Category: Speeches

  • Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in (a) Rossendale and (b) Darwen were found guilty of (i) drunk and disorderly behaviour and (ii) drunk and aggravated behaviour in each of the last three years.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information the location of an offence or the home address of an offender. This detailed information may be held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MoJ. As such, the information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Lady Hermon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lady Hermon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lady Hermon on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps she is taking to support the progress of the First World War legacy project in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    The Northern Ireland Office sits on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Programme Board for First World War Centenary Commemorations and plays a coordination role in ensuring the Government’s programme for the First World War commemorations is implemented in Northern Ireland in a manner that promotes reconciliation and enhances prospects for a peaceful, shared future. This includes plans to implement the Government’s commemorative paving stones project in the hometowns of Victoria Cross recipients.

    I am working closely with the Irish Government to participate in a series of joint commemoration events for the centenary of the First World War, and the wider decade of centenaries.

    My officials also provide support for local centenary commemoration plans by sitting on, and working closely with, the Northern Ireland First World War Centenary Committee chaired by the Rt hon Jeffrey Donaldson MP. I receive regular updates on this work and lend it my full support.

  • Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grahame M. Morris – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame M. Morris on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on passenger survivability in the North Sea of side-floating helicopter schemes that (a) comply and (b) do not comply with the relevant Civil Aviation Authority statutory specifications.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as part of its Offshore Helicopter Review, looked at improvements that could be made to helicopters to increase the survivability of passengers in the event of a ditching in the sea. The CAA has made recommendations to industry concerning the use of flotation devices. However, the CAA does not have statutory specifications for side-floating helicopter schemes.

    The requirements for such equipment are being developed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which commissioned a study that was conducted by Eurocopter and Aerazur.　 Previous research by both the CAA and the US Federal Aviation Administration has shown that the majority of fatalities following a ditching or water impact event were due to drowning following the capsize of the helicopter.　 Future requirements for such equipment, which are intended to mitigate the risk of capsize, will be determined by EASA.

  • Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andy McDonald – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he has taken to ensure that asylum seekers receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

    Esther McVey

    Asylum seekers are normally excluded from claiming most benefits.

    Those who cannot claim benefits receive support provided by Asylum Support, a part of the Home Office that deals with accommodating and supporting asylum seekers and their dependants.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much time someone enrolled on the new enterprise allowance spends with a mentor.

    Esther McVey

    The pre-start-up mentoring phase on the New Enterprise Allowance usually lasts for 8 weeks, although this can be extended to 12 in exceptional circumstances.

    Post-start up mentoring support is also available throughout the first six months of trading.

  • Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2014-06-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the expected increase in the fees and levies on regulated consumer credit firms that will go towards the funding of the Money Advice Service and Financial Ombudsman Service in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017 under the new Financial Conduct Authority regulated fees and levies regime.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer credit regulatory regime is far better resourced and has wider objectives than the previous Office of Fair Trading (OFT) regime. The FCA is an independent, non-governmental body, and it is entirely funded by the fees it charges on the financial services industry. As a result, specific questions around fees are a matter for the FCA.

    The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is funded by a combination of industry levy and case fees. The FOS is an independent, non-Governmental body and questions about its funding are a matter for the FOS or, as the case may be, the FCA (who approve the FOS budget and fee rules). The FOS budget is proposed by FOS annually and approved by the FCA.

    The Money Advice Service’s (MAS) budget is proposed by MAS annually, based on demand for money and debt advice, and approved by the FCA. Consumer credit firms will pay the MAS levy once authorised by the FCA. The FCA has approved MAS’s 2014/15 budget, but MAS’s budget for future years has not yet been determined.

  • Lord Clement-Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Clement-Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Clement-Jones on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the number of job vacancies in the United Kingdom; and, of that figure, how many are (1) full-time, (2) part-time, and (3) zero-hours contracts, temporary or self-employed vacancies.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

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

  • Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tessa Munt – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tessa Munt on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 132W, on radiotherapy, what reports he has received on the reasons NHS England has paid for Gamma Knife treatment at University College Hospital London (UCHL) for a patient with an acoustic neuroma referred to UCHL from Bournemouth and Poole Hospital.

    Jane Ellison

    For reasons of patient confidentiality, it is not possible to comment explicitly on either case referred to. However, any primary care trust authorisations made for the gamma knife prior to 1 April 2013 were honoured by NHS England and the invoice associated with the agreed work was paid. University College London Hospitals (UCLH) were required to forward any referrals made after 1 April 2013 to NHS England, along the prescribed pathway, in accordance with the contract between the two. No invoices for work carried out by Queen’s Square Radiotherapy Centre at its own risk on behalf of UCLH have been paid by NHS England for referrals after 1 April 2013.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2014-04-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with the United States Special Envoy on North Korea, Ambassador Robert King, about ways to build international action to follow through the passage of United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution (A/HRC/25/L.17) on human rights violations in North Korea.

    Baroness Warsi

    The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva met with Ambassador King on 18 March to discuss the UN Human Rights Council Resolution and how it could be used to build international action to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. In the near future we hope to welcome him.

    On 27 March, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), discussed the resolution with US Assistant Secretary Russel. We will continue to work with the US and others to ensure that there is accountability for the horrifying human rights violations documented in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

  • Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Katy Clark – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Katy Clark on 2014-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications were made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority’s Hardship Fund in 2013-14; and what proportion of such applications were successful.

    Damian Green

    The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority received ten applications under the hardship fund in 2013-14, of which four were successful.

    People who did not meet the fund’s earnings criteria lodged the six remaining applications. The fund is there to support low-paid workers and four of these six people earned too much to be eligible, while the other two lost no income as a result of the injuries they sustained.