Category: Speeches

  • Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of attacks on Christian places of worship in Israel in each of the last three years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The ‘Registry of Attacks on Holy Sites in the Holy Land’ has listed 22 cases of vandalism and arson on Christian places of worship in Israel and the West Bank since February 2013, most recently vandalism against the Dormition Abbey compound on 17 January. We condemn all such attacks.

  • Lord McKenzie of Luton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord McKenzie of Luton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McKenzie of Luton on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve health and safety risk management skills in the construction sector.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Government’s role in Health and Safety is to set the framework in which companies have to operate. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 sets out general duties that employers owe to their employees. This is supplemented by more tailored regulations embodying the requirement to assess risks and identify measures required to deal with them. These include the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015, which integrate health and safety into the management of construction projects throughout the entire supply chain.

    In addition to the general framework for health and safety law, the Health and Safety Executive regulates health and safety in hazardous industries, including construction, through the use of permissioning regimes. These regimes include those set out in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

    Safety requirements for the sector are established by construction employers and representative bodies. Many of the requirements are embedded in qualifications, training courses and basic health and safety tests required by the sector to obtain skills cards, such as the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. Courses such as the Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme are endorsed by Build UK as the standard training for all supervisors working on member sites.

  • Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Holly Lynch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Holly Lynch on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Written Statement of 11 February 2016, HCWS540, on HM Courts and Tribunals Service estate, whether his Department’s plans for updating the technology of that estate have been revised following that announcement of additional court closures; and if he will publish his plans for technology investments in the Calderdale Local Justice area over the next four years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The overall investment plans have not been changed following the recent announcements of court closures. No new technology equipment will be installed into courts that are now planned to close.

    In regards to the Calderdale local justice area, the HMCTS Reform programme is designed to deliver an improved service nationwide. There is no intention to publish plans specifically for technology investments in the Calderdale Local Justice area.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from each branch of the armed forces took part in cold weather training in each of the last six years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK Armed Forces conduct a wide range of training to operate in cold weather environments. Information on the full range of activities is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing incentives to encourage householders to have outdoor charging points provided at their premises to encourage the uptake of electric cars.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government already offers grants of up to £500 towards the cost of installing a chargepoint at home, through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme. All available evidence suggests that electric vehicle drivers prefer to charge at home and at work. Reducing the cost of homecharging removes a potential barrier to uptake and allows owners to charge conveniently and at low cost. Dedicated home chargepoints will also play an important role in the smarter, more dynamic charging and electricity grid.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of training of assessors for asylum applications where religious persecution is the reason for the application.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Home Office carefully considers all asylum claims on their individual merits, including claims based on religious persecution. We grant protection to those who genuinely need it in accordance with our international obligations under the Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights.

    Published guidance on the interviewing and consideration of asylum claims is regularly reviewed and takes into consideration the views of stakeholders, including religious groups. The current training and support available for asylum caseworkers includes a the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees endorsed Foundation Training Programme. This, and follow-on courses, covers all aspects of the asylum interview and decision making process, including the assessment of credibility and country information in religious based claims. Real-life case studies and role-play are used throughout the training programme to reinforce knowledge and understanding of the issues.

    We are carefully considering the report and recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief published in June 2016 and will provide a response in due course.

  • Will Quince – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Will Quince – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to revise the agreement reached with the National Housing Federation on right to buy to expressly state that almshouse licensees will not have the right to buy.

    Brandon Lewis

    Almshouses are exempt from the Right to Buy for council housing. This long-standing exemption will also apply to the extended Right to Buy for housing associations.

  • John Healey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Healey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) housing benefit claimant count and (b) average weekly housing benefit award is for tenants in supported accommodation in each (i) county, (ii) region, (iii) local authority and (iv) valuation office agency area.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available.

    DWP and DCLG have commissioned an evidence review to provide more robust and up-to-date information relating to supported housing. The report will be published in 2016.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if his Department will publish the results of its consultation into the Reform of the Landfill Communities Fund; and if he will make a statement.

    Damian Hinds

    The government published a summary of responses to the consultation Reform of the Landfill Communities Fund alongside Autumn Statement 2015. This document can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/479337/Summary_of_consultation_responses-as15-final.pdf

    “

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of Sunday trading devolution on the premium pay of shop workers in Scotland.

    Anna Soubry

    The levels of premium pay in Scotland will be a result of a range of factors and businesses will ultimately be constrained by the need to hire the quality and quantity of shop workers they need in local markets.