Category: Speeches

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department is on target to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the current Parliament.

    Richard Harrington

    We are continuing to work productively with local authorities and International Partners to deliver the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by the end of this Parliament. We are on track to do this.

    The number resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors. This includes the number of referrals we have received from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the number of confirmed places we have received from local authorities that are suitable for the specific needs of those who have been accepted for resettlement. Progress on resettlement will be indicated in quarterly immigration statistics.

    The last set of statistics, published on 26 May 2016 showed that 1,602 Syrians were relocated to the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme between October 2015 and March 2016.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what savings the Efficiency and Reform Group has identified in each year since 2010.

    Ben Gummer

    Since 2010, the government has announced the following efficiency savings and benefits calculated against a 2009/10 baseline:

    • For 2010/11 the Government reported savings of £3.75billion.

    • In 2011/12 the Government reported operational savings of £4.8 billion, and prevention of wasteful spend by major projects and construction of £758million, totalling £5.5billion.

    • In 2012/13 the Government reported operational savings totalling £8billion, and prevention of wasteful spend by major projects and construction of £2billion, totalling £10billion.

    • In 2013/14 reported savings of £14.3billion. This consisted of operational savings of £10.6billion, reduction in low value spend by major projects, reduced revenue requirements and construction savings of £3.5billion and receipts from asset sales and new commercial models of £0.1billion.

    • In 2014/15 reported savings of £18.6billion. This consists of operational savings of £12.4billion, reduction in low value spend by major projects, reduced revenue requirements and constructions savings of £5.1billion, receipts from asset sales and new commercial models of £0.4billion and benefits from tackling fraud, error and debt of £0.7billion.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department took to protect (a) all civilians and (b) children in Mosul before the coalition forces’ attack on that city began.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​The UK has made clear to the Government of Iraq in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government the importance the UK attaches to protecting civilians, including children, in the offensive to liberate Mosul from Daesh. I last highlighted this to Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Kurdistan Region Minister of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa during a meeting in London on 12 October.

    We have received assurances from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani that all allegations of human rights abuses and violations will be investigated and those responsible held to account.

    In addition, the UK has announced an extra £40 million of humanitarian funding to Iraq on 21 September, taking our total commitment to £90 million this financial year and £169.5 million since June 2014. This new assistance will be targeted specifically to enable a scale up of humanitarian assistance during the Mosul operation, helping to support efforts to protect civilians, including children.

  • Angela Rayner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Angela Rayner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide financial assistance to councils to enable them to acquire new social housing to replace properties bought through the Right to Buy policy.

    Brandon Lewis

    The 2012 Reinvigorated Right to Buy gave councils, for the first time, the ability to use additional receipts from Right to Buy sales to provide new affordable homes. Councils have up to three years to start building and if these receipts are not used within this timeframe they must be returned to the Homes and Communities Agency (or to the Greater London Authority in London), who will issue the funding as grant to provide new affordable housing.

    We urge councils to progress their building plans in order to help provide much needed affordable housing for their local communities.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they were consulted and informed about the US decision to lift its arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus, and by whom; how and when that decision is to be implemented; and what assessment they have made of the impact of that decision on the current Cyprus talks process.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We understand that, contrary to media reports in Cyprus, the United States (US) government has not decided to lift its International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions on its defence trade with the Republic of Cyprus. The US has amended Section 1276 of its National Defence Authorisation Act so that the US Departments of State and Defence are required to submit a report to Congress assessing the US-Cyprus security relationship, including the impact of US trade constraints on defence-related goods and services to the island. This does not affect the US ITAR restrictions on defence trade with the Republic of Cyprus.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who have been granted asylum since 2000 have been (a) granted indefinite leave to remain after five years and (b) deported.

    James Brokenshire

    The term ‘deportations’ refers to a legal definition of a specific set of removals. Deportations are a specific subset of removals which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person’s removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. Published information on those deported is not separately available. As such, the question has been interpreted as referring to enforced removals. In an enforced removal, it has been established that a person has breached UK immigration laws and / or has no valid leave to remain in the UK. They have declined to leave voluntarily and the Home Office enforces their departure from the UK.

    The tables set out below provide a) asylum-related grants of settlement (indefinite leave to remain) from 2005 and b) the total number of enforced removals of people granted asylum at initial decision, from 2009 to 2014.

    The figures on asylum-related grants of settlement (indefinite leave to remain) relate to grants of settlement following appropriate residence eligibility periods, to individuals previously granted refugee status, humanitarian protection or discretionary leave or exceptional leave to remain. This may include some individuals who receiving asylum-related grants prior to 2000.

    Information on asylum-related grants of settlement and persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK are published in the Home Office’s Immigration Statistics. The latest edition, Immigration Statistics: July to September 2015, is available from GOV.UK on the statistics web pages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with lung disease in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    This data is not available in the format requested.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will provide additional financial support to providers in the care industry to support such providers affected by the introduction of the living wage; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    Local authorities are responsible for commissioning adult social care services. Fee levels are agreed by local authorities and social care providers, reflecting local conditions. In setting fee levels, local authorities are obliged to consider the sustainability of their local social care market.

    At the Spending Review, the Government made up to £3.5 billion extra available by 2019/20 to local authorities for adult social care through the social care precept and Better Care Fund. This will help give councils more flexibility to meet local priorities as they see fit.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2016 to Question 27899, what recent assessment she has made of the food security situation in Ethiopia.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    Responding to the food security situation in Ethiopia is a top priority. DFID has already committed £40 million to provide food aid to 3.8 million people in 2016, as part of its overall £113 million response since the onset of the drought last July.

    Across the country, 18 million people are in need of food assistance. Failed rains and the El Niño effect have caused the worst drought in Ethiopia in 30 years. This has resulted in reduced crop yields and numerous livestock deaths – increasing the country’s dependence on food aid.

    Plans are in place to provide monthly food rations until June from various sources, including the UN, donors, and the Government. The Government of Ethiopia has committed over $381 million (~£269 million) so far, which is its largest ever response to a drought. However, systems are currently stretched and the scale of the crisis means that further resources are needed to meet monthly food distribution needs from June onwards. We continue to work closely with the Government of Ethiopia to support their leadership of the humanitarian response.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many tonsillectomy operations were carried out in England in the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is not available in the form requested.

    A count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary procedure of tonsillectomy from 2010-11 to 2014-15 is below. Equivalent data for 2015-16 is not yet available, and a small number of tonsillectomy procedures are performed in outpatient settings which are not included in these figures.

    Year

    FCEs

    2010-11

    48,073

    2011-12

    47,342

    2012-13

    48,808

    2013-14

    52,536

    2014-15

    52,595

    Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

    Note:

    An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.