury

    Sold

    HMP Blundeston

    Contracts exchanged

    HMP Dorchester

    Sold

    HMP Northallerton

    Sold

    HMP Camp Hill (part of HMP Isle of Wight)

    Reserve capacity

    HMP Brockhill (part of HMP Hewell)

    Sold

    HMYOI Reading

    Not yet on the market

    The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 9 November that we will sell former HMYOI Reading.

  • Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent report by Saferworld Matching needs and resources: National Police Reserve and community security in Kenya’s frontiers, and whether they have had discussions with the government of Kenya about contributing to the professionalism and accountability of the National Police Reserve.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Through our High Commission in Nairobi, the British Government has regularly discussed police accountability and professionalism with the Government of Kenya, including the Kenya Police Service. This has included discussions on the role of the Kenya National Police Reserve, though we do not currently work directly with them. The UK is working with the Government of Kenya to strengthen community security in some of Kenya’s most marginalised areas. The Conflict Security and Stability Fund is working to build capacity to ensure security forces in the region are better governed, more accountable and effective and to build community resilience to respond to security challenges through work with civil society. In addition, the Department for International Development launched the £13.7million Improving Community Security programme in 2015. This programme will work with government departments and non-governmental organisations, including Saferworld, to increase the security and safety of men, women and children in Kenya through increasing the capacity of institutions including the police and county government, to prevent and respond to violence.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of her Department were in each of the last five years.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    This information is not held and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to give bus and coach passengers statutory rights to compensation for delays in their bus or coach service.

    Andrew Jones

    Bus and coach passengers already have statutory rights under the services provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If the bus or coach service is not provided with reasonable care and skill or in line with certain information the transport operator has given about it then the passenger may be due compensation, including compensation for delays and cancellations.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on Turkey’s accession to the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK supports Turkey’s EU accession process, which remains the most effective mechanism for continuing reform in Turkey. Turkey’s accession itself is not on the cards for many years to come. Turkey first applied for associate membership of the EEC in 1959, and there remains a very significant amount of detailed work to do before Turkey is ready to join the EU including economic reforms. Every Member State has a veto at every stage. For the UK, the EU Act 2011 requires any Accession Treaty admitting a candidate country to membership to be ratified by Act of Parliament.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of metro-mayors since May 2015.

    James Wharton

    The Government considers that, where areas choose to introduce a directly-elected, region-wide Mayor as part of a devolution deal, this will provide a mechanism to strengthen local accountability and strategic leadership and drive local economic growth. No region-wide elected Mayors are yet in place under the provisions of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act; the first elections for the new Mayors are being planned for May 2017, subject to Parliamentary approval.