Category: Speeches

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many instances of (a) religious and (b) hate crime were reported to the police in London in each of the last five years.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office has collected information from police forces in England and Wales on the number of hate crimes recorded by the police since 2011/12. Data for religious hate crime and total crime measured across the five monitored strands (religion, race, sexual orientation, disability and transgender) are given in the attached table.

    Data for 2015/16 are due to be published in October 2016.

    As stated by the Office for National Statistics, action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard has led to improved recording of crime over recent years, especially for violence against the person offences. Together with a greater awareness of hate crime, and improved willingness of victims to come forward, this is likely to be a factor in the increase in hate crimes recorded by the police shown in the table.

    This Government is committed to tackling hate crime. The UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to tackle hate crime. We are working across Government with police, (including National Community Tensions Team), the Crown Prosecution Service and community partners to send out a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who commit these crimes.

  • Lord Collins of Highbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Collins of Highbury – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Collins of Highbury on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much funding has been allocated from the Magna Carta fund for projects related to freedom of religion or belief.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    In 2016/17, the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy is funding seven projects, with a total value of £670,037, that directly relate to strengthening freedom of religion or belief (FORB). This represents an 18% increase in funding from 2015/16, when the fund supported freedom of religion or belief projects worth £550,016. Freedom of religion or belief remains a core strand of the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy. Many of the Fund’s other projects also indirectly support the creation of more tolerant societies, through strengthening representation of minority groups, supporting freedom of expression and promoting just and fair rules-based systems of government.

    The seven FORB projects this year promote positive FORB outcomes through different methods and strategies, from attempting to working with NGOs to lobby for the removal of laws which discriminate on religious grounds, to more upstream interventions which seek to change public opinion and promote a culture which is more accepting of religious diversity. A good example of a hybrid of these methods is a project this year working with teachers across the MENA region to develop a school curriculum that supports freedom of religion and belief. This project promotes a more progressive education curriculum, and ensures the next generation of students have a greater awareness of the important right to freedom of religion or belief.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action, if any, they plan to take to ensure that sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 are complied with between now and 2017 to ensure that lessons and discussions relating to the UK membership of the EU are balanced and impartial.

    Lord Nash

    My earlier response to Lord Stoddart‘s PQ HL 521 refers:

    ‘Schools are aware of their duties regarding impartiality and treatment of political issues. Sections 406 and 407 of the Education Act 1996 require maintained schools to prevent political indoctrination and secure the balanced treatment of political issues. This duty is reflected in the model funding agreement for academies and free schools.

    In Citizenship education, pupils are taught about local, regional and international governance and the United Kingdom’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider world. Pupils will be equipped with the skills to think critically and debate political questions.’

    School governing bodies and academy trusts are responsible for considering if a member of staff has acted improperly in presenting their own views or beliefs to pupils.

    The Department’s ‘Teacher Misconduct: the prohibition of teachers’ advice is used by those involved in the teacher regulatory process, professional conduct panels and NCTL officials, to identify factors that should be taken into account when considering whether prohibition is appropriate. This advice makes clear that in considering the seriousness of a teacher’s behaviour it is important to consider the influential role that a teacher can play in the formation of pupils’ views and behaviours. A teacher’s behaviour that is judged to promote extremist political or religious views or actions should be viewed very seriously in terms of its potential influence on children and young people and as a possible threat to the public interest, even if no criminal offence is involved.

    This advice can also be used to indicate to teachers the sorts of behaviour that could constitute serious misconduct, and so lead to prohibition and to help employers make a judgement on which cases should be referred to the NCTL.

  • Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve Rotheram – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Rotheram on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of young people who own their own home since 2010.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is committed to increasing the number of first time buyers. Action taken in support of this Includes:

    – extending the Right to Buy – which has supported council tenants into home ownership for decades – to housing association tenants. This will give another 1.3 million families the chance to purchase a home at right to buy level discounts;

    – Help to Buy schemes, targeting those wanting to get onto the housing ladder with 80% of sales going to first time buyers, which have so far enabled over 130,000 families to purchase a home;

    – launching, on 1 December 2015, the Help to Buy: ISA which will help first-time buyers save for their first deposit. The Government will top up savings by 25%, up to a maximum top-up of £3,000; and

    – a £2.3 billion fund to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020, to be exclusively offered to first time buyers under 40 at a 20% discount on market value.

    Information on housing tenure and the age of the household reference person in England, based on data from DCLG’s English Housing Survey, can be found (in Annex Table 1.4) at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/469214/2013-14_Section_1_Households_tables_and_figures_FINAL.xlsx

    “

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to bring into force the provisions in the Deregulation Act 2015 to allow for special permits to be issued for on-road racing; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Government will implement as soon as possible subject to the priorities set out in the British Road Safety Statement.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24265, what criteria colleges and post-16 educational institutions will have to meet in order to access the transitional funding facility allocated by his Department.

    Nick Boles

    Further details of the purpose and availability of the transitional funding facility will be available in due course.

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Honours Committee has made of the potential merits of granting an honorary knighthood to Muhammad Ali.

    James Duddridge

    Honours nominations are treated on a confidential basis to maintain the integrity of the honours system and the privacy of the individuals nominated. Honours Committees and Secretariats therefore do not comment on nominations. Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. Nominations are considered twice a year by a series of honours committees which consist of independent and official members.

  • Baroness Greengross – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Greengross – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Greengross on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Prior of Brampton on 21 March (HL7044), why the current section 7a public health functions agreement does not include key deliverables for the provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The 2016-17 Section 7A public health functions agreement specifies key deliverables in relation to new or changed programmes that are being introduced within 2016-17.

    The provision of pneumococcal vaccination to severely immunocompromised children aged at least five years and adults, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in July 2013, is reflected in the relevant service specification for the existing pneumococcal immunisation programme and within the document Immunisation against Infectious Diseases (‘the Green Book’). The Green Book is published on the GOV.UK website in an online only format.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are currently on the HM Passport Office stop file.

    James Brokenshire

    Entries are retained on the Her Majesty’s Passport Office Stop File for reasons of public protection and the prevention of crime.

    Given the nature of the data, it would be inappropriate to disclose the volume of entries.

  • Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lady Hermon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will take steps to accelerate the public disclosure of donations to political parties in Northern Ireland; and if she will give reasons for the time taken to date.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Government is committed to ensuring the maximum level of transparency in relation to party funding in Northern Ireland that the security situation allows. The Northern Ireland Office has been working closely with the Electoral Commission to bring forward secondary legislation to provide for greater transparency. This legislation has raised some complex issues and NIO officials will be working closely with the Commission in the weeks ahead to resolve these issues with a view to bringing this legislation before Parliament.