Category: Speeches

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36224, on proceeds of crime, how many reporters received no reply within seven working days following the first working day after the report was submitted; and by what statutory authority appropriate consent is given to reporters who do not receive a reply from the National Crime Agency within the seven day limit.

    Mr John Hayes

    Between October 2011 and September 2015 a total of 61 reporters who requested consent under Part 7 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) received no reply from the NCA within the seven working days (referred to as the notice period in POCA). Where an authorised disclosure is made under section 338 POCA, appropriate consent is afforded to a reporter in cases where no reply is provided by the NCA at the end of the seven day notice period under section 335(3) POCA or in the case where the disclosure is from a nominated officer in the regulated sector, under section 336(3) POCA.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendations in the first report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, published in April 2016.

    Anna Soubry

    The Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI) requires implementing countries to form a Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) consisting of industry, civil society and government, who work in partnership to implement EITI. The MSG meets every 2 months with the next meeting on 12 July.

    The UK MSG is currently reviewing the first year’s report and these recommendations form part of that review.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Chuka Umunna – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many citizens of other EU countries work in his Department.

    Greg Hands

    Following her appointment on 13 July 2016 the Prime Minister established the Department for International Trade (DIT). The DIT aggregates UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), UK Export and Finance (UKEF), Trade Policy Units from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as some new hires.

    Until such time as a transfer of functions order establishes the Secretary of State as a corporation sole, DIT remains a unified Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) department for accounting purposes.

    As DIT is currently being formed, details of the staff that the Department employs is being finalised, whilst employee transfers and recruitment are taking place.

  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans the Government has to ensure that GOV.UK is accessible by Welsh speakers in the Welsh language.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government is enthusiastically committed to the Welsh language and to providing Government services in the Welsh language where there is demand for them.

    The Cabinet Office is improving the quality of service for Welsh speakers through user research, conducted jointly by the Wales Office and the Government Digital Service (GDS), as well as feedback from subject matter experts in governmental Welsh Language Units.

    GDS has liaised with government departments on a user needs-based review of current Welsh-language content on GOV.UK. The content in Welsh will be more prominently promoted from the equivalent English-language pages.

  • Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when HMS Ocean was last refitted; how much that refit cost; and what the intended out-of-service date was stated to be at the time of that refit.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Work on the last refit of HMS Ocean began in December 2012 and was completed in August 2014 at a cost of £71 million. The timing of the refit was driven by the mandatory requirement to revalidate the ships safety and environmental certification.

    The decommissioning date of 2018 is the same as that planned at the time of her refit.

  • Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mike Kane – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Kane on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Independent Review to assess the potential benefits of aligning hospital services in Manchester is being funded; and whether the head of the review, Sir Jonathan Michael, will be remunerated for carrying out that role.

    Ben Gummer

    These are matters for the local National Health Service.

    The NHS needs to ensure it is delivering the highest quality care and the best clinical outcomes for patients.

    Accordingly, the NHS in Manchester has commissioned an independent review of hospital services to identify where changes might be required to ensure consistently high standards of care.

  • Helen Whately – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Helen Whately – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Whately on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2015 to Question 8466, how many additional extended ministerial offices have since been established.

    Matthew Hancock

    An Extended Ministerial Office (EMO) is also being established in the Scotland Office.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus develop an emergency strategy for the supply of power and water to those Areas.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Sovereign Base Areas have contingency plans in place for the supply of water and power. The strategy for power is based on emergency back-up generators which support key facilities across the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) and the intention is to increase this capacity to other areas. The SBA Administration is also working with the Cypriot authorities develop a 20MW commercial photo-voltaic power plant in the Western SBA to be linked to the national grid. For water, the Ministry of Defence has its own dam in the Western SBA, providing three months’ water supply and in the Eastern SBA obtains sufficient water capacity from reservoirs, boreholes and desalination plants.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which instances embassies and high commissions in the UK have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity in each of the last five years.

    James Duddridge

    Under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction, except in limited circumstances specified in the Convention. Full statistics and details about instances when Embassies and High Commissions have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity for the period specified are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Such requests would cover instances where a member of the mission’s diplomatic or consular staff (or a member of their family forming part of their household) was the alleged offender, the alleged victim of a crime, or had witnessed a crime and police had sought a witness statement; or where police had sought witness statements from staff in relation to their official functions.

  • The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The Marquess of Lothian – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Marquess of Lothian on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of figures released by the Citizens’ Advice Bureau indicating that pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace is rising; and what action they plan to take as a result.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with my noble Friend.