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Category: Speeches

  • Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Angela Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Eagle on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the potential effect of China obtaining market economy status on steel dumping across the EU.

    Anna Soubry

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues, EU Commissioners and EU counterparts about a range of issues, including Market Economy Status (MES) for China. He most recently discussed trade aspects of the steel industry with Trade Commissioner Malmstrom on 20 January.

    We are awaiting a European Commission proposal on granting MES. We understand that the Commission will also be undertaking a detailed assessment of the economic impacts of granting MES as part of their consideration of this issue. We will examine any proposal and assessment carefully. The Prime Minister has previously stated that he will make the case for China to be granted MES but China will need to show that it is committed to becoming more open as it becomes more prosperous. In considering the Commission’s proposal it will be important to consider the wider trade and international political context including compliance with international commitments. If China is granted MES, the Commission will still be able to pursue anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and impose measures where evidence of dumping or subsidy is found.

    The government is strongly in favour of effective trade defences to tackle unfair trade practices. The Government voted in favour of anti-dumping measures on steel products in July and November and lobbied successfully for an investigation into re-bar. The Government is also pushing for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel: this was one of the conclusions of the Extraordinary Competitiveness Council on Steel in November. The Secretary of State also raised the issue with the Trade Commissioner.

    The Government is playing an active role in the European Commission’s steel stakeholder’s conference summit on 15 February and is supporting a robust discussion of the issue of overcapacity through the EU’s ongoing dialogue with the Chinese.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were victims of online fraud in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each year since 2010.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of victims of online frauds committed annually.

    The Office for National Statistics recently published a provisional estimate of 5.1 million fraud offences a year in England and Wales, based on trial data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. This did not include details of how many fraud offences were online or on the number of victims of online fraud.

    The ONS also published the number of frauds referred to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) in the year to September 2015 – 604,601. It is not possible to establish how many of these were online.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on local economies of stone theft.

    Karen Bradley

    Stone theft has a detrimental effect on towns and communities across England and Wales. The impact of these crimes includes both the economic cost to the victim, but there are also wider costs to the community, for example where schools, churches or heritage items are targeted by criminals.

    We have received no recent representations from local authorities on this issue, nor have we had recent discussions with the police on stone theft specifically. However, the police are working with Historic England, the Crown Prosecution Service and others to share intelligence and shape good practice in tackling and preventing heritage crime, such as stone theft.

    We would encourage all victims of stone theft, whether individuals or organisations, to report instances of these crimes to their local police, so that the crimes can be properly recorded and investigated. The local response is a matter for individual chief officers of police and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local issues and demands that they face.

    We are satisfied that the existing legislation provides the police and courts with sufficient powers to respond to stone theft.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many regular, full-time serving members of the Army there were on the latest date for which figures are available.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The full-time trained strength of the UK Army at 1 March 2016 was 79,840.

    Statistics are published by Defence Statistics in the Monthly Service Personnel Statistics report. The latest such report which shows figures at 1 March 2016 was published on 14 April 2016 and can be found at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/515805/Monthly_service_personnel_statistics_March_2016.pdf

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on meeting the health and social care needs of older people who need affordable and accessible homes where they can live independently but with support when needed.

    Brandon Lewis

    Decisions on how to meet the health and social care needs of older people who need affordable and accessible homes and monitoring the supply of such accommodation are best made by local authorities. Government believes that local planning authorities remain best placed to determine the extent to which provision of more accessible housing is necessary and appropriate in their local area, and have appropriate powers to introduce development plan policies to meet these needs, having regard to the National Planning Policy Framework, Planning Guidance and other relevant matters.

    The National Planning Policy Framework & Planning Guidance requires local authorities to plan for a mix of housing based on current and future demographic trends, and the needs of different groups, including elderly people, in their area.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effects on charities of the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The UK has a strong and diverse charitable sector. It is too early at this stage to make a full assessment of the potential effects for charities resulting from the outcome of the EU referendum. We will continue working with charities and their representative bodies to understand the potential effects on charities and the potential impact on funding for charities. These will depend on the arrangements agreed for exiting the EU, and different types of charity are likely to be affected in different ways.

  • Jo Churchill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Churchill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Churchill on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many decisions taken on claims for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment have been appealed in (i) Bury St Edmunds (ii) Suffolk and (iii) the UK in each of the last five years; and how many of those appeals have been successful.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    I refer the honourable member to the answers given to PQ 43251 on 18 July 2016 and PQ 44405 on 12 September 2016.

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women held in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre have legal representation.

    James Brokenshire

    All detainees at immigration removal centres are able to access legal advice through a duty solicitor scheme provided by the Legal Aid Agency.

    Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) inspected Yarl’s Wood between 13 April and 1 May 2015 and reported that waiting times for duty advice surgeries were short.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how his Department and the Bank of England assess the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises which have received a loan through the Funding for Lending scheme.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Bank of England does not lend directly to small and medium sized enterprises as part of the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). Under the FLS, the Bank of England provides funding to UK banks and building societies participating in the scheme. The amount of funding participant banks and building societies are eligible to borrow from the Bank of England is determined by their net lending to certain sectors of the economy.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department’s policy is on providing direct web links to information requested in written parliamentary questions in the Answers to those questions.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not have a specific policy on the provision of web links. Parliamentary Questions are answered according to the preferred approach of each individual Minister.