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Category: Speeches

  • Jason McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jason McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jason McCartney on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make representations to the Egyptian government on the possibility of submitting human remains found in the Western Desert in 2012 if still in existence to new DNA tests to compare them with DNA samples provided by the family of Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping whose aeroplane crashed in the Sahara on 28 June 1942.

    Mark Lancaster

    Rigorous DNA tests undertaken by the Egyptian authorities at our behest some three years ago were unable to provide viable DNA samples due to the age and degradation of the human remains found. There are no plans to undertake new DNA tests.

  • Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevin Hollinrake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Hollinrake on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for completion of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation Footprint; and what alternative uses his Department has recently considered suitable for RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

    Mark Lancaster

    The RAF envisages no further use for RAF Linton-on-Ouse following the out of service date of the Tucano aircraft which is anticipated to be October 2019.

    Further announcements regarding the rationalisation of the Defence estate will be made later this year.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.228 of Budget 2016, on what date he plans to close the Money Advice Service.

    Harriett Baldwin

    At Budget 2016, the government published its response to the Public Financial Guidance Review and launched a consultation seeking views on the government’s plans to restructure the statutory financial guidance providers – the Money Advice Service, The Pensions Advisory Service and Pension Wise. This paper, which closes on 8 June 2016, sets out a new delivery model for public financial guidance and seeks views on how, within this model, the proposed services could best be offered. The new delivery model is designed to better complement the financial guidance provided by the third sector and the industry and provide more targeted support for consumers.

    The government will consider the responses to this consultation over the summer, and in parallel, work closely with the affected organisations to finalise the delivery structure. A detailed timetable will be set out with the final response, which will be published in the autumn. The government has been clear that the three affected organisations will continue to provide guidance to consumers until at least 2018.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to legislate to ensure that all fees charged to pensioners by fund managers are made publicly available monthly, including transaction and research costs and all other costs that investors bear.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is committed to the principle that people who have worked hard and saved should have access to appropriate and accessible investment options and understand the charges that they face. We appreciate the efforts that industry have made to fulfil this aim.

    Since last April, the Government has ensured that trustees of defined contribution pension schemes report charges levied on members in schemes used for auto enrolment.

    We are also engaging with international work on transparency, such as the legislation agreed at European Union level through the Packaged Retail and Insurance Based Investment Products (PRIIPs) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). MiFID II will introduce new measures to increase transparency of research costs for clients of portfolio managers. Under these new measures, portfolio managers may only pay for research through their own funds or from a specific research payment account funded by its clients and subject to specific controls, including a research budget.

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also currently conducting a market study into asset management, which covers the issue of whether the level of fund management fees charged to consumers reflects a competitive market. We await the FCA’s assessment of competition in this sector. The FCA expect to publish an interim report in summer 2016 and a final report in early 2017.

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what EU directives related to his Department’s responsibilities are awaiting transposition into UK law.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office has no EU Directives awaiting transposition into UK law.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the cost of bed-blocking in NHS hospitals in each of the past three years and what plans they have to invest in social care services to reduce those costs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    To date, the Department has made no formal estimate of the costs of delayed discharge to the National Health Service. However, the Department and NHS Improvement are working together to implement Lord Carter’s recommendations on hospital productivity. As part of this, the two organisations are working with providers to develop a richer dataset around all aspects of the patient pathway, including estimates of the cost of delayed discharge.

    At the same time, the Department continues to work closely with the NHS and local government to help local areas improve transfers out of hospital, share best practice, and reduce unnecessary delays. We are funding the NHS’s own plan for the future with £10 billion and we are giving local authorities access to up to £3.5 billion of new support for adult social care by 2019/20.

    Since April 2015, the Government’s £5.3 billion Better Care Fund has provided much needed investment in better integrated care through locally developed plans and by putting resources where the local NHS and social services think they are needed. Alongside this we are working with local areas to improve the transfer of patients back into the communities.

    In 2016-17, there is a new Better Care Fund requirement on local areas to develop a clear, focused action plan for managing delays, including locally agreed targets. The requirement is designed to reduce delays across the health and care system.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to substitute any funding for High Speed 2 that was part of an EU grant.

    Andrew Jones

    The funding envelope of £55.7 billion for delivering HS2 does not rely on EU grant funding. HS2 was awarded a grant of €39 million from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for ground investigation works. My Department will work with HM Treasury to see if this should be covered by the government’s commitment to provide continuity of funding for participants in EU programmes (announced by my Right Honourable Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 13th August). I refer my Right Honourable Friend to my response of the 15th September, UIN 46680, (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=46680).

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  • Lord Turnberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Turnberg – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Turnberg on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with King Abdullah of Jordan about his role in and responsibility for the oversight of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    King Abdullah raised his concerns over violence at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif site during the visit to Jordan in September by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron). We regularly discuss measures to de-escalate tensions and maintain the status quo with all levels of the Jordanian government.

    On 29 October the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), met a delegation of Arab Heads of Mission, led by the Jordanian Ambassador, to discuss the violence at the Holy Sites and the implementation of the recent Israel-Jordan agreement. He assured the Ambassador and delegation that we will do all we can to support efforts to de-escalate tensions and maintain the status quo, which includes encouraging all sides to respect the King of Jordan’s custodianship.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment on the financial effect on the UK manufacturing sector of reductions to (a) capital allowances and (b) corporation tax since 2010.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government recognises the importance of the manufacturing sector in the UK economy.

    In order to support investment across the economy, including in the manufacturing sector, since 2010, the Government has reduced the corporation tax rate from 28% to 20%, and it is due to fall to 18% in 2020. Overall the corporation tax cuts delivered since 2010 will save businesses £10 billion a year from 2016. Further cuts in the corporation tax rate in this Parliament, to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020, will save small and large businesses a further £6.6 billion by 2021, and will benefit 1.1 million businesses. The manufacturing sector, alongside other sectors of the economy, have benefited from the corporation tax rate changes.

    At Summer Budget 2015, the government announced that it would increase the permanent level of the Annual Investment Allowance to £200,000, its highest ever permanent level. The sectors with most companies benefitting include manufacturing as well as wholesale and retail, and agriculture.

  • 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 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps Network Rail is taking to ensure co-ordination between its regional units for the purpose of redirecting traffic affected by the closure of the West Coast Main Line north of Carlisle.

    Claire Perry

    Co-ordination arrangements for managing passenger and freight traffic whilst the West Coast Main Line route through Lamington is closed are operational matters for Network Rail.