Category: Speeches

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what mechanisms for oversight her Department has for UK Government aid to the Palestinian Authority.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    UK direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is used to pay the salaries of civil servant and pensioners. Our support is provided through a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure. Only named civil servants from a pre-approved European Union list are eligible, and the vetting process ensures that our funds do not benefit terrorist groups. The process is subject to independent auditing.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 21679, when her Department’s investigations into applications for family reunion from Kuwaiti Bidoon people were initiated; when she expects those investigations to be concluded; whether there is a maximum length of time for which a decision will not be taken on the outstanding applications in that cohort; and if she will make a statement.

    James Brokenshire

    In 2014, UK Visas & Immigration in Jordan became aware of potential abuse of the Family Reunion route by individuals claiming to be the dependants of someone granted refugee status in the UK as a Kuwaiti Bidoon. Investigations commenced at this time.

    UK Visas & Immigration has concluded the majority of the applications referenced in the response to Question 21679 and continues to work through those applications that have not yet been concluded.

    UK Visas & Immigration aims to resolve all applications for UK entry clearance within published customer service standards. Where there is a problem with an individual application or if it is complex, UK Visas & Immigration write to the affected applicant to explain why the application will not be decided within the normal standard. All outstanding applications for UK entry clearance from family members of individuals granted refugee status as a Kuwaiti Bidoon which have not been concluded within published customer service standards are currently being prioritised.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40279, what forecast the Oil and Gas Authority has made of the proportion of UK energy consumption to be supplied by other countries in each of the next 10 years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Oil and Gas Authority does not produce a forecast of the proportion of UK energy consumption to be supplied by other countries.

    However, as indicated in the answer to Question 40279, the Oil and Gas Authority publishes projections of UK oil and gas import dependency (defined as net oil and gas imports as a percentage of UK oil and gas demand).[1]

    These projections for 2016-2026 are given in the following table.

    Year

    Oil and Gas import dependency (%)

    2016

    43%

    2017

    44%

    2018

    44%

    2019

    45%

    2020

    46%

    [1] Oil and Gas Authority (February 2016), Production Projections https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/503852/OGA_production_projections_-_February_2016.pdf

    “

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many serving armed forces personnel are in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance; and in respect of how many children such allowances are allocated.

    Mark Lancaster

    There are 3,008 serving Armed Forces personnel in receipt of Continuity of Education Allowance for 4,454 children.

  • Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the propriety of his Department overseeing the consultation on a fixed recoverable cost regime in clinical negligence cases when it is the defendant in most such cases.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department is working closely with stakeholders to develop the proposal to introduce fixed recoverable costs. We have undertaken a pre-consultation exercise with a number of key stakeholders, including representatives of claimant lawyers, and are planning an open public consultation shortly. We welcome views on the proposal from all sectors.

    The consultation documentation, including the Impact Assessment, will be published in early 2016 subject to relevant Committee clearances. We are working upon the assumption that there is nothing about Fixed Recoverable Costs regime which will alter the percentage of unmeritorious claims.

    Any scheme proposed will include consideration of the right incentives to support a fairer and quicker process that provides the improvements to the system whilst maintaining access to justice.

    The NHS Litigation Authority reported in their annual report for 2014/15 that it resolves over 4,000 clinical negligence cases annually for no payment of damages and in 2014/15 it saved over £1.2 billion for the National Health Service in rejecting claims which had no merit.

  • Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Barbara Keeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barbara Keeley on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of introducing the national living wage into social care from April 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    These estimates are a matter for HM Treasury.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many public health funerals were there in each London borough in each year since 2010.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect the information requested.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent finding by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine that pre-exposure prophylaxis could reduce HIV rates in men who have sex with men in the UK by between 40 and 60 per cent.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    NHS England is working with local authorities, clinicians, patient representatives and Public Health England to consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of providing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to groups at increased risk to prevent them acquiring HIV. This includes a full review and analysis of published literature in this area. The PrEP clinical policy proposition is one of many going through NHS England’s 2016/17 prioritisation round.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 24002, on further education, how many steering group meetings of area reviews of post-16 education and training in (a) Birmingham and Solihull, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Sheffield City Region, (d) Tees Valley, (e) Sussex, (f) Solent and (g) West Yorkshire took place without representatives of the (i) regional schools commissioner and (ii) local enterprise partnership being present in each of the last six months.

    Nick Boles

    There are a range of ways in which Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) and members of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) can contribute to area reviews, for instance through the National Area Review Advisory Group.

    It is expected that there will be at least five steering group meetings in each review. To date all Wave 1 Area Reviews have held a number of local steering group meetings and RSCs and LEPs are members. They or their representatives have attended the majority of these meetings.

    In Birmingham and Solihull, one meeting in December 2015 took place without an RSC representative present.

    In Greater Manchester, one meeting in November 2015 took place without an RSC representative present and one meeting in December 2015 took place without either an RSC or LEP representative present.

    In Sheffield City Region, one meeting in December 2015 took place without an RSC representative present.

    In Tees Valley, all meetings have taken place with a RSC or LEP representative present.

    In Sussex, one meeting in February 2016 took place without an RSC representative present.

    In the Solent, one meeting in November 2015 and one meeting in January 2016 took place without an RSC representative present.

    In West Yorkshire, one meeting in November 2015, one meeting in December 2015 and one meeting in January 2016 took place without an RSC representative present.

    Both a RSC and LEP representative have been present at all other steering group meetings of the Wave 1 area reviews.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many nationals of other EU member states who have been victims of violent crime in the UK have been compensated as a result of EU legislation in each year since 2010; and how much that compensation amounted to.

    Mike Penning

    The Criminal Inquiries Compensation Scheme is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The Authority does not record or collect data on the nationality of individuals who make applications for compensation or are granted awards of compensation under the Scheme.