Category: Speeches

  • Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what arrangements are in place to monitor Babcock’s performance and safety record.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Babcock is a key supplier to the Ministry of Defenceand the company’s relationship with the Department is managed at a strategic level through a key supplier representative. This role is currently undertaken by the Chief of Materiel (Fleet) within Defence Equipment and Support, who engages with Babcock on a regular basis. Project and safety performance reviews form a significant element of these discussions.

    With regards to safety, appropriate measures are in place to reduce risk and these are rigorously monitored to ensure that any emerging issues are identified and addressed.

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of outstanding child maintenance arrears owed in respect of cases using the 2012 statutory maintenance scheme where the arrears were (a) accrued under the 2012 scheme and (b) transferred from the 1993 and 2003 statutory schemes.

    Priti Patel

    a) As at August 2015, outstanding maintenance arrears stood at £35.1 million. More details can be found on page 6 of the Child Maintenance Service 2012 Scheme experimental statistics which can be accessed online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/2012-statutory-child-maintenance-scheme-aug-2013-to-aug-2015-experimental.

    b) Information on the amount of arrears in respect of the 1993 and 2003 Schemes transitioned from the 1993 and 2003 systems to the 2012 system will be published in the 1993 / 2003 Client Fund Accounts due for release shortly after the accounts have been audited by the National Audit Office.

    Previous publications can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-maintenance-client-funds-accounts

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what processes are in place to ensure that all finances of both parties are disclosed when divorce proceedings are commenced.

    Caroline Dinenage

    In England and Wales, the division of property on divorce is governed by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. A court will not make a financial order in a divorce case unless it is satisfied that each party has made a full and frank disclosure of their financial circumstances. Each party in a divorce is under a legal duty to make full and frank disclosure of all material facts to the other party and to the court and must sign a Statement of Truth to that effect.

    If the court is of the view that one party has deliberately failed or refused to make full and frank disclosure and has concealed his or her true financial circumstances from the other party, it can impose a costs penalty on the dishonest party. In more serious cases, individuals who fail to disclose the full extent of their assets could find themselves in contempt of court and be at risk of imprisonment. If, following a judgment, it is discovered that assets have not been properly disclosed and the judgment would have been different if there had been full disclosure it is possible to apply to the court to have the judgment set aside to be reconsidered.

    We recently reviewed Form E in light of an error being identified in the automatic calculations and we have amended the function of the form to ensure the calculation facility is now correct. The Ministry of Justice and the HM Courts and Tribunals Service have published advice regarding Form E at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/divorce-form-information

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children have registered as transgender in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    Children born in England or Wales are registered in the birth register as being either male or female. Transgender is not a term used to describe the sex of a child at birth registration.

    The Gender Recognition Act 2004 enables transgender people aged 18 or over to apply to the Gender Recognition Panel to obtain a gender recognition certificate – legal recognition of their acquired gender. That certificate is used to create an entry in the Gender Recognition Register, maintained by the Registrar General, from which a new birth certificate can be issued. There are, therefore, no records of children (under the age of 18) in this register.

    Gender Recognition Registers are also held in respect of births in Northern Ireland and Scotland by the relevant Registrars General.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of recent flooding and severe weather in Cumbria on livestock prices.

    George Eustice

    Approximately 600 farmers in Cumbria suffered flooding as a result of Storm Desmond. Considerable damage has been done to stone walls, hedges and tracks. We have established a Farm Recovery Fund which enables farmers to claim grants of between £500 and £20,000 to cover the cost of restoring their farmland. The deadline for fund applications is 1 April 2016.

    While recognising the significant impact on those farmers affected, the overall impact on UK livestock prices and production is likely to be limited.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cancer clinical nurse specialists were working in the NHS in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Ben Gummer

    The number of cancer clinical nurse specialists working in the National Health Service is not collected centrally.

    It is for local NHS organisations with their knowledge of the healthcare needs of their local population to invest in training for specialist skills and to deploy specialist nurses.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 March (HL6982), how much extra money has been added to the budgets of (1) the First Sea Lord, (2) the Chief of the General Staff, and (3) the Chief of the Air Staff, in (a) 2016–17 and (b) 2017–18.

    Earl Howe

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave him on 23 March 2016 to Question HL6982.

  • 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 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Ethiopian government on the cases of Tibebu Mekuria, Dawit Jemberu and Belete Tilahun.

    James Duddridge

    We are aware of the ongoing court case of Tibebu Mekuria, Dawit Jemberu and Belete Tilahun, who were convicted of burning down the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Gulema Iyesus in June 2015. As all three are still pursuing their appeal case through the courts in Ethiopia, with their final appeal hearing set for the 29 June, it would be inappropriate to comment on their case at this time.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-07-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what facilities are available for (a) lactating mothers and (b) baby changing at (i) Richmond House, London, and (ii) Quarry House, Leeds.

    Jane Ellison

    Richmond House and Quarry House both have a nursing mothers room and no facilities for the changing of babies. The Department also has a Parents’ Network which aims to support staff, both men and women, with their parental responsibilities.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether there are sufficient obligations on local authorities to inspect food production companies, and on retailers, to ensure that no food crime or mislabelling is occurring.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Food labelling rules are set at European Union level and provide a framework for mandatory information to be provided on food labels as well as ensuring that food information is not misleading. This Government has pressed for better information for consumers during negotiations relating to food labelling in Europe.

    Food businesses are responsible for ensuring their products are safe and accurately labelled. The Government backs this up with risk-based checks carried out by local authorities. In addition, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs develops validated testing methods under its Food Authenticity programme to check for mis-description and fraud. These methods are used by public analysts and local authorities to support food law enforcement.

    The majority of food law enforcement is delegated to local authorities throughout the United Kingdom who carry out checks of food businesses in their area to ensure compliance with food safety, traceability and labelling requirements. To support this, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) makes funding available to UK Enforcement Authorities for sampling and surveillance of food to help ensure risk-based, targeted checks on food products throughout the food chain.

    The Government has set up the National Food Crime Unit to increase the capacity to identify, disrupt and prevent food crime. It does this in part by developing intelligence packages and passing these either to the police service or to a local authority to take forward the investigation.

    Measures to co-ordinate food standards enforcement across Local Authorities are kept under continual review by the FSA to improve effectiveness of delivery, working with local authorities and trading standards professional bodies.