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Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations his Department has made to the Israeli government on the Children in Military Custody report, funded by his Department, which was published in June 2012.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have held roundtable meetings with Israeli officials to discuss the Children in Military Custody report, most recently on 19 May. Since the publication of the report, there has been some progress on the issue of children held in military detention. This includes piloting of sending summons instead of carrying out night-time arrests, changes to standard operating procedures on methods of restraint, and steps to reduce the amount of time a child can be detained before seeing a judge. There has also been a reduction in the use of solitary confinement and an increase in the use of Arabic to give notifications of arrest. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to push for further progress with Israeli officials. On 27 August, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv lobbied the Israeli Military Advocate General on Children in Detention where the issue of child detention was discussed.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department plans to begin the formal negotiation process for trade deals with (a) EU and (b) non-EU countries after the (i) initiation and (ii) conclusion of the Article 50 process; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    The Prime Minister has been clear, we are not going to provide a running commentary on the negotiations. We recognise the need for a smooth transition as the UK leaves the EU, which minimises disruption to our trading relationships. Ministers and officials in the Department for International Trade are working closely with counterparts across a wide range of markets, in order to promote the UK as a great place to do business and with which to trade. We are taking advantage of all the opportunities available to us to ensure that Britain becomes the global leader in free trade once we leave the EU.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the statement of 1 December 2014, HC Deb, 46W, what assessment he has made of the performance of the pilot scheme allowing individuals to be summoned rather than arrests being made at night.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 2 June, the Minister of State, my noble Friend, The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE met the Israeli Military Advocate General and discussed the pilot scheme allowing individuals to be summoned rather than be arrested at night. We understand that the scheme has functioned well and has been used in a significant proportion of arrests. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to push for further progress on the issue of children held in military detention with Israeli officials. On 23 November, an official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv met Israel’s Chief Prosecutor and discussed the issue of child detention and on 27 August, our Ambassador to Tel Aviv lobbied the Israeli Military Advocate General on Children in Detention where the issue of child detention was also discussed.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people employed by the Metropolitan Police Service are former employees of News International.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the number of people employed by the Metropolitan Police Service who were former employees of News International.

    Individual police forces in England and Wales are responsible for deciding when and how they run their recruitment and selection processes.

    Decisions on whether to recruit individuals are for the chief officer of the police force concerned.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the staffing complement is of the office of each regional schools commissioner; and what the staff grade is of each post in each such office.

    Edward Timpson

    At present, each RSC office employs between 8 and 10 members of staff. In line with the Department’s commitment to greater transparency, staffing structure information for each RSC office, including staff count for each grade, pay scale and location, is published on GOV.UK at: http://reference.data.gov.uk/gov-structure/organogram/?pubbod=department-for-education

    “

  • Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of when the tax optimisation for cigarettes will be reached.

    Damian Hinds

    The government believes that cigarette duty achieves a balance between its two fiscal goals on tobacco; to raise revenue and to protect public health.

    In considering fiscal impacts of duties, the illicit trade is an important consideration. The government is committed to tackling illicit tobacco, which undermines health and tax policy objectives and harms legitimate business. HMRC and Border Force have an established and effective strategy for tackling tobacco fraud which has seen the illicit market reduce significantly since the strategy was first launched in 2000. This has meant that, since the introduction of the tobacco duty escalator, the size of the illicit market has continued to fall.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many times he has attended public meetings of the Welsh Affairs Committee since his appointment.

    Alun Cairns

    I have not been required to attend any meetings with the Welsh Affairs Committee since my appointment.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had on Kashmir with the governments of India and Pakistan in the last six months.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Our Deputy High Commissioner to India visited Indian administered Kashmir from 23 to 29 May and met with representatives from the State Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Officials from our High Commission in Islamabad met with representatives from the Government of Pakistan Administered Kashmir in February. I discussed this issue with India’s Foreign Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister in Delhi on 31.05.16.

  • Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Ann Coffey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Coffey on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been charged under (a) section 1 and (b) section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 since those provisions came into force on 31 July 2015.

    Jeremy Wright

    I am answering on behalf of the Secretary of State for Justice, as I am the minister that superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who is responsible for bringing charges.

    The CPS does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been charged with offences brought by way of Section 1 or Section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; or Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004; or Sections 57 and 58 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (Sections 57, 58 and 59 were repealed and replaced by section 59A Sexual Offences Act 2003 on 13 April 2013) This information could only be obtained by examining CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

    However, although it is not possible to identify the number of people charged with a particular offence, records are held showing the overall number of offences in which a prosecution commenced in the magistrates’ courts. The table below shows the number of offences, rather than defendants, charged by way of the human trafficking offences during each of the last three calendar years. A single defendant may be charged with more than one offence.

    2013

    2014

    2015

    Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 { 4 }

    20

    73

    48

    Coroners and Justice Act 2009 { 71 }

    36

    26

    34

    Modern Slavery Act 2015 { 1 }

    0

    0

    5

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 57 }

    22

    35

    69

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 58 }

    84

    35

    75

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59 }

    4

    4

    9

    Sexual Offences Act 2003 { 59A }

    1

    17

    94

    Total Human Trafficking Offences Charged

    167

    190

    334

    Data Source: CPS Management Information System

    No offences have yet been recorded under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which came into force on 31st July 2015.

  • Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jon Trickett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jon Trickett on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many newly qualified GPs are waiting to be added to the national list for medical performers.

    David Mowat

    NHS England advises that, currently, there are approximately 720 applications for general practitioner (GP) trainees to be added to the performers list.

    The processing of applications to join the National Performers List was taken over by Capita in September 2015, and there have been some delays in Capita’s processing of applications. NHS England is working closely with Capita to identify all cases which may be affected by delays in processing applications, and those identified are being investigated and urgent cases prioritised. NHS England expects all GP trainees to be on the performers list by the end of October when their grace period for inclusion ends.

    The decision to admit a GP trainee to the performer list is the sole responsibility of NHS England rather than Capita. There have been some instances where Capita have informed GPs that they cannot practice because their application to the performer list has not been completed. Where we are aware of such instances, those GPs have been contacted by NHS England and provided with the correct advice relating to their individual circumstances. Where necessary, NHS England has taken further action to expedite the performers’ list process.