Category: Speeches

  • Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Matthew Offord – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the Indian government on re-opening border crossings to Nepal.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our Acting Ambassador in Nepal, and many other Heads of Mission, has discussed the blockage at the border with the Indian Ambassador to Nepal, most recently on 30 October. The British High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan, called on Indian Foreign Secretary Jaishankar on 7 October to raise the situation in Nepal with him; and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for South Asia and Afghanistan also raised it with Mr Jaishankar during his visit to India from 12-13 October. We continue to engage with India and seek to work with them to help resolve the crisis in Nepal.

  • Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make representations to the government of Egypt about the alleged involvement of Egyptian forces in the death at sea of Firas Miqdad, a fisherman from Gaza.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of an incident on 5 November involving an Egyptian naval vessel and a Palestinian fishing vessel, leading to the death of the fisherman Firas Miqdad.

    Details of the incident remain unclear. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials will continue to monitor this case.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the departmental settlement for his Department for this Spending Review period included any specific allocation of funds for ex gratia payments to victims of contaminated blood in future financial years.

    Jane Ellison

    The £25 million, announced by the Prime Minister in March 2015 to support transition to a reformed scheme, will remain available in 2016-17. We are assessing what can be allocated above and beyond that. We expect to announce our plans for that money once we have a better understanding of what wider scheme reform might comprise following the outcome of consultation.

  • Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Barnett Formula applies to government funding of emergency flood relief.

    Greg Hands

    The government is investing nearly £200 million to help communities recover from Storm Desmond and Storm Eva. The Barnett Formula has been applied to this funding in the normal way.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what consultations have taken place on privatisation of railway stations currently owned by Network Rail; and which stakeholders have been so consulted.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail is exploring new models for station management and ownership with the goal to bring improvements for both passengers and the communities they serve. They have engaged Citigroup as advisors to consider a range of potential options but no decisions have been taken at this early stage. Any decisions on such potential future options will take account of the ‎findings of Nicola Shaw’s report into the longer term shape and financing of Network Rail.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much funding her Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

    George Eustice

    The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not received any funding from the European Social Fund.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2016 to Question 33647, whether he plans to continue the Fit for Work programme for the full length of the contract.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In England and Wales, the Fit fir Work contract was awarded on the 25th July 2014 for a period of 5 years. DWP continues to undertake contract management with the supplier. In Scotland, the service is delivered via an agency agreement with the Scottish Government, made in November 2015 and reviewed annually.

  • Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 6 June (HL91), what, if any, is the specification for ermine robes with regard to the materials used, and whether there would be any impediment to clothiers, such as those in the Far East, providing robes for peers either for purchase or for hire.

    Lord Laming

    As set out in the Standing Orders of the House of Lords Relating to Public Business: “When Her Majesty comes publicly to the House, the Lords shall be attired in their robes or in such other dress as may be approved by Her Majesty”. A proposal for robes other than those presently used would be considered by the appropriate authority.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what monitoring her Department undertakes of the incidence of female genital mutilation (a) for each of the four known types of female genital mutilations and (b) in Bristol; and if she will make a statement.

    Sarah Newton

    Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. We will not tolerate a practice that can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls.

    Work to tackle FGM forms an integral part of our cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy published on 8 March. The first annual statistics on the number of cases recorded by the NHS in England were published on 21 July for the period April 2015 to March 2016. They show that there were 5,702 newly recorded cases of FGM reported and of those, where type was known, Types 1 and 2 have the highest incidence (35 and 31 per cent respectively). In Bristol, there were 385 cases newly recorded.

    More information on these figures is available on the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s website.

    A 2015 prevalence study part-funded by the Home Office estimated that approximately 137,000 women and girls in England and Wales are affected by FGM and 60,000 girls were born to women who had undergone FGM.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect the availability of childcare provision of extended schools has had on reducing (a) the gender pay gap, (b) child poverty, and (c) workless households in England.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The evaluation of the extended schools programme suggested that extended services, which are not limited to childcare, may help overcome or ameliorate the effects of child poverty and workless households by allowing parents to work, or work more hours. Research by others, such as the Women’s Business Council, suggests that affordable, flexible childcare is key to enabling women to participate in the labour market, if they want to.