Category: Speeches

Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-02.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the rental income generated for investors in his Department’s sukuk bond scheme is equivalent to that of the coupon paid from a June 2014 Government five-year gilt.

Harriett Baldwin

In the Sukuk structure, rental payments provide the income for investors. When the Sovereign Sukuk were issued in July 2014 the profit rate was set at 2.036% in line with the yield on gilts of similar maturity, making the investor return on the Sukuk broadly equivalent to that on conventional gilts of similar maturity.

Three central government properties form the underlying assets which underpin the Sukuk.

The Government was clear at the time of issuance that the Sukuk issuance was not for debt financing purposes. Instead, it was issued to deliver on the government’s commitment to become the western hub for Islamic finance. The issuance showed that the UK is open for business with all parts of the world and provided high quality capital to UK-based Islamic banks.

UK based institutions that offer Islamic finance services are contributing to jobs and growth with assets totalling $4.5bn at the end of 2014.

01/01/2023
Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department takes to monitor and assess allegations of human rights abuses by UK-listed companies.

Anna Soubry

Where allegations are made against companies (listed or otherwise) about breaches of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, including the guidelines on human rights, these breaches are assessed by the UK’s National Contact Point in accordance with the framework set out in the Guidelines.

01/01/2023
Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what sites are under consideration for the shore-based testing facilities for the power and propulsion systems for the T26 Global Combat Ship.

Mr Philip Dunne

Shore-based testing facilities for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship power and propulsion system will be established at General Electric’s site at Whetstone, Leicester, and David Brown Gears Systems’ in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

General Electric will supply the propulsion motor and drive system and David Brown Gears Systems will supply the propulsion gearbox.

01/01/2023

Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, by what average proportion Care Quality Commission registration fees have changed in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Ben Gummer

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC’s income is made up of both fees paid by providers and grant in aid from the Department. Government policy requires that the CQC must increase the fees it charges registered providers so that it can move towards fully recovering the chargeable costs of regulating health and adult social care in England.

The CQC has set a two-year trajectory to reach full cost recovery for all sectors with the exception of the adult social care domiciliary care sector, which will be subject to a four year trajectory and dentists who are already at full cost recovery. The Government has made available £15 million extra funding for general practice (GP) from April 2016 to reflect a number of increasing cost pressures, of which increased CQC fees are a part.

The CQC has provided the following information. The CQC has revised the fees that providers will have to pay from April 2016. The table shows how close each sector is to full cost recovery in 2016-17.

Average fee increase by sector inspected by the CQC¹

Sector	2012-13 to 2013-14	2013-14 to 2014-15	2014-15 to 2015-16	2015-16 to 2016-17	Percentage of CQC costs recovered through fees in 2016-17
NHS Trusts	0%	3%	9%	75%	67%
Adult social care – residential	0%	0%	9%	12%	96%
Adult social care – community	0%	1%	9%	72%	44%
Independent healthcare – hospitals	0%	3%	9%	12%	96%
Independent healthcare – community	0%	12%	0%	5%	98%
Independent healthcare – single specialty	0%	3%	9%	0%	96%
Dentists	6%	9%	0%	0%	100%
National Health Service GPs	n/a	2%	9%	255%	56%

¹To establish the average percentage increase the CQC has compared the fees in each fee band by category and then taken the average increase per category. In most cases the increase is consistent for each band within the category.

01/01/2023

Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget is of the Mk4A upgrade programme.

Mr Philip Dunne

The UK currently fields the Trident Mk4 warhead as part of the Trident Strategic Weapons System. In order to ensure continuity of the Mk4-based capability, the Mk4A Arming, Fuzing and Firing system is a non-nuclear component being introduced into the UK Trident warhead to replace a similar component. The Mk4A programme will not increase the destructive power of the warhead.

Approval to procure the new Arming, Firing and Fuzing mechanisms, to manage obsolescence in Mk4 and to adopt a Mk4A component was given in January 2006. I am withholding further details of the date of the Mk4A component’s entry into service, the cost of the Mk4A programme and the extension in operational life expected for the purposes of safeguarding national security.

01/01/2023
Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 32920, where the allegations of fraudulent benefit claims are collected.

Caroline Nokes

There are a variety of ways that allegations of Benefit Fraud are received by the DWP including telephone calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline (NBFH), online and letter. Once an allegation has been received and, if it meets the required criteria containing enough information, a Fraud Referral Form (FRF) is completed which is then entered into the internal Fraud Referral and Information Management System (FRAIMS).

01/01/2023
Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with EU Science Commissioner Carlos Moedas on potential discrimination against UK academics who bid for EU funding.

Joseph Johnson

I am in close contact with Commissioner Moedas, who has responsibility for EU science, research and innovation and we have both publicly emphasised the importance of continuing to work together to produce high quality research. In addition, the European Commission has made it clear that while the UK remains a member of the EU, proposals from, or including, UK applicants must be treated in the same way as applications from other Member States. The Department remains vigilant and open to evidence of problems in this area. Specific instances of these problems can be fed back to the email address research@beis.gov.uk.

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01/01/2023
Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to ensure that claimant lawyers can continue to pursue low-value claims in clinical negligence cases in a fixed recoverable cost regime.

Ben Gummer

Admissions should be made and compensation paid to those who are entitled to it based on the evidence. The proposed scheme will also apply to defendants and incentives for early resolution are included in the consultation. NHS Litigation Authority data shows that on average clinical negligence claims resolve within 1.31 years of the claim being made, and those valued under £25,000 are resolved in less than 12 months.

Following the pre-consultation process, the Department is currently working with the Civil Procedure Rule Committee on the rules to support the Fixed Recoverable Cost work before an open public consultation is undertaken.

01/01/2023
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports (1) that since July Turkey has hit PKK targets in northern Iraq more frequently than ISIS targets; (2) that Turkish police have arrested more members of the Kurdish political opposition than suspected ISIS members within Turkey; and (3) that Turkey is shelling Kobane, despite it being under the control of Kurdish forces who are cooperating with the coalition against ISIS.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill Turkish police and security forces. The PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed. We support Turkey’s right to defend itself against all forms of terrorism.

We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh, particularly its agreement for the use of its airspace and airbases, as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it. Turkey has been carrying out strikes against Daesh since July 2015, and have detained over 2,500 Daesh suspects since 2013, of whom one third are foreigners. Turkey recognises the role that Syrian Kurds have to play in the fight against Daesh, and accepts that Syrian Kurds receive Coalition support.

01/01/2023
Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Chairman of Committees what plans there are for the House of Lords to support Fairtrade Fortnight.

Lord Laming

Catering and Retail Services stock a range of Fairtrade products, including tea, coffee, cake, biscuits and bananas. That Department will be raising awareness of these lines during Fairtrade Fortnight and running related promotions.

01/01/2023