Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of refugees in the Central African Republic.

    Baroness Northover

    The ongoing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to take a distressing toll on the civilian population, compounding an already acute humanitarian crisis. The UN estimates that 557,000 people have been displaced within CAR, with 483,000 estimated to have fled the country, of whom 358,000 are refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

    Prior to the crisis, CAR was host to over 15,000 refugees from DRC and Sudan; however the deteriorating security situation has led to the voluntary repatriation of many refugees with support from UNHCR. In April over 6,000 Congolese refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Equateur province in DRC – a further sign of the gravity of the situation in CAR.

    The crisis is having a marked impact on education provision, with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimating that 400,000 vulnerable children are in need of emergency access to education. Many schools outside the capital have been closed since the onset of the crisis and whilst some schools in Bangui have reopened, work on rebuilding educational institutions as well as infrastructure is needed. The Multi-Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment in January 2014 placed the level of functioning schools at 4%, with many looted and occupied by displaced people, but did not report military use of schools. The interruption of education affects both girls and boys.

    The most important need continues to be security, and the UK has worked closely with international partners, including the African Union (AU), to support efforts to bring stability to the country. We have provided £2m in non-lethal support to the UN-mandated AU force, MISCA, which despite serious challenges, has worked well with the French Operation Sangaris to bring some security to the country. We will continue to work with the AU and others as we approach the handover to the UN Peace Keeping Operation, MINUSCA, in September 2014, and as preparations are made for elections, currently scheduled for 2015.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking on the decision to allow the sale and consumption of alcohol in a motorway service area.

    Norman Baker

    The Licensing Act 2003 bans the sale of alcohol at certain motorway service areas but this ban does not extend to all of them. At motorway service areas which are not covered by the Act, the grant of premise licences for the sale of alcohol in any particular case is at present a matter for the local licensing authority.

    The Government included motorway service areas as part of the public consultation on the Alcohol Strategy in 2012/13. The Government’s response to this consultation was published in July 2013 and stated that this issue would be considered further, and it is under active consideration.

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the standards of design used for new homes in large-scale greenfield developments in England since 2010.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    The Government is keen to ensure that new homes are well-designed and the National Planning Policy Framework and accompanying Practice Guidance strongly encourages local authorities, working with local partners, to achieve this. However, information about the standard of design for new homes is not collected centrally.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the introduction of legally binding pre-nuptial agreements.

    Simon Hughes

    The Law Commission published its report on Matrimonial Property, Needs and Agreements on 27 February 2014.

    The report focuses on clarifying the law in the areas of financial ‘need’ and nuptial agreements and makes 3 broad recommendations:

    1. that written guidance is produced on financial need;

    2. that the feasibility is assessed of producing numerical guidance to help couples to calculate the likely financial outcome of divorce or dissolution; and

    3. that pre-nuptial agreements are made statutorily binding.

    The Government is grateful to the Law Commission for their hard work on this complex area of law.

    The Government is giving the report careful consideration. An interim response will be published by August 2014 and a full response by February 2015. These are the timescales established in protocol between the Law Commission and Government.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Mulholland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made by his Department’s Justice for Vulnerable Road Users Working Group.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Justice for Vulnerable Road Users group is a sub-group of the Cycling Stakeholder Forum. It includes representatives from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Metropolitan Police, Crown Prosecution Service, Sentencing Council, CTC, British Cycling and RoadPeace. The next meeting is scheduled for later this month.

    The remit of the group is set out in a terms of reference agreed by the membership. The group has recently looked into whether it would be possible to link data to see how many fatal road traffic accidents have resulted into convictions and this will most likely be discussed at the forthcoming meeting. Many of the other concerns of the Group should be covered in the forthcoming Ministry of Justice Review of Motoring Offences.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to ratify the International Labour Organisation amendment C188 on the Work in Fishing Convention, in respect of a minimum age for work on a fishing vessel, minimum medical standards, basic work agreements, occupational health and safety, and social security.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Government supports the principles behind the International Labour Organization Convention on Work in Fishing (No. 188), and is working with the fishing industry to develop proposals for implementation of the Convention, including those aspects listed above.

    The UK will make a final decision on the appropriateness and timing of ratification once the impacts on the industry have been identified and assessed.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 6 May 2014, Official Report, columns 59-61W, on private education: offences against children, how many referrals the National College for Teaching and Leadership has (a) received and (b) acted upon since that body’s establishment.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The National College for Teaching and Leadership has received 40 referrals from independent schools in respect of matters outlined in the answer of 6 May 2014, Official Report, columns 59-61W.

    All of these referrals have been considered, or are in the course of being considered, in accordance with the procedures outlined in that answer.

  • Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Bryant – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria will be used by his Department to determine how much funding each local authority will receive to investigate those eligible to receive a refund of under-occupancy payments.

    Esther McVey

    An estimate of the overall costs has been made based on discussions with individual local authorities and local authority representative organisations. The allocation of funding has been based on the total number of claimants who currently have their spare room subsidy removed. The estimate reflects the work likely to be undertaken by local authorities, including the inspection of claim records to identify those potentially affected, collect further information, and make a decision

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the crime detection rate was for North Yorkshire police force in each year since 2004-05.

    Norman Baker

    The information requested is shown in the following table.

    Most of this information was also published by the Home Office in its "Crimes
    Detected in England and Wales, 2012/13" bulletin. Overall detection rates are
    available in table 3 for all police forces from the year 2005/06 onwards.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/224022
    /hosb0213-pfatabs.ods

    Detections have now been replaced by a new outcomes framework, which includes a
    broader range of "outcomes" for crimes dealt with by the police, and therefore
    provides greater transparency on how crimes are resolved. The former detections
    framework only covered a subset of the new outcomes and therefore of the ways
    crimes are "resolved". Statistics for the year 2013/14 onwards will focus on
    the new outcomes framework, rather than detections.

  • Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of deterioration in normal operation on the efficiency assumptions for the new combined heat and power classifications.

    Gregory Barker

    In 2013 the Government reviewed the minimum performance standards for renewable Combined Heat and Power (CHP) set in our Quality Assurance programme. In response to the consultation responses on the proposed revisions we reviewed available data on renewable CHP performance, including deterioration. As a result of this review performance assumptions for new engines/turbines were relaxed in finalising the requirements based on evidence. In respect of deterioration in normal operation the Government reviewed CHP Quality Assurance data on the operational efficiency of eight renewable CHP schemes, each with 2-13 years operational data. Of these, three showed increasing efficiency over time and five showed no discernible increase or decrease over time.