Category: Speeches

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2016 to Question 39847, what effect he expects the provisions of the Bus Services Bill to have on his Department’s estimates of future trips by mode.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department has published three impact assessments relating to the provisions contained in the Bus Services Bill. Those documents include our analysis of the expected effects of the Bus Services Bill.

  • 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 2016-09-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the performance of Basildon and Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group in ensuring that mental health services are adequately funded.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    No such assessment has been made by this Department. NHS England advises that Basildon and Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group is focused on achieving the best outcomes for its patients within the available funding. It continues to work towards parity of esteem for mental health, focussing on the implementation of the national strategy, The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health, while endeavouring to ensure that all services it commissions for individuals with mental health needs are based on local intelligence supported by the local Joint Strategic Needs Assessment. A copy of The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health is attached.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the security of convoys transporting nuclear warheads by road.

    Harriett Baldwin

    All vehicles involved in the transportation of nuclear warheads are subject to a rigorous maintenance and inspection regime, carried out by highly skilled and experienced technicians. Inspections are made prior to each use, as well as six monthly safety and annual mandatory inspections.

    The costs of the transportation of nuclear warheads between RNAD Coulport and AWE Burghfield are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

    The security of the nuclear warhead convoy was assessed by Ministry of Defence Security Advisors in September 2016 as overall ‘satisfactory’, demonstrating that ‘performance meets the required policy standard’.

  • Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Edward Argar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to support research into mesothelioma.

    George Freeman

    The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including mesothelioma. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition. These funders together spent over £3 million on mesothelioma research in 2014/15.

    Following a themed call for mesothelioma research proposals, the NIHR has approved funding for two new projects (a total of about £0.5 million subject to contract) and a further two applications are currently under review.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations which had planned, prior to the announcement in paragraph 1.125 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, to raise rents above any of the relevant local housing allowance rates between 2016 and 2020.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information about the individual rent setting plans of local authorities or housing associations.

    At Budget 2015 the Government announced its intention to reduce rents for housing association and local authority tenants, by 1% a year, for four years, from April 2016. This will help protect social tenants from rising housing costs, whilst protecting taxpayers from rising costs of subsidising rents through housing benefit. We expect local authorities and housing associations to be planning on this basis.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent laundered money entering the London housing market.

    Mike Penning

    The Government is committed to protecting the integrity of our financial system and to ensuring that the UK is a hostile environment for illicit finance, to protect our national security and promote growth. The Government is also committed to ensuring that we maintain a robust and proportionate anti-money laundering regime.

    Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is the anti money laundering supervisor of estate agents and takes a robust, intelligence led approach to ensuring compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (the Regulations). An estate agent should not operate as such unless they are registered with HMRC under Regulations. It is an offence to carry out relevant business without registering with HMRC and the Estate Agency Business (EAB) may be penalised or face criminal prosecution if they fail to do. All those dealing with property transactions in the UK are regulated for money laundering purposes, including banks, the legal and accountancy sectors, and estate agents, and are required to report suspicious activity to the National Crime Agency. The Suspicious Activity Reports regime is currently being reviewed to make it a more effective mechanism for identifying money laundering and terrorist financing.

    The National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing was published on 15 October 2015. This identified the threats and vulnerabilities we face in these areas, and an Action Plan will be published shortly, setting out the steps that the Government will take to address them.

    The Prime Minister made clear in his Singapore speech on corruption last year that the Government is determined to make sure the UK does not become a safe haven for corrupt money. As a first step he asked the Land Registry to publish data on which foreign companies own which land and property titles in England and Wales. The Prime Minister’s Anti-Corruption Summit in May will also consider what more the Government can do to tackle flows of illicit finance at home and abroad.

  • Paul Scully – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Scully – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Scully on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Burma on the detention of Niranjan Rasalingam.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The British Embassy in Rangoon has provided consular assistance to Mr Rasalingam Niranjan since 1 December 2014 when it was established that Mr Niranjan had been detained. That same month we raised the late notification of Mr Niranjan’s arrest in a Note Verbale and reminded the then Burmese government of their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. In May 2015 the Ambassador re-stated our interest in the case, raised concerns about Mr Niranjan’s health and the progress of his legal cases. A further Note Verbale was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2016 re-stating our interest in the case and concern about its progress.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government has taken to help enforce the recently agreed ceasefire in Syria.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As a member of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), the UK has been closely engaged with the cessation of hostilities and supported UN Security Council Resolution 2268, which endorsed its terms. The UK supports a range of organisations on the ground in Syria who are reporting violations, and we are working with the UN and ISSG co-chairs in Geneva to support their monitoring and verification efforts.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government plans to take to ensure charities in receipt of public funds do not express a view on the forthcoming European Union Referendum.

    John Penrose

    The rules on campaigning at the referendum are set out in the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. There is no general restriction on institutions and organisations in receipt of public funds expressing a corporate opinion on the European Union Referendum. However, there are restrictions on organisations whose expenses are met wholly or mainly from public funds publishing certain material relating to the referendum in the final 28 days.

    As the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission published guidance for charities on 7 March 2016 regarding the forthcoming EU referendum. This clearly sets out the threshold necessary to justify any charitable activity on this specific issue.

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-05-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why processing claims to the Flood Recovery Fund have been delayed, and when they estimate that the processing of such claims will be completed.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Farming Recovery Fund closed on 1 April in all areas except Greater Manchester, where it closed on 15 April. Of the total 1,103 applications received by 15 April, 515 were received in the week 28 March to 1 April and a further 18 were received by 15 April.

    The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is taking measures to assess all the remaining applications received, including more staff resources and a review of the administrative checks required before approval. The RPA expects to process most applications by the end of May 2016.