Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2015 to Question 14487, whether revenue received from the criminal courts charge have exceeded the cost to the public purse of running such courts since that charge was introduced.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    As the Justice Secretary stated in the house on 3 November, “it is right that we find better ways to pay the costs of running our criminal courts, and the introduction of this charge has made it possible to recover some of the costs from offenders, which reduces the burden on taxpayers. The Government are, of course, keeping the operation of the criminal courts charge under review.”

  • Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the maximum take-up of the pupil premium; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The pupil premium provides schools with additional funding to improve the progress and attainment of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, with £6.25 billion provided to date. Pupil premium allocations to schools are mainly based on the number of pupils on roll at the time of the January school census who have been registered for free school meals at any point in the preceding six years.

    We are working to encourage all families who meet the current criteria toregisterfor free school meals. The Department’s eligibility checking system has made it much easier and quicker to check which families are entitled to free school meals.

    The Department has also published a registration form to help schools to identify pupils who are entitled to free school meals and the pupil premium. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-and-pupil-premium-registration-form.

    “

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2015 to Question 13946, whether his Department has received the findings of the London and South Coast Rail Corridor Study; and what the timeframe is for publication of that study’s findings and his Department’s response to it.

    Claire Perry

    The Government has received initial study findings, which are being more fully developed at present. The Study is expected to be completed early in 2016, and the Government will subsequently consider the timeframe for releasing the study findings, including our response.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 24387, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of changing the route used by lorries involved in the High Speed 2 construction away from the hedgehog population in the Regent’s Park area as an alternative to establishing replacement habitats; and whether such a change would require an amendment to the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The identified impact on the Regent’s Park hedgehog population is from the provision of replacement car parking for the Zoological Society of London rather than from lorries accessing the proposed lorry holding area. Therefore, no assessment has been made of changing the route used by HS2 construction vehicles in the Regent’s Park area for the purpose of mitigating the impact on hedgehogs. Such a change would require an Additional Provision to the Bill.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the response of the government of Saudi Arabia was to his recent representations on (a) the attacks in Yemen on the Médecins Sans Frontières hospitals and mobile clinic, (b) the airstrike on the Oxfam warehouse, (c) the reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch of attacks on civilians and civilian facilities including schools and (d) investigations into the use of cluster munitions.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Saudia Arabia have their own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January. This includes a new investigation team outside of Coalition Command to review all existing procedures and suggest improvements.

    Regarding allegations of cluster munition use, we have raised this issue with the Saudi Arabian authorities and, in line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for safety on live ammunition ranges of changes in the numbers of safety wardens present on site.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Ministry of Defence is currently reviewing staffing levels on UK Defence Training Estate ranges and the implications for safety and I will update the hon. Member when this has been completed.

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

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the delays by the Rural Payments Agency in making basic farm payments claimed in 2015, and of the causes of those delays.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS), implementing the new Common Agricultural Policy, with its requirements and administrative checks, has created a number of challenges. The Rural Payments Agency focus has always been to pay as many claims as promptly as possible from the opening day of the payment window in December 2015. 99% of BPS 2015 claims have now received a payment.

  • Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of the loss of tax revenue each year owing to tobacco smuggling.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The 2014/15 tax revenue loss associated with illicit tobacco, including both cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco, is estimated to be £2.1 billion.

    Estimates of UK tax revenue losses are published every year. The latest estimates, for the years 2006/7 to 2014/15, are published in ‘Tobacco Tax Gap estimates 2014-15’.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the announcement by the Home Office that they have secured the necessary places with councils and devolved administrations across the UK to settle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020, whether the majority of those refugees will be settled in the UK by 2018; and if not, what steps they are taking to speed up the admissions process.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government has been working with local authorities and devolved administrations across the UK in order to ensure we have the capacity and infrastructure to meet our commitment to resettle 20,000 vulnerable Syrians by the end of this Parliament and through these discussions local authorities have committed their involvement in the resettlement programme between now and 2020.

    We are not complacent. There is still a significant amount of work to be done with regions and local authorities to turn these pledges into arrivals. But we are committed to resettling 20,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees by the end of this Parliament and we are on track to do that.

    The numbers resettled in a particular period will depend on a range of factors including the flow of referrals from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the field and the availability of suitable accommodation and care packages in the UK. We will manage the flows based on need and in support of the well-being of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet arbitrary targets.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the needs and rights of older people in developing countries; and whether ageing will be reinstated as a responsibility under her Department’s Inclusive Societies policy.

    Rory Stewart

    Many DFID programmes reach and include older people, supporting their needs and rights. These include programmes to strengthen health systems and eye care, and specific programmes for the poorest including supporting slum dwellers in Tanzania and supporting widows resulting from the Genocide in Rwanda. Ageing features in DFID country level poverty analyses as a key factor in understanding poverty. In addition DFID is taking a global leadership role to achieve better quality and use of age disaggregated data to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals leave no one behind. DFID’s Inclusive Societies Department in Policy Division holds policy responsibility for ageing.