Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to monitor the scale and causes of food poverty in the United Kingdom; and what steps they plan to take.

    Lord De Mauley

    The root causes of household food insecurity are varied and complex. The Government is committed to playing its part in tackling both short and long term challenges. While it is not the Government’s role to set food prices, we work to promote open and competitive markets that help offer the best prices to consumers.

    Through Healthy Start the Government provides a nutritional safety net that encourages healthy eating to around half a million pregnant women and children under 4 years old in low income and disadvantaged families throughout the UK. The Government provides free school meals to disadvantaged children, and the Deputy Prime Minister has announced healthy free school meals for all school children in reception, year 1 and year 2 from September 2014. We are reforming the welfare system to make it fairer, more affordable and better able to tackle poverty, unemployment and welfare dependency. We are also providing increased access to jobs through the Government’s efforts to promote growth in the economy.

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has paid in severance payments and associated pension contributions to employees since May 2010; how many such severance payments there have been; and what the average length of service in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority was of those receiving payments.

    Michael Fallon

    Between May 2010 and 31st March 2014 the NDA paid a total of £5.058 million in severance payments to 76 members of staff in line with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme rules. The average length of service was 4 years 7 months. The NDA has made no associated pension contributions.

  • Lord Eames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Eames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Eames on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of the Republic of Ireland on ways to encourage dialogue among Northern Ireland parties on the issues of flags, parades and dealing with the past.

    Baroness Randerson

    The Government is in regular contact with the Irish Government at ministerial and official levels on these issues. Both Governments strongly support an intensification of the parties’ negotiations and believe that finding an agreed way forward on these issues would be an important step forward for Northern Ireland.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which key delivery partners his Department has met to inform a second consultation on local air quality management as mentioned in the Local Air Quality Management in England: Review-Summary of Responses and Government Reply.

    Dan Rogerson

    Defra officials have met with lead officials at the Department for Transport and Greater London Authority, and, through the Regional Coordinators Group, local air quality practitioners and environmental health officers from across England. This Group, which meets at least twice a year, includes representatives from other Government Departments and key stakeholders. We will continue to engage fully with these and other delivery partners to help inform our second consultation on revised regulations and guidance for local authorities.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail regarding the redirection notices it provides to other postal operators.

    Jenny Willott

    None. Matters relating to its operations and services, which includes its Redirection Service, are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail’s management.

  • Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what was on the agenda for the meeting with Dmitry Firtash at his Department on 24 February 2014.

    Mr David Lidington

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials met Dmitry Firtash on 24 February to discuss developments in Ukraine and support for Ukraine from the international community. They did not discuss matters of national security. The meeting was part of a wider approach by the FCO to understand better the situation in Ukraine, by seeking information and views from a wide range of contacts, including senior business figures. The Government does not have plans to publish a note of the meeting at this time. According to our records, Dmitry Firtash has not attended any other meetings with the FCO in London.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

    Andrea Leadsom

    HM Treasury do not use 0845, 0844 or 0830 telephone numbers.

  • Paul Beresford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Beresford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Beresford on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many confirmed cases of oro-pharyngeal cancer there were in the last five years for which figures are available; and how many of those cases resulted in death.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions his Department has had with local authorities in the Tees Valley on the creation of a combined authority.

    Brandon Lewis

    On 16 June 2014 the Government signed a City Deal with the Tees Valley in which the local leaders committed to develop plans to strengthen governance, including progressing the idea of a combined authority for the area.

    It is for the local areas themselves to decide, given their circumstances, what governance arrangements will best enable effective and collaborative decision taking, which is transparent and locally accountable, thus delivering successfully the implementation of the area’s Strategic Economic Plan. Where councils come forward with a proposal for a combined authority that commands wide local support, if the Secretary of State considers that the statutory conditions are met, he will invite Parliament to approve an Order which enables the combined authority to be established.

  • Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Matthew Offord – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Offord on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Legal Aid Agency first informed Aman Solicitors that its bid was successful for a contract to provide publicly-funded immigration services in Luton in the 2010 tender round.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    These questions relate to ongoing litigation against the Lord Chancellor and in the circumstances it would be inappropriate to respond at the current time.