Category: Speeches

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 May (WA 511), why they have no set date for the full ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.

    Earl Howe

    The Government does not support eugenic practices. It is not considered helpful to interpret the term ‘eugenic practices’ other than by reference to its ordinarily understood meaning. Any attempt at a working definition would risk the unintentional exclusion of practices whose unacceptability is no less great than that of practices captured by such a definition.

    As previously stated, in the United Kingdom, the complex nature of devolved responsibilities in this range of policy areas has delayed consideration of full ratification. In the meantime, the UK continues to take an active role in Council of Europe negotiations and development of relevant protocols.

  • Mr Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mr Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Gregory Campbell on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in Northern Ireland per 10,000 of the population were prosecuted for non-payment of the television licence fee in each of the last three years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    My Department’s Court Proceedings database holds information on criminal justice statistics only in England and Wales. Criminal Justice Statistics in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland, which the Member will need to contact directly.

    The offence of using a TV receiver without a valid licence carries a maximum penalty of a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale (£1,000). Failure to pay such a fine can lead, following enforcement action and as a last resort, to committal to prison for fine default for a maximum of 28 days.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what length of cables between onshore windfarms and connecting sub-stations has been placed (a) above ground and (b) underground in each of the last five years.

    Michael Fallon

    The Department does not hold this information. Windfarms usually own the cables connecting them to substations. Gathering the information requested would, therefore, require contacting individual windfarm developers at a disproportionate cost.

  • Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jake Berry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much has been allocated to Lancashire County Council to repair potholes in (a) Lancashire and (b) Rossendale.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    From the £200 million to help fix potholes on the local road network announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the March 2014 Budget, £168 million will be for local authorities in England. This funding will be made available through a bidding exercise and it will be for Blackburn and Darwen Council to submit a bid to the Department. Guidance on how councils can apply for this funding will be made available in the coming weeks.

    The Department for Transport has agreed to provide £90.1 million to Lancashire County Council for road maintenance during the financial years from 2011/12 to 2014/15. This funding can be used to help repair potholes.

    Rossendale falls within Lancashire County Council’s area of responsibility and we do not allocate any funds directly to the Borough Council for road maintenance.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what official agreements were made between her Department and the Afghan Investment Support Agency for any work relating to the (a) Bost Agri Industrial Park and (b) Bost Airfield.

    Justine Greening

    The Bost industrial business park proposal was originally approved by officials in 2009 at a time when Ministers did not approve spend under £40m. In 2012 it became clear that the project could no longer be completed within the original timeframe and in good order. To avoid wasting taxpayers’ money I decided that UK funding for the project should be cancelled. The completed park designs have been handed over to the Afghan authorities to enable them to pursue the project over a revised time frame. DFID’s work on Bost Airfield was completed in November 2013.

    DFID put a Memorandum of Understanding in place with AISA and the Helmand Provincial Government in April 2012, focusing solely on the development of the Bost Agri Business Park. AISA was not engaged on the Bost Airfield.

  • 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 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proposals he has to tackle worklessness among social housing tenants.

    Esther McVey

    Jobcentre Plus provides personalised support to help all unemployed people, including social housing tenants, into work. If claimants are at risk of long term unemployment, they are referred to tailored help offered by the Work Programme.

    Where Jobcentre Plus District Managers identify gaps in skills or other provision they have discretion to work with partner organisations, like social landlords, to support the provision of extra help to meet particular needs.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of crime and witnesses were supported by the Witness Service at (a) York Crown Court and (b) York Magistrages’ Court in each year since 2004-05.

    Damian Green

    The Ministry of Justice does not routinely collect this data. Victim Support has provided the data based on available information.

    As part of its Grant in Aid to Victim Support, the Ministry of Justice requires the provision of a court based witness service.

    Victim Support has provided the following figures for 2009/10-2013/14 showing the number of people supported:

    Year

    York Crown Court

    York Magistrates’ Court

    2009/10

    717

    606

    2010/11

    701

    405

    2011/12

    612

    368

    2012/13

    557

    333

    2013/14

    547

    870

    Whilst crime rates continue to fall, Victim Support continues to support all witnesses who wish to receive support when attending court.

  • 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 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to require all police referrals to the National College of Teaching and Leadership to include details of the school where the alleged teacher previously taught.

    Mr David Laws

    Referrals by the police to the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) are currently made under the Notifiable Occupations Scheme, which is the responsibility of the Home Office (Home Office Circular No. 6/2006). The scheme is currently under review with new provisions being considered by the Home Office to supersede the existing scheme.

    Officials at NCTL are in discussions with the Association of Chief Police Officers to ensure that the new scheme continues to provide consistent, timely and relevant information. Disclosure of the teacher’s current or last employment will be considered as part of those ongoing discussions.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much capital funding the Government allocated to (a) York College, (b) Askham Bryan College, (c) the University of York and (d) York St John University in each year since 1995-96.

    Mr David Willetts

    The capital funding allocated by this Department and its predecessor departments to York College, the University of York and the University of York St John in each year between 1992 and 2000 is not readily available. However, the capital allocations for each of the institutions named since 2000/01 is in the attached table.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many instances of Alabama Rot there have been in dogs in the UK.

    George Eustice

    Alabama Rot is the name commonly being given to the newly emerged condition in dogs, known by its clinical and pathological description as ‘Cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy’. Whilst this new condition, which appears seasonally, seems very similar to Alabama Rot, we do not know that they have the same cause.

    Investigation into this condition is being led by vets at a referral small animal veterinary practice and at the world renowned research organisation, the Animal Health Trust. These vets have expertise specifically in small animal medical cases. As such the veterinary practice, Anderson Moore, is best placed to update on the number of confirmed and suspect cases. The practice informed Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency on the 27th March that 14 cases have been confirmed between December 2013 and March 2014. This is in addition to 14 cases confirmed between December 2012 and March 2013.