Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure a continuous presence of Royal Navy vessels in the Falkland Islands.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Royal Navy has a permanent presence in the South Atlantic in the form of the Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel, HMS CLYDE, supported by a Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship. The Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship, HMS PROTECTOR, also operates in the South Atlantic region for periods of the year.

    Other Royal Navy ships continue on normal operations in the Atlantic and would be retasked to the Falkland Islands if required.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is providing to people affected by flooding in Sri Lanka.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK provides substantial funding to international NGOs and UN agencies, enabling them to respond to disasters around the world, including Sri Lanka. This includes the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) , which was established by the UN and other leading donors to enable rapid emergency response. The CERF is doing an assessment of the situation following the rainfall and landslips in Sri Lanka. The UK, along with other leading donors, will provide support as required through this coordinated response mechanism.

    The UK is the biggest contributor to the CERF, having provided in excess of $855m in the last 10 years. The UK also provides funding to the European Union humanitarian agency (ECHO) which is also undertaking an assessment.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2016 to Question 39322, on his Department’s vacancies, how many internal policy vacancies his Department has.

    Joseph Johnson

    The current number of internal policy vacancies being advertised in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills HQ is 21.

    The number of advertised vacancies can vary depending on recruitment timelines. All vacancies are advertised online via Civil Service Jobs.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent polling of the views of parents on religious selection in state-funded schools.

    Lord Nash

    We are consulting on proposals to enable more high quality providers of schools to establish new schools and we are keen to hear the views of parents as part of the consultation. Many faith schools are successful and popular with parents and we want to provide sufficient high quality places to meet demand. We will take account of all the responses received when considering the government’s response to the consultation.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to support the recommendation made in the review led by Jayne-Anne Gadhia on women in finance that pay packages for executives be linked to a financial services firm’s gender balance.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government welcomes Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s work to date and will consider the final recommendations when the review reports next year.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of tax credit claimants who will be migrated to universal credit in each year to 2020-21.

    Priti Patel

    The government is committed to moving the UK from a high tax, high welfare, low wage society to a lower tax, lower welfare, higher wage society. This remains the case, and Universal Credit (UC) is delivering this.

    UC is fundamentally different from the current legacy benefit system and supports people into work and encourages them to earn more.

    Therefore there is no meaningful way of comparing an unreformed Tax Credit system with UC. The Government has committed to transitional arrangements as we reform the benefits and Tax Credit system. Those transferred by DWP from tax credits to UC will receive Transitional Protection. In addition, estimates of entitlements under UC of the sort requested will vary depending on assumptions on the level of earnings.

  • Baroness Worthington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Worthington – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Worthington on 2015-12-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much stamp duty reserve tax has been repaid following the 2012 decision of the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax) in the case of HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC (TC/2009/165484).

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The First Tier Tribunal in the case of HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC decided in March 2012 that the taxing of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax at 1.5% on a transfer of shares which is integral to a share capital raising exercise to a depositary receipt issuer or clearance service, infringed the Capital Duty Directive. Following that decision, HMRC has repaid a total of £168 million Stamp Duty Reserve Tax to various claimants.

  • Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Freyberg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Freyberg on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the costs per test in rare disease treatment using (1) whole genome, (2) whole exome, and (3) medical exome, sequencing; and if those figures are not available, why not.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    This information is not held centrally by NHS England or the UK Genetic Testing Network. Where the cost of these tests falls outside of tariff, costs will vary according to commissioning arrangements, the systems in place and the technology used.

    The cost of whole genome sequencing will continue to change in line with advances in technology. Costs will also need to be defined and include full bioinformatics analysis and clinical interpretation which is likely to be more costly than the sequencing itself.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to ban the use of whips for encouragement in horse racing.

    George Eustice

    The Government considers that the British Horseracing Authority’s rules on use of the whip during horseracing, which were drawn up in consultation with the RSPCA, together with the Animal Welfare Act 2006 provide protection for the welfare of racehorses.

    There are, therefore, no proposals to ban the use of the whip during horseracing.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the government of Burma plans to (1) protect resources in ethnic areas in Burma, and (2) press for a moratorium on large-scale extraction projects.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government of Burma’s term of office expires on 30 March. It will be for the incoming government, led by the National League for Democracy (NLD), to formally announce its policies when it takes office. Resource issues will be a major issue for any new government. The NLD made a manifesto pledge to distribute the proceeds of resource extraction fairly, to address the issue of environmental degradation associated with this industry and to raise labour safety standards. The UK already supports work on public financial management in Burma. We have also actively supported Burma’s candidacy for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. We stand ready to work with the incoming government on resource issues at its request.