Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Hollins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hollins on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 January (HL Deb, col 1152), who, in addition to Sir Brian Leveson, will be consulted before a decision on Leveson Part 2 is made, and what form that consultation will take.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Criminal proceedings connected to the subject matter of the Leveson Inquiry, including the appeals process, have not yet been completed. We‎ have always been clear that these cases must conclude before we consider Part 2 of the Inquiry.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many xenophobic and racist hate crimes were reported in England and Wales each month in the past year; what percentage rise, if any, there has been in the number of such crimes reported since 24 June; and what is their assessment of the causes of any rise.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Home Office publishes information on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales annually. The most recently published data are for 2014/15 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2014-to-2015

    Data for 2015/16 will be published in October 2016. It is planned that this publication will include some information on hate crime following the EU Referendum on the 23 June.

    Following increases in the reporting of hate crime and raised community tensions in late June, the National Police Chiefs’ Council requested weekly returns from forces across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. These show the number of all monitored hate crime recorded by forces, not just those that were racist or xenophobic.

    At its peak, these returns showed a 58 per cent increase in the reporting of hate crime in comparison to 2015. This has since subsided and we have now observed four consecutive weeks of reductions in reporting. The latest returns from 5 to 18 August show 2778 hate crimes and incidents. This is a decrease of 479 offences on the previous fortnight but it is a 14 per cent increase on the equivalent period in 2015. Full information on these statistics can be found here: http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/tackling-hate-crime-remains-a-priority

    There is no single factor to which the rise in reporting can be attributed, and there is no current evidence to indicate the rise is due entirely to an increase in occurrence of hate crime. However, multiple factors, including the increased profile of hate crime in the media, greater awareness of hate crime and increased confidence in the police may have had an impact on levels of reporting.

  • Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Murrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Murrison on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to reflect house prices in the calculation of inflation.

    Simon Kirby

    Inflation statistics are produced independently of government by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The current main measure of inflation is CPI. This does not include house prices as these are an asset price and in line with international practice are not included in a consumer price index. However, it does include some costs associated with housing, such as rental prices and the costs of renovating and repair and maintenance of homes. The ONS also produces CPIH, which does include housing costs but is currently undergoing development work after the UK Statistics Authority found faults in its production.

  • Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Leslie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to work with credit reference agencies on addressing benefit fraud and error.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We already use credit reference agency data in the Fraud and Error Service on a case by case basis to support investigations, for example once high suspicion has already been identified which could be via a Hotline allegation or staff referral for example. In debt recovery the use of credit reference agency data enables us to have more informed discussions with the debtor and to reach agreement on rates of repayment that are sustainable for the debtor and meet our needs.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to strengthen regulation of marketing of alcoholic drinks; and what the Government’s policy is on introducing minimum unit pricing for alcohol.

    Jane Ellison

    UK controls (regulatory and self-regulatory) control both the placement and content of alcohol advertising to prevent advertisers targeting young people.

    The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) police and promote the rules, which were strengthened in October 2005 and part of a general review of all the ASA codes in late 2009.

    The Government is committed to working with industry to address concerns over any irresponsible promotions, advertising and marketing relating to alcohol, particularly to ensure that children and young people are suitably protected.

    Material in the Committee of Advertising Practice and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice Codes relating to the advertising and marketing of alcohol products is exceptionally robust, recognising the social imperative of ensuring that alcohol advertising is responsible and in particular that children and young people are suitably protected.

    If new evidence emerges that clearly highlights major problems with the existing Codes, then the Advertising Standards Authority has a duty to revisit the Codes and take appropriate action.

    The Government has no plans to introduce Minimum Unit Pricing although the evidence for all policy approaches is kept under review.

    We have noted the recent opinion of the EU Advocate General. We await a final ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union and we will continue to monitor developments.

    In the meantime we are pursuing targeted action to reduce alcohol-related harms.

  • Marion Fellows – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Marion Fellows – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marion Fellows on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take fiscal steps to support exports by SMEs.

    Mr David Gauke

    The government has provided significant support to first time exporters, many of whom are Small and Medium Enterprises.

    A significant package was announced at Autumn Statement 2014, and funding for this initiative was continued at Spending Review 2015.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions the Department of Health has had with NHS England about agreeing a long-term arrangement to control the cost of medical indemnity cover for out-of-hours GPs.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Department and NHS England are committed to addressing the issue of increasing medical indemnity costs for general practitioners (GPs), including those working out of hours.

    Increasing costs of indemnity cover associated with out of hours work may discourage GPs from undertaking out-of-hours shifts in primary care.

    The Department was represented at a roundtable event held by NHS England on 17 November 2015 to develop a shared understanding of how to address rising medical indemnity costs. A range of stakeholders, including the British Medical Association and Medical Defence Organisations, also attended.

    On 9 December 2015, NHS England announced a winter indemnity scheme to offset the additional indemnity premium for GPs who wish to work additional sessions for their out-of-hours providers.

    Discussions are ongoing between the Department and NHS England on a long-term solution.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service from people in Bristol West constituency have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    The number of applications to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) from people living in the Bristol West constituency that have taken more than 60 days to process in the last 12 months (for which data is available) is listed in the table below.

    Month

    Number of certificates issued by DBS to applicants in Bristol West

    Applications that took longer than 60 days

    February 2015 – January 2016

    12,934

    392
  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30456, what proportion of (a) primiparous and (b) multiparous women are discharged from hospital less than 24 hours after giving birth.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission 2015 survey of women’s experience of maternity care found that 27% of primiparous mothers (first time mothers) stayed in hospital for less than 24 hours after birth. 47% of multiparous mothers (women who have previously given birth one or more times) stayed in hospital for less than 24 hours after birth.

    Full details of the survey can be found here:

    http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/maternity-services-survey-2015

    “

  • Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Naz Shah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naz Shah on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people were prosecuted in England for forced marriage in (a) 2014 and (b) 2015.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) collects information to show the number of defendants prosecuted for offences relating to forced marriages identified by way of a monitoring flag applied to the case record. The flag is applied where any offence of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse has been carried out in the context of a forced marriage. During the financial year 2014-15 the CPS prosecuted 45 defendants in England and 46 defendants nationally (England and Wales) for offences associated with forced marriages. CPS figures in relation to the financial year 2015-16 will be placed in the House of Commons Library later this year.

    A specific offence of forced marriage was created by section 121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and came into force in June 2014. This offence applies to a person who intentionally forces a person to enter into marriage, believing the person does not consent, or a person who deceives someone into going abroad for the specific purpose of forcing them to marry. During 2014-15, the CPS commenced one prosecution in relation to forced marriage and two in relation to breaches of forced marriage protection orders.