Category: Speeches

  • 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 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29390, what definition of principle of distinction his Department uses to assess whether an incident counts as a violation of international humanitarian law.

    Penny Mordaunt

    International Humanitarian Law is founded in customary international law but now extensively codified in international agreements, most notably the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols. The UK’s interpretation of the principles of proportionality, military necessity, humanity and distinction is set out in the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Service Publication (JSP) 383, the Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict, which is available online (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/jsp-383).

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who applied for UK citizenship in the year ending June 2015 (a) applied for exemption from the language requirements and (b) were granted such an exemption.

    James Brokenshire

    The Secretary of State may waive the Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK requirement for British citizenship on the basis of a person’s age, physical or mental condition.

    A person will normally be exempted from this requirement if they provide evidence from an appropriate medical practitioner that their condition is so severe that it prevents them from being able to learn English or prepare for or sit an English test or the Life in the UK test. Each application is considered on its own merits.

    Information cannot be obtained from UKVI data systems to show how many exemption requests were made and granted. This information could only be obtained from looking at individual records at disproportionate cost.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports of criminal offences against residents of properties used to house asylum seekers have been recorded in each of the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office and its accommodation providers encourage accommodated asylum seekers to inform us of any criminal or anti-social activity against them so that appropriate action can be taken to ensure their safety. Information concerning the reports of criminal offences is not recorded on centrally collated statistical databases and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of case records.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 23 November 2015 to Question 16254, if he will estimate the number of GP appointments for minor ailments which could have been treated at home or with advice from a pharmacist in (a) England, (b) each former strategic health authority area and (c) each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2006.

    David Mowat

    NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review Phase 1 report (November 2013) estimated that 20% of general practitioner consultations relate to minor ailments which could largely be dealt with by self-care and support from community pharmacies.

    The General Practice Forward View, published on 21 April 2016, states that current investment of £31 million to pilot 470 clinical pharmacists in over 700 practices is to be supplemented by new central investment of £112 million to extend the programme by a pharmacist per 30,000 population for all practices not in the initial pilot – leading to a further 1,500 pharmacists in general practice by 2020.

    Figures for each former strategic health authority and each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2006 are not held centrally.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to promote trade between the UK and (a) Australia and (b) New Zealand.

    Greg Hands

    The department has identified opportunities and resourced campaigns to access high value sectors including defence, consumer & retail and financial services across the region.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Pursglove – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many civil servants in her Department are members of trades unions; how much working hours facility time is claimed by each such civil servant; and what the cost of that facility time is to her Department.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Information on trade union membership is held by individual trade unions. The Cabinet Office publishes data relating to Civil Service facility time on a quarterly basis. The latest data is Quarter 4, 2014 at and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/trade-union-facility-time.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2015 to Question 10866, when he will next publish the job titles and pay grades of appointments to extended ministerial offices.

    Matthew Hancock

    The government publishes information on the job titles and pay grades of senior civil servants along with the numbers of staff they manage on a twice yearly basis.

  • Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the proposed council tax levy for social care will support integration of health and social care.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government is committed to delivering more person-centred care through programmes such as the Better Care Fund, the Integrated Care Pioneers and the Vanguards. The proposed council tax levy gives councils the flexibility to raise additional funds. Councils can also voluntarily invest additional funds in programmes if they wish.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in China on the recent disappearance of five people who work for a Hong Kong publishing company and bookseller.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Her Majesty’s Government remains deeply concerned about British citizen Mr Lee Po who went missing from Hong Kong in December and his four colleagues associated with the Causeway Bay Books bookstore. I raised the issue with the Chinese Ambassador to the UK on 22 January and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the case with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on 5 January. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials are in regular contact with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to make clear our serious concerns about this matter. As the Foreign Secretary told the House on 12 January, if allegations of Chinese security agents taking a British Citizen out of Hong Kong are correct, then this would be a serious breach of the Joint Declaration (Official Record 12 Jan 2016 : Column 693).

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will issue a response to EDM 1011, Fire at Mzuzu University, Malawi.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK recognises the terrible loss for Mzuzu University and academia in Malawi caused by the fire in December 2015 which destroyed the university library and its stock of 45,000 books.

    We commend the Scotland Malawi Partnership for coordinating efforts in Scotland to appeal for donations for the restocking and rebuilding of the library. Officials have met with the Scotland Malawi Partnership and the Mzuzu University Vice Chancellor to discuss possible funding opportunities. It is encouraging that Scottish Universities are again demonstrating Scotland’s unique people to people approach to supporting Malawi at a time when the country is also facing a humanitarian crisis and funding priorities are in strong competition.