Category: Speeches

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether tax avoidance and the role of tax havens is expected to be discussed in plenary at the International Anti-Corruption Summit in London.

    Matthew Hancock

    This Government will continue to lead the international agenda to crack down on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance. The Summit will address a range of measures to tackle corruption, including promoting transparency. Further information about the London Anti-Corruption Summit can be found on the summit web pages of the GOV.UK website.

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  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish the results collected to date by the study conducted for her Department by ADAS on neonicotinoid treated and non-neonicotinoid treated oilseed rape prior to any further emergency authorisation applications related to the use of neonicotinoids

    George Eustice

    The Government issued emergency authorisations in 2015 for the limited and controlled use of neonicotinoid seed treatments on oilseed rape. One of the conditions attached to these authorisations was that the authorisation holder should use the authorised area to generate data on both treated and untreated crops. This should include impact on adult and larval numbers, crop establishment/damage and effects on crop yields, resistance occurrence and management.

    This work has been taken forward by ADAS on behalf of the National Farmers’ Union. Their interim evidence (excluding the crop yield data which will not be available until after this year’s harvest) formed part of the evidence considered by the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides in respect of the 2016 applications and will be reflected in their detailed record of the discussion at their 4 May meeting. The report will not be finalised until yield data is available after harvest.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS England on that body’s efforts to recruit additional accident and emergency specialists from other hospitals in London to work in the emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS Improvement (NHSI) is working alongside NHS England and the local health and care system to both improve patient care in the emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust and to assure Health Education England (HEE) and the General Medical Council that patients are safe and that trainee doctors receive adequate support.

    Ministers in the Department have held regular discussions and received updates from NHSI, NHS England and HEE and will continue to do so.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Natalie McGarry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on reports of the persecution of Christians and other minorities living in China.

    Alok Sharma

    The Government is concerned by restrictions placed on Christianity in China, such as the demolition of churches, the removal of crosses from buildings, and harassment or detention of individuals for their beliefs. The freedom to practise, change or share your faith or belief is a fundamental human right that all people should enjoy.

    We are robust in raising religious freedoms with the Chinese authorities. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my noble Friend, the Rt Hon. the Baroness of Anelay of St Johns DBE, raised the destruction of churches and religious symbols with the Director of the National People’s Congress Foreign Affairs Committee on 7 July 2016. I also raised the case of Ding Cuimei, who reportedly died while protesting the demolition of her church in Zhejiang province, with the Chinese Ambassador on 1 August.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of the UK leaving the EU for quarantine measures for pests and diseases of plant material.

    George Eustice

    We recognise that the UK’s exit from the EU may have implications for the way in which current UK plant health services operate, including phytosanitary certification on imports, quarantine measures to mitigate the highest risk pests and diseases, and plant passporting.

    We are considering the implications and possible options as part of our planning for, and negotiations on, the UK’s exit.

    Continuing to deliver a risk-based, proportionate plant health regime that effectively protects the UK from plant pests and diseases, whilst maximising the free movement of goods, remains of the highest priority.

  • Clive Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she plans to close the feed-in tariff scheme in January 2016; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The FIT review consultation was published on 27 August and closed on 23 October. The review proposed changes to generation tariffs and tariff bands and included proposals on cost control measures, such as capping deployment, in order to put the scheme onto an affordable and sustainable footing. An option to close the scheme, should cost control measures not be sufficient to achieve this, was also set out in the consultation.

    We have received nearly 55,000 responses to the consultation. We are currently analysing these responses and will do so as quickly as possible. We will publish a Government response in due course.

  • Lord Grocott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Grocott – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Grocott on 2015-12-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 3 December (HL3732), when were the three occasions on which the House withheld its agreement to an affirmative instrument between World War II and 2010, and which instrument was not agreed to on each occasion.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The three occasions on which the House withheld its agreement to an affirmative instrument prior to 2010 were on 18 June 1968; 22 February 2000; and 28 March 2007. The instruments not agreed to were the Southern Rhodesia (United Nations Sanctions) Order 1968; the Greater London Authority (Election Expenses) Order 2000; and the Gambling (Geographical Distribution of Casino Premises Licences) Order 2007, respectively.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent by Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) on external management consultancies since they were established; and how much of that was specifically related to contracts CSUs had with the NHS Commissioning Board.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) were formally established in April 2013. As at December 2015, CSUs paid out £81 million on consultancy support. Total spend has been reducing year on year as CSUs develop their own internal capacity, with 2015/16 to date spend at £8.4 million.

    It is not possible to accurately apportion this to specific contracts with NHS England.

  • Glyn Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Glyn Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Glyn Davies on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish further details of the next Contract for Difference auction; and which technologies she plans will be eligible for inclusion in that auction.

    Andrea Leadsom

    As announced by the Secretary of State in her speech in November, the current intention is to hold the next CFD allocation round for ‘less established’ technologies (pot 2) in late 2016.

    We will set out details around future rounds in due course.

  • and whether in future such fixed sterling amounts will not be subject to amendment according to exchange rate movements.” – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    and whether in future such fixed sterling amounts will not be subject to amendment according to exchange rate movements.” – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by and whether in future such fixed sterling amounts will not be subject to amendment according to exchange rate movements.” on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the decision of the European Council concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU, which states that not all member states have the euro as their currency”

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government has made representations to the European Commission to suggest that the reviews of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme Directive coverage level in non-euro states should occur after the Commission completes its review of suitability of the coverage level as a whole and also that changes for non-euro states reflect genuine, very large and lasting changes in exchange rates.