Category: Speeches

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to promote battlefield tourism in (a) England and (b) Northam in Torridge and West Devon constituency.

    Tracey Crouch

    There are 46 ​Registered Battlefields in England, 22% of ​these are located in the South West. Through the recently published Tourism Action Plan and Discover England Fund this Government is encouraging visitors, both domestic and international, to venture beyond London, so that the benefits of growth can be felt across the whole of the UK.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending a ban from operating as a letting agent or sales agent to include a ban on operating as a sales agent or letting agent.

    Gavin Barwell

    The Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduces a package of measures to help local authorities crack down on rogue landlords and letting agents. They include the ability to seek a banning order against a landlord or letting or managing agent who has been convicted of a banning order offence. This provision is expected to come into force in 2017.

    There are separate powers to ban sales agents under the Estate Agents Act 1979. Letting agents and sales agents carry out different functions and operate under different legislation. We do not currently have any plans to introduce legislation that would ban someone from being a sales agent where they have been banned from being a letting agent or vice versa. I would be happy to meet the hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood to discuss this issue.

  • Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 12304, on consumer protection measure, what the names are of the main stakeholders who were alerted to the call for evidence; when those stakeholders were altered; and how those stakeholders were alerted.

    Nick Boles

    These stakeholders were notified by email on 13 October 2015:

    Academy Music Group

    Advertising Standards Authority

    All England Lawn Tennis Club

    Association of Leading Visitor Attractions

    AEG Worldwide

    Agents Association

    Andrew Bingham MP

    Arts & Business Scotland

    Arts Council England

    Arts Council of Northern Ireland

    Arts Council of Wales

    Association of Chief Trading Standards Officers

    Association of Festival Organisers

    Association of Independent Festivals

    Association of Independent Music

    Association of Secondary Ticket Agents

    Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations

    Baroness Grey Thompson

    Baroness Hayter

    Baroness Heyhoe Flint

    Birmingham Hippodrome

    British Association of Concert Halls

    Brighton Centre

    British Arts Festival Association

    British Boxing Board of Control

    British Cycling

    British Phonographic Industry

    Business in Sport and Leisure

    Cardiff International Arena (Motorpoint Arena)

    Chartered Trading Standards Institute

    Cinema Exhibitors Association

    Citizens Advice

    City of London Police

    Competition and Markets Authority

    CBI

    Concert Promoters Association

    Creative Scotland

    eBay UK Ltd

    David Morris MP

    Direct Selling Association

    England and Wales Cricket Board

    England Rugby Union

    Equity

    European Arenas Association

    European Commission

    European Secondary Ticketing Association

    Event Industry News

    Fan Freedom

    Federation of Small Businesses

    Festival Republic

    Festivals Edinburgh

    Football Association

    Football Supporters Federation

    Greater London Assembly

    Historic Houses Association

    Historic Royal Palaces

    Incorporated Society of Musicians

    International Live Music Conference

    Lawn Tennis Association

    Live Nation

    Live UK

    Liverpool Echo Arena

    Local Government Association

    Lord Addington

    Lord Borwick

    Lord Clement-Jones

    Lord Moynihan

    Lord Stoneham

    Lord Younger

    Manchester Arena

    Mark Garnier MP

    Mark Pritchard MP

    Mastercard

    Millennium Stadium plc

    Motor Sports Association

    Musicians Union

    National Campaign for the Arts

    National Operatic and Dramatic Association

    National Police Chiefs’ Council

    National Theatre

    National Trading Standards Board

    NEC Group

    Nick Smith MP

    Nigel Adams MP

    NOISE Festival

    Paypal

    Penny Mordaunt MP

    Premier League

    Premiership Rugby

    Racecourse Association

    Ricoh Arena

    Royal Albert Hall

    Royal Horticultural Society

    Royal Opera House

    Royal Parks

    Royal Shakespeare Company

    Rugby Football League

    Rugby Football Union

    Sadler’s Wells

    Sage Gateshead

    Seatwave

    See Tickets

    Sharon Hodgson MP

    Society of London Theatre

    Sound Diplomacy

    Southbank Centre

    Sport and Recreation Alliance

    Sport England

    Sport Northern Ireland

    Sport Scotland

    Sport Wales

    Sports Rights Group

    STAR (Secure Tickets from Authorised Retailers)

    Stephen McPartland MP

    Stubhub

    Supporters Direct

    The Federation of Scottish Theatre

    Ticketmaster UK

    Trading Standards Institute

    Trading Standards Scotland

    UK Cards Association

    UK Music

    UK Sport

    UK Theatre Association

    Viagogo

    Visa

    Visit Britain

    Welsh Government

    Wembley Arena

    Which?

  • Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Peter Bone – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bone on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2015 to Question 18626, what estimate he has made of the average cost of (a) the five new prisons planned to be open in the current Parliament and (b) the four new prisons planned to open after the current Parliament; and what estimate he has made of the average time that will be taken from application for planning permission to completion in each such set of such prisons.

    Andrew Selous

    I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to PQ 18626 on 8 December 2015.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will increase the licensing enforcement powers available to local authorities to ensure that pubs do not act as clubs without permission.

    Karen Bradley

    Licensing authorities and the police already have a range of enforcement powers under the Licensing Act 2003. These are sufficient to prevent pubs operating without relevant permissions. These include powers which licensing authorities have to impose conditions on a premises licence or revoke a premises licence where appropriate. They are responsible for making decisions based on what is appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives. These are the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance; and the protection of children from harm.

    Licensable activities include not only the sale of alcohol but also regulated entertainment such as a performance of live music and any playing of recorded music among other entertainments. While the rules on regulated entertainment on licensed premises were recently relaxed so that permission is only required for such events when they occur outside the hours of 08.00 and 23.00 or when there are more than 500 people in attendance, an applicant for a premises licence should set out in an operating schedule the licensable activities they intend to hold on the premises.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many teenagers have (a) commenced and (b) graduated a National Citizenship Service programme in each of the last five years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Since National Citizenship Service (NCS) began, over 200,000 young people have taken part in this life changing opportunity. NCS is the fastest growing youth movement in this country for a century, with a 46% increase in the number of participants between 2013 and 2014.

    Year

    Participants Commence NCS

    Participants Graduated

    2011

    8,400

    6,800

    2012

    26,000

    22,600

    2013

    39,600

    32,300

    2014

    57,800

    50,900

    The participant figures for 2015 will be published with the 2015 evaluation in due course.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will expedite the work of the cross-governmental working group on drones; and if he will bring forward legislative proposals to mitigate the safety risks posed by civilian drones.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Government’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of our citizens. That is why we apply the highest regulatory safety standards for commercial aviation in the world.

    There is legislation in place that requires users of small drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle, and that requires users to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit their vehicle to endanger any person or property.

    It is already illegal to operate a drone recklessly or negligently, and the Crown Prosecution Service has successfully prosecuted where there has been persistent reckless behaviour.

    Education of drone users is vital. The DfT is working with the CAA on raising awareness of responsible drone use. This includes the CAA’s ‘Drone Code’ safety awareness campaign and the issuing of safety leaflets at the point of sale.

    We will continue to keep our policies and regulation under review to ensure public safety remains paramount. This currently includes working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop consistent, EU-wide safety rules for drones.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of (a) UK firms based in Northern Ireland that trade with other EU member states and (b) people employed by those firms.

    Anna Soubry

    HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.

    HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 April 2016 to Questions 33571 and 33572, how many tax auditors HM Revenue and Customs provided to Tax Inspectors Without Borders in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Gauke

    The UK’s first Tax Inspectors Without Borders Agreement was signed in December 2015. A partnership agreement was signed with Lesotho committing the UK to a two and a half year programme of assistance. Two HMRC tax experts will be providing support under this Agreement.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of training UK crew and maintenance personnel for the P-8 Poseidon aircraft to be procured by the UK; and where he expects that training to take place.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The training programme for UK crew and maintenance personnel for the P-8 Poseidon, once it has been procured, is currently being developed. Consequently, no costs are currently available.

    Training for the P-8 Poseidon aircraft will initially be undertaken at Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, USA, from 2018 prior to relocating to RAF Lossiemouth at a future date.