Category: Speeches

  • John Stanley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Stanley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Stanley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of export licence appeals were finalised within (a) 20 and (b) 60 working days in 2013.

    Michael Fallon

    In 2013 4 out of 56 (7%) appeals cases were finalised within 20 working days and 22 out of 56 (39%) were finalised within 60 working days.

    Officials continue to review procedures to streamline the handling of appeals, including additional resources and revised arrangements for consulting Ministers and advisers in other Government Departments. We expect an improvement in performance during 2014.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides on how much funding from the Local Government Finance Settlement local authorities should allocate to virtual headteachers.

    Brandon Lewis

    Both Revenue Support Grant and retained business rates, the two local authority funding streams directly included within the Local Government Finance Settlement, are unringfenced, therefore, authorities can use them to fund any service, provided they meet their statutory duties. It is up to authorities to decide how to set their budgets, taking into account local priorities.

  • Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support his Department provides to small rural hospitals in England to ensure that health services are available as close to the public as possible.

    Norman Lamb

    Responsibility for the commissioning of local NHS services lies with clinical commissioning groups. Small rural and community hospitals have a key role in contributing to more integrated care through better out-of-hospital care at local level for frail older people and people with long-term conditions.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 12 June 2012, Official Report, column 444W, on constituencies, what comparative assessment he has made of the accuracy of the (a) electoral register and (b) census.

    Greg Clark

    Using population figures derived from census data would not provide a better basis for a review of constituency boundaries than using the electoral register. The electoral register is updated annually, whereas the census takes place every ten years; in addition, census figures will include persons who are not eligible to register to vote, for example on grounds of citizenship or age.

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-05-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has invited representatives of the devolved administrations to join the ad hoc ministerial-led steering group set up to report on the implementation of his Department’s National Space Security Policy.

    Mr David Willetts

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in African countries about numbers of (a) elephants, (b) rhinoceroses and (c) lions in those countries.

    George Eustice

    The London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which the Government hosted on 12-13 February, brought together 42 countries, including four Presidents of African states, to discuss the decline in numbers of elephants, rhino and other species affected by the scourge of the illegal trade in wildlife. Conference participants agreed an ambitious political declaration, containing 25 practical commitments to action that will help to eradicate the demand for wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement and support the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by wildlife crime.

    Prior to the Conference, my colleague Lord de Mauley represented the UK Government at the African Elephant Summit in Botswana on 2 to 4 December 2014. This was attended by numerous government ministers from across Africa and the status of the African elephant at a continental level was discussed. During the summit, Lord de Mauley held bilateral discussions on illegal wildlife trade issues with the President of Botswana. Separately, he met with the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, to discuss the crisis facing African wildlife affected by poaching and illegal trade. The Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, also had discussions about the effects of the illegal wildlife trade on numbers of key species with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, Professor Judy Wakhungu, during a visit to Kenya in November 2013.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-12.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, columns 509-10W, on electoral registration, whether his Department provides funding to Bite the Ballot to increase voter registration.

    Greg Clark

    It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence under section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 where the offence committed corresponds to an offence which would lead to automatic inclusion in the children’s barred list, with the right to make representations, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 in each of the last four years.

    Damian Green

    Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the Court Proceedings Database does not include the circumstances behind each case beyond the description provided in the statute. It is not possible to separately identify findings of guilt for sexual offences committed outside England and Wales from those committed within England and Wales. This information could only be obtained from the individual courts at disproportionate cost.

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 12 May 2014, Official Report, column 401W, on mental health services, whether the Mental Health Intelligence Network has been established.

    Norman Lamb

    The Mental Health Intelligence Network has been established and is due to launch its web resource and a supporting suite of indicator tools and supporting resources on 18 June 2014.

    The key aim is to provide intelligence to enable better service commissioning and to support service improvement to facilitate the delivery of consistent country-wide best practice care.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, columns 622-3W, on the Electoral Register: fraud, what comparative assessment he has made of the level of concern about electoral fraud in the UK and other EU countries.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it regularly monitors comparative international research on electoral matters. Comparing the UK with other countries around the world, Gallup polls place the UK in the top third of countries in terms of confidence in the honesty of the electoral process.

    The most recently available Gallup data from 2007-08, showed that 40% of UK respondents said they did not have confidence in the honesty of elections in the UK. This was slightly lower than the findings from Germany (44%) and Italy (43%), but significantly higher than those from Denmark (5%), Finland (8%) and Sweden (8%).

    Full findings are at the following link:

    http://www.gallup.com/poll/111691/Worldwide-Views-Diverge-About-Honesty-Elections.aspx

    “