Category: Speeches

  • Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Nigel Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people executed in Iran in the last 12 months.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    As stated in our annual 2015 Human Rights report, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights estimated that between 966 and 1,025 people were executed in Iran in 2015. It is estimated that there have been 309 executions to date in 2016. The British Government continues to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to remove the requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria as a pre-requisite for obtaining legal gender recognition.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government takes transgender equality issues very seriously and has actively contributed towards the Women and Equalities Select Committee’s inquiry into transgender equality. There are no current plans to review the Gender Recognition Act, however the Government will consider the recommendations of the inquiry once they become available.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the page on the National Crime Agency website entitled, Cyber crime: Preventing young people from getting involved, what the statistical evidence is for the statement that more and more teenagers and young people are involved in cyber crime.

    Mike Penning

    The evidence to support this statement has derived from analysis by the National Crime Agency of investigations involving their National Cyber Crime Unit. This found the average age of suspects to be 17, compared to 24 in the previous year. The statement has also been informed by debriefing sessions that the National Cyber Crime Unit has undertaken with offenders, and academic engagement.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many defibrillators are provided in each building her Department manages.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department for Education provides the following number of defibrillators in each of its buildings:

    Building

    No. of Defibrillators

    Sanctuary Buildings, London

    3

    Earlsdon Park, Coventry

    1

    Bishopsgate House, Darlington

    1

    2 St Paul’s Place, Sheffield

    0

    Learning & Conference Centre, Nottingham

    0
  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the degree to which religious selection in schools leads to intakes that are socio-economically unrepresentative of their local area, and of the effect of the complexity of admission arrangements employed by religiously selective schools on the representativeness of such intakes.

    Lord Nash

    It is for admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, to set and determine admission arrangements that comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law. The code requires that all admissions arrangements must be fair and do not discriminate against pupils based on their social background, ethnicity or disability.

    The Schools Adjudicator investigates any objections raised in relation to schools’ admissions arrangements. Where an objection and the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant within two months. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment the Government has made of the feasibility of air drops of food supplies and aid into besieged areas during the current ceasefire in Syria.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The International Syria Support Group meeting in Munich in February set out a clear way ahead for the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid in Syria and for a cessation of hostilities. The UK continues to keep the humanitarian situation in Syria under review and has been playing a full role, as part of the Humanitarian Aid Task Force, supporting the UN and its partners in successfully stepping-up deliveries of food, water and medicine. Road delivery is the preferred method of delivering aid wherever possible since air drops require clear drop zones, safe access for the intended recipients, and need to be co-ordinated with authorities on the ground. While the UK has been seeking to support World Food Programme efforts to air-drop supplies to Deir ez-Zour, our assessment is that these conditions are not being met in Syria.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to respond to the Office of Rail and Road’s recommendations following Which?’s super-complaint regarding train companies and the compensation process for passengers affected by train delays.

    Claire Perry

    I welcome the publication of the Office of Rail and Road’s (ORR’s) recommendations following Which?’s super-complaint. It is vital that customers who suffer delays understand their rights to compensation and have access to it in a timely way. Industry must now do much more to make that process quick and user-friendly. We are already working with the Association of Train Operating Companies and the ORR to bring about improvements, and my Department will respond to the ORR’s report in the summer of 2016.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Valerie Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans that the Post Office Card Account will be available until 2021.

    Priti Patel

    Post Office Card Accounts provide a useful service to many people and there are no plans to change provision.

    The Department recognises, however, that working age claimants may also be receiving wages. As the account does not receive wages or allow for direct debit or standing order facilities, Post Office Card Accounts are not suitable for all of their needs. Those claimants are therefore being encouraged to open main stream bank accounts including credit union accounts.

    The Post Office Card Account contract was awarded from 01 December 2014 and expires on 30 November 2021 and there are no plans to amend that term.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for (a) the UK aviation sector and (b) his Department’s aviation policies of the outcome of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    It is too early to assess the impacts of the outcome of the EU Referendum for any particular sector, including aviation. The Prime Minister has made it clear that at present we remain a member of the EU with all the rights and obligations this entails and that it will be for the next administration to determine the terms of our exit from the European Union.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the Bahrain Ombudsman’s investigation into the case of Mohammad Ramadan has complied with international minimum standards for torture investigations.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The United Nations Convention Against Torture requires all states to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into allegations of torture within their jurisdiction. We therefore welcome the Ombudsman’s decision to conduct an investigation into the complaints regarding Mohammad Ramadan, and await the outcome of the investigation. Since the announcement of the Ombudsman’s investigation, we have received non-governmental organisation representations regarding these allegations, and are aware of similar representations made to the Ombudsman. We take all such allegations seriously. It is therefore important that investigations into allegations of torture are prompt and impartial, and we are encouraging the Ombudsman to carry out a swift investigation.

    The Bahraini Ombudsman is an independent oversight institution, and we will continue to follow and support its work. I raised the case of Mohammad Ramadan with the Bahraini Ambassador on 8 March, and our Embassy Manama officials have raised the progress of the investigation several times directly with the Ombudsman’s office, the most recent being 4 August.