Category: Speeches

Bernard Jenkin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bernard Jenkin on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many staff in her Department are working on matters related to (a) European policy, (b) the future of Europe, (c) reform of the EU, (d) the renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU, (e) the EU referendum and (f) the consequences of the EU referendum; how many full-time equivalent staff are working on such matters; what the (i) staff and (ii) other cost of such work is; what proportion of that work is undertaken by such staff on (A) communications, (B) strategy and (C) policy; whether her Department has established any specific unit or units to deal with those matters; to whom such (1) staff and (2) units report; whether her Department has issued guidelines to staff on those matters; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe, including the renegotiation and referendum.

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether hon. Members can raise issues relating to Concentrix when using the hotline to HM Revenue and Customs for hon. Members.

Mr David Gauke

I refer the honorable lady to the answer I provided on 23 November to question 17151. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-11-23/17151/

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01/01/2023
Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-02-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the proposals contained in the report, Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform, published in November 2015.

Jane Ellison

A search of the Department’s central correspondence system shows that the Department received 22 representations that made direct or indirect reference to the report `Surrogacy in the UK: Myth Busting and Reform’ since it was published in November 2015.

The Government has no current plans to change the legislation in respect of surrogacy arrangements.

01/01/2023
Carol Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to relax the Government’s position on the settlement of refugees in Calais to allow the settlement of unaccompanied children in the UK.

James Brokenshire

Individuals in France in need of international protection should claim asylum there in line with established EU and international principles. Once asylum has been claimed in France or in any other European country participating in the Dublin Regulation the UK will uphold all obligations to consider requests to take charge of an application on the grounds of family unity. Asylum must be claimed in France to begin this process and we have no plans to change our position on this.

The UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August has committed our two governments to establishing a permanent official contact group focused on ensuring that the efficient and effective use of the Dublin Regulation, including the provisions on family unity.

A senior Home Office official has been seconded to the Interior Ministry’s Dublin Unit in Paris in part to assist with the identification of potential requests for the UK to take charge of asylum seeking children in France and to bring them into the Dublin Regulation procedure without delay.

01/01/2023

Earl Attlee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent by them or Trinity House on the E-LORAN navigation system in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

Expenditure on the eLoran navigation system by the Trinity House Research and Radio Navigation department for each of the last 10 years is as follows:

	Exp (£000)	Income (£000)	Net Exp (£000)
07/08	194	-188	7
08/09	256	0	256
09/10	411	-234	176
10/11	606	-141	466
11/12	708	-200	508
12/13	573	-200	373
13/14	937	-200	737
14/15	1,001	-100	901
15/16	576	-100	476
Total	5,263	-1,363	3,900

The vast majority of funding for Trinity House, and therefore the R&RNAV department, is met by the General Lighthouse Fund.

01/01/2023

Baroness Hooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hooper on 2016-06-06.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Colombia about the dangers faced by defenders of human rights and leaders of land restitution claims, and the case for enhancing their protection.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

We are concerned by the increase in violence towards human rights defenders (HRDs) in Colombia. Reports from the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Somos Defensores indicate that 63 HRDs were killed in 2015, a 13 per cent increase from 2014. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), raised this issue during his meeting with President Santos on 12 May. During his visit to Colombia in April, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), also raised human rights concerns with the Colombian Deputy Foreign Minister, Patti Londoño-Jaramillo.

Ensuring protection and support for HRDs, including leaders of land restitution claims, is a priority area for our Embassy in Bogotá. As well as monitoring specific cases, the UK raises our concerns with the Colombian government at every possible opportunity. Our Ambassador to Colombia recently joined an international community initiative called “Ambassadors with Defenders” that aims to raise awareness of the situation of HRDs and follow up on specific cases. Earlier this year, the Ambassador accompanied the Colombian Minister of Interior to a regional human rights roundtable, where the role of local authorities in taking effective action on HRD cases was discussed. The UK was the only member of the international community invited to this event.

With regards to increased protection, on 26 April, President Santos announced the creation of a high level group in charge of investigating threats and killings against HRDs. He invited human rights organisations to appoint five representatives to participate in this group. The Attorney General’s Office has prioritised the investigations of these cases.

01/01/2023
Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he plans to take during negotiations on leaving the EU to seek continued UK participation in the European Research Council after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr David Jones

The Department is leading the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK. We need a UK approach and clear objectives for negotiations. The process for leaving the EU and determining our future relationship will clearly not be brief or straightforward, so we need to take time to think through our objectives and approach.

The Government will ensure that the UK remains a world leader in international research collaboration, and will expect close collaboration between the UK and the EU in science to continue. UK businesses and universities should continue to bid for competitive EU funds while we remain a member of the EU. The Government will work with the European Commission to ensure payment when funds are awarded, and will underwrite the payment of such awards even when specific projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

01/01/2023
Rupa Huq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rupa Huq on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children the UK has accepted from the Jungle near Calais; and what estimate the Government has made of the number of such children the UK will take as a consequence of the Dubs amendment.

Mr Robert Goodwill

Between 1 January and 1 October 2016 over 80 children from France were accepted for transfer under the Dublin Regulation on the basis of close family links, of which nearly all have arrived in the UK.

On 10 October, the Home Secretary met with French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to discuss a range of issues, including the proposed clearance of the camp in Calais.

The UK Government has made clear its commitment to transfer from Europe to the UK unaccompanied refugee children under the 2016 Immigration Act, and ensure those with close links to the UK are brought here using the Dublin Regulation, where it is in their best interests. Home Office teams are being deployed to France over the coming weeks to work with the French authorities to speed up the identification and transfer of eligible cases. We continue to work with the French authorities to establish the number of children who may be eligible.

01/01/2023
Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department has given to micro-businesses in adapting to new automatic enrolment pension schemes.

Justin Tomlinson

We are committed to supporting small and micro-businesses to adapt to their new automatic enrolment duties. Together with The Pensions Regulator, we have launched a new broadcast-led communications campaign to raise awareness of automatic enrolment amongst small employers.

The Pensions Regulator has also recently launched a new interactive and simplified online step by step guide to automatic enrolment, designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. Employers using the website can access tailored information relevant to their circumstances. The Pensions Regulator also provides online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller employers to meet their legal duties. To raise awareness and understanding, the Regulator has had over 500 meetings with intermediary firms and spoken at over 300 events around the UK during the last year

The Regulator sends a series of letters to every employer starting at least 12 months before their staging date, which is the date that the law applies to them. These letters set out what an employer needs to do and by when to comply with the law and signposts to the relevant information on the Regulator’s website.

To help employers adjust to the costs of automatic enrolment the minimum employer contribution level starts at 1% and increases gradually to 3% by October 2018. In addition, to ensure that all firms have access to quality, low-cost pension provision, The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government and has a public service obligation to accept any employer that chooses NEST for automatic enrolment.

01/01/2023
Clive Betts – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2015-11-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new social rented homes he plans will be funded by the resources identified for housing in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Brandon Lewis

Through the Spending Review the Government has committed to investing £8 billion to deliver over 400,000 affordable housing starts, doubling our investment from 2018-19.

This funding includes £1.7 billion for around 100,000 homes for affordable or intermediate rent, which will be delivered between 2015 and 2021.

01/01/2023