Category: Speeches

  • Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Damian Hinds – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Damian Hinds on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on economic development in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I regularly hold discussions with Executive ministers on a range of economic issues.

    Last week, I chaired a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Task Force on Banking and Access to Finance which was established to help Northern Ireland businesses access finance.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of assets wrongfully removed from Ukraine that have been recovered or frozen in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, since the meeting of the Ukraine Asset Recovery Forum in London on 28 and 29 April.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The UK led the call for the urgent imposition of EU sanctions, imposing an asset freeze on 22 individuals suspected of misappropriating funds from the Ukrainian state.

    Those assets which are proven to be the proceeds of corruption through criminal investigations, and subsequently confiscated, will be returned to Ukraine.

    We do not release information on the value of assets frozen under financial sanctions in the UK for reasons of confidentiality, and we do not hold information on the value of assets frozen overseas.

    It is our policy to work closely with other governments to assist them to trace and repatriate stolen assets. All appropriate criminal justice and administrative routes to support the Ukrainians are being explored. The Director of the Serious Fraud Office has opened a criminal investigation into possible money laundering arising from suspicions of corruption in Ukraine. The Serious Fraud Office has obtained a restraint order freezing approximately $23 million of assets in the UK in connection with this case.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Blencathra – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been paid in legal aid fees over the last five years to law firms Public Interest Lawyers and Leigh Day to conduct cases alleging abuse by British soldiers.

    Lord Faulks

    The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) cannot separately identify legal aid cases for those Iraqis alleging abuse by British Soldiers without disproportionate costs. Legal aid cases are not systematically recorded against nationality or cause of action.

    Leigh Day have not acted under legal aid in these types of cases. Public Interest Lawyers have acted for Iraqi clients under legal aid in cases seeking investigations into deaths and mistreatment.

    The net payments to Public Interest Lawyers over the past five years were:

    Year

    Amount

    2008/09

    £628,527.75

    2009/10

    £267,433.88

    2010/11

    £439,268.02

    2011/12

    £331,238.85

    2012/13

    £54,387.48

    These payments cover all work undertaken by the firm under legal aid. The payments made will be offset by recoupment on successful cases where the opponent has paid the costs.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 6 May (WA 356), whether they intend to ensure that the word Europe” is used with qualification to make clear what meaning is attached to it in the context of that particular use.”

    Baroness Warsi

    The Government has no plans to start ensuring that the word "Europe" is always used with qualification.

  • Lord Harrison – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Harrison – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to incentivise good stewardship of assets by charities.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    Charity trustees have a legal duty to protect their charity’s assets and resources. The Charity Commission for England and Wales has published updated guidance on stewardship of charity assets which has been widely welcomed. As part of its charity law project, the Law Commission is currently considering the powers and duties of charity trustees in relation to social investment.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord de Mauley on 11 March (WA 374), what offence would be committed by an RSPCA inspector making entry, or attempting to make entry, to private property of a private home without the permission of the owner.

    Lord Faulks

    If the RSPCA are investigating an allegation of animal cruelty and the owners do not cooperate or refuse entry to their property, the RSPCA would normally call upon the assistance of the police. The RSPCA has no special powers for entry or search and seizure – these powers lie with police constables and some local authority officers.

    As such they would be subject to the law as any member of the public would be.

  • Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chris Heaton-Harris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Heaton-Harris on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people with learning disabilities reported being bullied at school in each year for which figures are available.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education does not collect information on the number of people with learning difficulties reported being bullied at school.

    The Government is clear that bullying, for whatever reason, is totally unacceptable. All schools are required, by law, to have a behaviour policy with measures to address all forms of bullying including that which occurs online. Schools have the freedom to shape these measures in the context of their particular local circumstances and pupils’ needs. Schools are held closely to account by Ofsted for how well they deal with pupil behaviour and safety, which includes bullying.

    We are also providing £4 million of funding over two years from spring 2013 to four organisations – Beatbullying, the Diana Award, Kidscape and The Anti-bullying Alliance (ABA) with the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) – to develop effective initiatives that prevent and tackle all forms of bullying.

    As part of their funding, the ABA has recently published a guide to cyberbullying for SEND young people, which contains advice for schools on developing effective anti-bullying practice and we link to this report in our Departmental advice on bullying.

  • Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Laird – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current membership and remit of the Migration Advisory Committee; on what criteria they appoint its members; and whether they have plans to review those criteria and its remit with a view to tasking the Committee with examining immigration and its impact in the round.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is comprised of economists and migration experts who serve as a chair and committee members. They are appointed to support the remit of the Committee, which is to provide independent and evidence-based advice to the Government on migration issues. Professor Sir David Metcalf is the Chair and is supported by 4 members; Dr Martin Ruhs, Professor Jonathan Wadsworth, Dr Jennifer Smith and Professor Jackline Wahba.

    Lesley Giles of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and John Thompson, the Director of Immigration Policy in the Home Office, also sit on the Committee as ex-officio members.

    The Chair and Committee members are public appointments made in line with guidance issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The current criteria for membership are:

    Essential criteria

    * Expertise in economics, preferably labour markets.
    * Quantitative analytical skills.
    * Strong written skills – experience of producing evidence based reports.
    * Building effective working relationships with a wide range of groups.

    Desirable criteria

    * Ability to work as part of a team.
    * Knowledge of non-UK migration data and policies.

    There are no plans to change or review the remit or the criteria for
    appointment to the MAC.

  • Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Hanson on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much her Department has paid for the use of Interpol’s SLTD database in each year since 2010.

    Karen Bradley

    The Home Office accounting systems does not identify separate expenditure on the Interpol’s SLTD database. The information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many occasions in each of the last 10 years there have been incursions by Spanish naval or other state vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters; and on how many occasions they have summoned the Spanish Ambassador or made other diplomatic representations over such incursions.

    Baroness Warsi

    The total number of unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW), from 2010 onwards, are as follows:

    2010 – 103
    2011 – 24
    2012 – 229
    2013 – 496
    Jan-May 2014 – 185

    During this period, the Spanish Ambassador has been summoned three times on incursions related matters – 15 November 2012, 19 November 2013 and 2 April 2014. The British Government cannot readily provide statistics for incursions into BGTW by Spanish State vessels before 2010. This could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. The Government upholds British sovereignty over BGTW by challenging and protesting unlawful incursions. We will continue to make representations to the Spanish government at the highest level, making clear the damage they cause to our bilateral relationship.