Category: Speeches

  • Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Alison McGovern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when the Government last held discussions with the Saudi government in which specific reference was made to human rights in Saudi Arabia.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We do not shy away from raising legitimate human rights concerns. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised human rights with the Saudi Arabian authorities on 7 September. Our Embassy in Riyadh also frequently raise our concerns and will continue to do so.

  • Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Alan Whitehead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Whitehead on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, under what timetable she will announce the mechanism for ensuring that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of sensitive areas.

    Andrea Leadsom

    On 4 November 2015, the Government set out proposals to ensure that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells drilled at the surface of specified protected areas. [1] The proposals are now subject to consultation with key stakeholders, including industry and non-governmental organisations.

    [1] See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/oil-and-gas-licensing-rounds#surface-development-restrictions

    “

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders of each offence type pleaded guilty to an offence during (a) the latest period for which information is available after 13 April 2015 and (b) the equivalent period of time before 13 April 2015 in (i) Magistrates Courts and (ii) Crown Courts.

    Mike Penning

    The proportion of defendants who were tried at the Crown Court and who pleaded guilty, by offence group, in England and Wales in 2014 can be viewed in the table.

    Centrally held information does not include the plea of defendants proceeded against and handled entirely within the magistrates’ courts. This is held on individual court records, which could only be examined at disproportionate cost.

    Final data for defendants tried at the Crown Court is only available up to the end of 2014.

  • Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tristram Hunt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tristram Hunt on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobs in (a) his Department and (b) each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, non-ministerial departments, advisory bodies and other accountable statutory bodies (i) have been abolished or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent since 2010 and (ii) will be abolished in or relocated from Stoke-on-Trent by 2020.

    Justin Tomlinson

    (a i) The number of people employed in DWP offices in Stoke-on-Trent at June 2010, which is the earliest information available, was 744. The current number of people employed as at November 2015, latest information available, is 464.

    (b i) Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has an office in Stoke-on-Trent. The number of people employed at 1 January 2010 was 52. Current number of people employed is 31.

    The North Staffs Remploy factory based at Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent closed on 4 December 2012 and 110 people left the factory.

    (a ii) Detailed workforce planning up to 2020 is not yet available. Although reducing and rationalising the estate could result in relocations, there is no centrally driven relocation target to this effect. Any relocation is done based on the operational needs of the department.

    (b ii) The HSE office in Stoke-on-Trent will relocate on 25 January 2016 and 31 people will move to Crewe from that date.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the decision by NHS England to refuse funding for micro-processor knees is consistent with its Five Year Forward View, which states that the NHS needs to adapt to take advantage of the opportunities that science and technology offer patients and carers.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England has not refused to fund micro-processor knees. A revised policy proposal for the routine commissioning of microprocessor controlled knees was considered by NHS England’s expert Clinical Priorities Advisory Group which recommended its adoption for routine commissioning. The proposal was then considered by NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group at its meeting on 9 December 2015 where it was agreed that NHS England would support this service development as a possible call on its resources. However given the potential scale of investment and the need to consider its priority relative to other treatments which would also have a possible call on the specialised commissioning resources it was decided that the policy should go forward for consideration as part of NHS England’s next annual prioritisation round in June 2016.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which of the permanent members of the UN Security Council support the UK’s proposal to the Conference on Disarmament, as set out by the UK Permanent Representative to that Conference in his letter of 19 February (CD/2055).

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Discussions on this are still at an early stage and it would be inappropriate for the UK to comment on other States’ positions before they are made public. However, we hope that all members of the UN Conference on Disarmament can support the UK proposal to establish a working group and an associated programme of work.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d’affaires.

    The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

    The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they propose to set up a stakeholder working party with an independent chairman to make recommendations to them concerning any damage to rights of way caused by motorised traffic.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    On 11 February Minister Stewart wrote to all the national park authorities to explain the Government was not going to establish a motor vehicle working group, as he believes in locally brokered solutions as the long term solution to issues around motor vehicles on public rights of way.

    Defra and Natural England are offering to hold a one-off forum for all motor vehicle stakeholders to share their knowledge and expertise and to discuss ways of working together in the future.

  • 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 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 15 of his Department’s Cycle Delivery Plan, published in October 2014, what progress has been made on his Department’s review of road traffic law.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The government is aware of concerns about a number of sentencing issues and is committed to making sure sentencing for driving crimes is proportionate within the context of our wider sentencing framework. It is our intention to commence a consultation in due course which will look at driving offences and penalties.

  • Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Nick Clegg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Clegg on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how much his Department has spent to date on consultants; and how much he plans to spend on consultants in the next 12 months.

    Mr David Jones

    The department has not incurred any spend in relation to consultants since it was created. Detailed work is underway to establish the budget required to fulfil the functions, set-up and responsibilities of the Department.