Category: Speeches

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will publish a list of all secondees to the Law Officers’ Departments from (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what the role was of each of those secondees.

    Robert Buckland

    There have been no secondees from any consulting firm to the Attorney General’s Office, Government Legal Department, Crown Prosecution Service or Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate in the last three financial years.

    The Serious Fraud Office had one KPMG employee with them on secondment in 2015-16 covering a Principal Investigator role as an accountant on an operational case team.

  • Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ruth Cadbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Cadbury on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate additional funding to the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy.

    Mr David Gauke

    At the Spending Review in 2015, the Government set out its plans to invest more than £300m to support the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. This will increase cycling and walking by improving infrastructure and encouraging active travel, particularly in children.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 5 of his Department’s document Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, Cm9098, published in July 2015, what analysis his Department has made of the effects of changes to vehicle excise duty and the creation of a roads fund on UK productivity.

    Damian Hinds

    The reform of VED announced at the Summer Budget delivers long-term revenue sustainability whilst simplifying the current system. This reform enabled the government to set up a Roads Fund, which from 2020-21 will provide the necessary funding for a high performing road network that is as efficient as possible. This is vital for efficient running of business and enabling connections to bigger markets and labour pools.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on trafficking of Yesidi girls from IS-controlled territories.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all communities throughout the areas under its control. We are working closely with our international coalition partners to assist and protect civilians wherever we can.

    The human rights situation for many living in areas under Daesh control is gravely concerning, including for Yezidi women. We have received reports of the ordeal faced by these women and others abducted by Daesh including rape, sexual abuse, forced marriage, forced conversion and women being sold as slaves. Through the Department for International Development we are funding activities to protect vulnerable civilians including through legal assistance and support groups for women.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what dates since the Belfast Agreement in 1998 they have discussed with the government of the Republic of Ireland (1) human rights in the UK, and (2) human rights in the Republic of Ireland; who took part in those discussions; what were the issues discussed; and what were the various outcomes.

    Lord Dunlop

    The UK and Irish Governments meet regularly at ministerial and official level to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern. These include matters relating to human rights in Northern Ireland and Ireland as contained in the Belfast Agreement of 1998.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many enquiries regarding self-assessment originating from each constituency were handled by HM Revenue and Customs call centres in each of the last three tax years.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not hold data by constituency and regularly publishes general performance reports at Gov.uk.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the risk provision is in the cost estimate announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review for the Successor submarine programme.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review, our latest cost estimate for manufacturing the four Successor submarine programme is £31 billion, plus a contingency of £10 billion. This includes an assessment of the likely inflation over the lifetime of the programme and the risks appropriate for a project at this stage.

    I am withholding the specific estimate for inflation and risk, as to do so would prejudice the Department’s commercial interests.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of non-EU citizens who face being deported after 6 April because they earn less than £35,000.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    No migrant workers will be deported from April 2016 as a result of the £35,000 settlement threshold.

    The threshold only applies to those who entered Tier 2 (General), the skilled work route, from 6 April 2011. Tier 2 workers sponsored in shortage or PhD-level occupations are exempt. Skilled workers may remain in Tier 2 (General) for up to six years in total, after which they are expected to meet the settlement criteria or leave. For those who entered in April 2011, the six year maximum period of stay will expire in April 2017.

    Those who are paid below the threshold may apply to switch into any other routes for which they are eligible. Those workers who cannot extend their stay will be expected to leave the UK voluntarily when their visa expires. The Home Office published a full impact assessment on the changes to Tier 2 settlement rules when they were laid before Parliament on 15 March 2012. This is available on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/117957/impact-assessment-tier2.pdf.

  • Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrea Jenkyns – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrea Jenkyns on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that nationals of other EU member states who have taken out student loans but do not reside or work in the UK make their loan repayments.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Student Loans Company (SLC) has arrangements in place to collect repayments from borrowers who move away from the UK. SLC establishes a 12 month repayment schedule based on the borrower’s income and provides information on the methods of repayment available.

    SLC sets up fixed repayment schedules for borrowers who do not remain in contact and will place those borrowers in arrears. Further action, including legal action, can then be taken to secure recovery. EC regulations allow the SLC to obtain judgments in UK courts, which can be enforced by courts in other EU countries.

    The Department published a Joint Repayment Strategy in February 2016, which sets out how action will be taken to trace borrowers and act to recover loans where avoidance or evasion is identified. This publication can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-loan-repayment-strategy

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

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-06-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 11 February (HL5970), how many of the 8,000 planned reports in 2016 will come from (1) the rare disease programme, and (2) the cancer programme.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    At this stage, Genomics England cannot provide an exact breakdown of the 8,000 planned reports. This will depend on the participants that NHS Genomic Medicine Centres recruit.