Category: Speeches

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to fund co-ordination of the seabird census planned for 2016.

    Rory Stewart

    The Chancellor announced budgets for all Government Departments covering the Spending Review period (2016/17 to 2019/20) on 25 November 2015. Defra is currently deciding how this translates into internal allocations for both the core Department and its Network Bodies.

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many permanent employees Ofsted has; and how many such employees receive salaries in excess of £100,000 per annum.

    Nick Gibb

    These are matters for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw. I have asked him to write to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.

  • Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department’s policies of the findings of the most recent OECD Interim Economic Outlook.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The OECD forecasts show the cocktail of risks facing the world this year, with expectations for global growth downgraded in 2016 and 2017. This is expected to have an impact on the UK as well, but we are forecast to be the fastest growing G7 economy this year.

    We need to keep taking action to restore order to the public finances and deliver economic security for working people.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the UK’s membership of the EU to the Government’s aims of tackling terrorist and criminal networks.

    James Brokenshire

    Terrorism and serious organised crime are global threats that cross national borders. Our unique relationship with the EU gives UK law enforcement access to EU tools and instruments that help keep people safe and tackle serious and organised crime, but also mean we are not obliged to participate in new measures when we do not judge them to be in the national interest.

    The tools and instruments that the UK participates in include Europol, an EU agency which supports cross-border police operations and intelligence sharing, and can assist in the identification of terrorist threats; the European Arrest Warrant, which allows swift extradition between EU countries of individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence; and the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), which enables law enforcement agencies around the EU to share live alerts, for example, for missing people and stolen vehicles. The UK is also in the process of implementing Prum, which will give us access to fingerprint and DNA data from other member states.

    Since 2004, using the European Arrest Warrant, over 1,000 individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence have faced justice in UK courts and over 7,000 have been extradited from the UK.

  • Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Smith of Basildon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Smith of Basildon on 2016-04-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many dedicated road traffic officers there were in each of the past five years in (1) Essex, (2) Kent, (3) Sussex, and (4) London.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The number of full time equivalent police officers employed in traffic policing roles as at 31 March in each of the last 5 years is provided in the tables. Officers with multiple responsibilities are recorded under their primary function or role. Data for 31 March 2015 (the latest period for which figures are available) can also be found in the supplementary tables of the July 2015 police workforce statistics publication:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/444537/police-workforce-supptabs-mar15.ods

    As HM Inspectorate of Constabulary has made clear, there is no simple link between police numbers and crime levels, between numbers and the visibility of police in the community, or between numbers and the quality of service provided.

    Decisions on the size and composition of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities. What matters is how officers are deployed, not how many of them there are.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that legacy funding from the Government for the Great Exhibition of the North is spent effectively.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I refer the Honourable member to my response to PQ 39132, answered on the 9th June.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken is to process reconsideration requests for rejected applications for British naturalisation.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No information is recorded in national reporting systems to enable reporting on the time taken to process reconsideration requests for rejected applications for British naturalisation.

  • Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Ian Murray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many meetings the Government has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the UK leaving the EU.

    Mr David Jones

    The Prime Minister has committed to full engagement with the Devolved Administrations to get the best possible deal for all parts of our United Kingdom as we leave the EU.The Secretary of State for Exiting the EU has spoken with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon about developing a UK approach for EU exit. He has also met with Michael Russell, the Scottish Government Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, to discuss the work of the Department for Exiting the EU.We will give the Devolved Administrations every opportunity to have their say as we form our negotiating strategy and we will look at any suggestions they put forward.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the contribution that the Hoo Green to Bamfurlong spur of High Speed 2 is likely to make to reducing capacity constraints on the West Coast Main Line; and what account that estimate takes of (a) rail freight and (b) passenger services to Warrington Bank Quay and elsewhere.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Network Rail has identified[1] that crowding issues on the West Coast Main Line (WCML) mean that, whilst there is the potential to run a small number of additional services, the WCML will be effectively full by 2024. The lack of capacity will become even more acute beyond 2024 as demand continues to grow. This will negatively affect both freight and passenger services. The western leg of HS2 Phase Two alleviates these capacity constraints in the Warrington area.

    [1] Network Rail: West Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the Minister’s assessment is of morale in the civil service.

    Matthew Hancock

    It is a tribute to the dedication and work of individual Civil Servants that job satisfaction remains high and wellbeing has increased. It should be a source of pride that the Civil Service has successfully changed the way it operates and become more efficient – it is now delivering far more, for less, than it did before 2010.