Category: Speeches

  • Dr Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dr Poulter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Poulter on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Government and NHS employers plan to supplement junior doctors’ salaries for (a) residential and (b) non-residential on call duties in the proposed new contract for junior doctors.

    Ben Gummer

    The concepts of “residential” and “non-residential” on-call do not exist in the current contract for doctors and dentists in training, nor will they exist in the new contract arrangements being proposed. These are colloquial terms used to refer to some of the current working arrangements, which include on-call rotas, partial shifts, full shifts and some hybrid arrangements.

    Currently there are pay banding supplements, on top of basic salary, the levels of which are determined by working hours and patterns.

    Under the proposals for a new contract, banding supplements will end. In their place will be increased basic pay, plus proportionate pay for additional hours, with a premium rate of pay for hours worked in the unsocial hours period. There will also be on-call availability supplements for being on an on-call rota, i.e. being available to return to work but not expected to be on-site for the whole period. These supplements will be a percentage of pay, of different values depending on the frequency of the on-call commitment.

    These proposals are – as in other respects – substantially the same as those agreed when the hon. Member was a Minister.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what length of time her Department retains information about a person after they have been referred to the Channel programme.

    Mr John Hayes

    Information relating to an individual referred to Channel is recorded by the police on the Channel Case Management and Information System (CMIS). The data is subject to the Code of Practice on the Management of Police Information (MOPI).

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the costs and difficulties faced by Chinese visitors and tourists wishing to enter the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The UK welcomes Chinese visitors and tourists, and our visa service is one of the most flexible and comprehensive on offer in China. We have 12 visa application centres in China, more than any other country, and provide a range of services and fast-tracking options to improve customer choice and experience. We continue to enhance this offer and in recent months have introduced the UK-Belgian Visitor Service, which has streamlined the UK and Schengen visa application processes, and expanded our on demand mobile visa service, to make it easier for Chinese nationals to apply. On 20 October the Prime Minister announced further improvements for Chinese visitors, including piloting the extension of standard visitor visas from six months to two years multiple entry, and plans to introduce a new ten year multi-entry visit visa at the same price. Our mobile visa on demand service will also be further extended to an additional 50 cities. Demand continues to grow, and in the year ending June 2015, the UK issued 377,427 visit visas to Chinese nationals – a 19% increase on the previous year. The UK processes 99% of applications in China within the 15 working service standard, with an average processing time of less than seven days, and 95% of Chinese applicants are successful.

  • 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 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will issue a new impact assessment examining the economic and value for money consequences of Just Solutions international.

    Andrew Selous

    I refer the hon member to the Secretary of State’s statement of 13 October 2015. As has been the practice with successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed. We have no plans to undertake an impact assessment.

  • Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Keir Starmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keir Starmer on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons the objection in the Euston Area Plan on prioritising local people’s needs adopted by the London Borough of Camden, the Mayor of London and Transport for London in January 2015 is not referred to in the Supplementary Environmental Statement for High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill and a Supplementary Environmental Statement (SES2) on 16 September 2015. AP3 and SES2 include revised plans for London Euston station.

    SES2 reports on the likely significant environmental effects of updated environmental information and changes that are new but within the powers already being sought under the Bill and within the limits described in it. Changes that go beyond the existing powers and limits described in the Bill are contained in AP3.

    The purpose of SES2 however is not to consider objections to the proposed changes; these are considered through the relevant consultation and petitioning processes.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2015 to Question 228756, when his Department plans to publish statistics on the performance of the Help to Work scheme.

    Priti Patel

    Statistics on Help to Work will be published on 22nd October 2015.

    The first release covers the number of referrals to each of the three interventions in the Help to Work programme and starts to the Community Work Placement element of Help to Work. The statistics can be found at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-work-quarterly-statistics

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  • Gavin Shuker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gavin Shuker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2015-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I am aware of concerns about human rights violations on both sides of the Line of Control. We have consistently maintained that any allegations of human rights abuses should be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently.

  • 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 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence, if any, they have received about the use of illegal rocket-propelled cluster bombs by Saudi Arabia in Yemen; and whether they have made representations to Saudi Arabia on that subject.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of recent reports that the Saudi Arabian led Coalition may have used cluster munitions in Yemen. We note that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not yet a state party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but have encouraged Saudi Arabia to accede to the Convention. The British Government has always been clear that any action taken must be in accordance with International Humanitarian law (IHL). We have raised our concerns with the Saudi Arabian government and the Houthis and have received repeated assurances of their IHL compliance.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what policies they have in place (1) for the protection of the Exclusive Economic Zones around the United Kingdom’s worldwide dependencies, and (2) to ensure maximum economic advantage for the United Kingdom and its dependencies from those waters and seabed.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government is committed to protecting the marine environment of the Overseas Territories. As part of this work we plan to work with the Overseas Territories to create “blue belts” to help manage their dynamic and important ecosystems in a way which effectively balances environmental protection and economic potential. This will help the UK to meet its international obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims to protect ten per cent of marine waters globally. In support of this goal the UK has, in addition, declared a full no take Marine Protected Area around the British Indian Ocean Territory and a sustainable use Marine Protected Area in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

    The Overseas Territories are responsible for managing their terrestrial and marine environments, including their economic potential. The UK is responsible in international law for compliance with international obligations.

  • Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Brendan O’Hara – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Brendan O’Hara on 2015-10-13.

    To ask the Attorney General, pursuant to the Oral Statement by the Prime Minister on 7 September 2015, Official Report, column 26, on what dates he was consulted on the legal basis for drone strikes in Syria.

    Jeremy Wright

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the questions from the Hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion on the 12th of October 2015: (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-09-16/10466/)

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