Category: Speeches

  • Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department carries out of the needs of Syrian refugees who are admitted to the UK to ensure they receive the support they need.

    Richard Harrington

    The UNHCR identifies refugees for potential resettlement under the Syrian VPR scheme using their vulnerability criteria. Once our security processes have been completed, a full medical assessment is conducted by the International Organisation for Migration in the host country. Local Authorities are provided with case details of all referrals so they can consider whether they have the infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure appropriate care and integration of refugees.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which port, harbour and coastal locations in the UK have a National Grid connection enabling a power plant connection of over 300MW.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Connections to the high voltage electricity transmission are a matter for National Grid, in its role as System Operator.

    National Grid publishes information on current and future transmission capability, generation connections and development timescales in its annual Electricity Ten Year Statement and Customer Connection Interface Tool. These documents are available at:

    http://www2.nationalgrid.com/UK/Industry-information/Future-of-Energy/Electricity-Ten-Year-Statement/

    “

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking with his global counterparts to achieve global abolition of the death penalty.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer the Right hon. Member to my answer of 27 January (question 23192) to the hon. Member for Chesterfield (Toby Perkins). https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/29682

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department issues to credit reference firms on handling data on people who are on the closed electoral register.

    John Penrose

    The Information Commissioner’s Office provides guidance to both private and public sector organisations to help them understand their obligations under the Data Protection Act. Organisations wishing to process personal data in the UK, including credit reference agencies, must register with the ICO and comply with the DPA’s eight data protection principles. Among other things, these principles require personal data to be processed fairly and lawfully; to be accurate and up-to-date; not to be kept for longer than is necessary; and to be processed in accordance with the rights of the data subjects under the DPA.

    The ICO’s website provides public information on credit reference agencies’ use of the electoral register at (https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/credit/).

    “

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent representations he has received on the effectiveness of the Pension Service helpline.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We have a number of pension service telephony lines including the Pension Tracing Service; International Pension Claims/Changes; International Pension Enquiries; State Pension Claims; and State Pension changes. We conduct an annual DWP Customer Satisfaction Survey which ensures that we are delivering against our customer charter.

    All our Pension Service telephony services are subject to continuous improvement to improve our service delivery.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-04-21.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report by the Office for National Statistics, the Feasibility of measuring the sharing economy, published in April 2016.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HM Treasury has taken note of this feasibility study. Professor Sir Charles Bean’s Independent Review of Economic Statistics highlighted the importance of proper measurement of the sharing economy and to enable the Office for National Statistics to develop world-leading analytical and digital capabilities in economic measurement, the government will invest over £10m in a new hub for data science and a centre for excellence in economic measurement in line with recommendations.

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

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

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what issues the Government plans to discuss with the President of Colombia during his state visit to the UK in November 2016.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The State Visit presents an opportunity for the Government to continue our engagement with the Government of Colombia on a wide variety of themes, including: regional stability; peace and security; trade and investment; science and education; and the environment.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for local councils to bid for funds to improve local railway stations and rail services.

    Paul Maynard

    The Department launched a new round of the New Stations Fund on 26 August, with up to £20 million available towards the total project cost. Promoters of new stations, including local authorities, should submit bids by 25 November.

  • Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Hunt of Chesterton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Chesterton on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they will take to ensure that electric cars emit a warning noise so that those cars are audible.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    EU Regulations require vehicle manufacturers to fit artificial sound generators on new types of electric and hybrid electric vehicles from 2019. The requirements for these sound generators will be based on an existing UN-ECE regulation. By 2021 all new electric and hybrid electric vehicles on sale will require sound generators. Vehicle manufacturers may optionally choose to fit sound generators before the 2019 date.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking encourage the Prudential Regulation Authority to assist credit unions in expanding the services they offer to their members; and if he will make a statement.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) is responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of credit unions. It has a general objective to promote the safety and soundness of the firms it regulates and a secondary objective to facilitate effective competition.

    The PRA is an independent non-governmental body and, although the Treasury sets the legal framework for all regulation, it has strictly limited powers in relation to the regulators. However, last year the Government asked the PRA to use the evidence gathered from the Government’s Call for Evidence on Credit Unions to inform their 2015 review of the Credit Union Sourcebook (CREDS).

    The PRA have confirmed that they have taken into account the feedback received by HM Treasury in response to the Call for Evidence when formulating suggested reforms to CREDS.

    The PRA’s reforms seek to establish a more risk-based and flexible framework for credit union regulation, which imposes higher expectations for more sophisticated activity. The PRA recognises the unique structure and important role credit unions play in their local communities and is proposing to reform the rules to better reflect their evolving but distinctive business model.

    The PRA are looking to adjust the regulation so that rules around investments, capital levels and reporting requirements will be determined by looking at the risk profile and business model of the credit union. Existing rigid restrictions will be removed, giving credit union boards more freedom to decide how their businesses are to be run.