Category: Speeches

  • Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Thomas Docherty – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thomas Docherty on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether export licences to Syria have been granted for the period since 1 July 2012; and if he will describe any such material so exported.

    Michael Fallon

    Five Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and one Open Individual Export Licence (OIEL) have been granted.

    The information provided relates to goods or services that have been licensed for export. The licences were granted to international and humanitarian organisations to support and protect staff working in these organisations. The six licences granted authorise export of the following:

    SIEL for: components for body armour;

    SIEL for: NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protective/defensive equipment;

    SIEL for: body armour, components for body armour, military helmets;

    SIEL for: body armour, military helmets;

    SIEL for: components for all-wheel drive vehicles with ballistic protection;

    OIEL for: cryptographic software; equipment employing cryptography.

    The licences were granted to international and humanitarian organisations to support and protect staff working in these organisations.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of (a) aggravated assaults against members of the armed forces and (b) times members of the armed forces were discriminated against in bars, restaurants and hotels in each year since 2003.

    Anna Soubry

    This information is not held by the Department.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effects of the shadow banking sector on the UK economy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    When appropriately conducted, shadow banking can benefit the economy by increasing the availability of credit to a range of individuals or firms, and provide a valuable alternative to bank funding. It provides credit and liquidity to the real economy and can improve efficiency and drive innovation in the financial system through firms developing expert knowledge in a particular area.

    However, the Government is aware of the risks shadow banking activities pose to financial stability when things go wrong. The crisis showed that some shadow banking entities created pro-cyclical build-ups of leverage, did not fully transfer credit risk, were susceptible to rapid sell-offs, and were very complex. It also became clear that the shadow banking sector had very complex interconnections with the traditional banking system.

    Recognising the need to improve the transparency and supervision of the shadow banking sector, the Government has taken steps to improve the way shadow banking entities are regulated.

    Domestically, the Government has created new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. In September last year, the Committee agreed as one of its medium term priorities the identification and management of potential systemic risks from shadow banking.

    At the international level, the Government is actively supporting the effective regulation of the sector in EU policymaking, and the UK is instrumental in shaping the global regulatory response at the Financial Stability Board.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

    Gregory Barker

    The Table below details the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s consultancy expenditure in 2013-14:

    2013-14

    £k

    KPMG LLP

    2,340

    Lazard & Co Ltd

    1,940

    Deloitte LLP

    855

    Baringa Partners LLP

    238

    Mott Macdonald Group Ltd

    91

    Redpoint Energy Ltd

    91

    Poyry Management Consulting (UK) Ltd

    61

    Oxera Consulting Ltd

    60

    Cambridge Economic Policy Associates

    55

    E S P Consulting

    48
  • Maria Miller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Miller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Miller on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers the Forestry Commission has to (a) impose fines, (b) restore woodland and (c) take other enforcement action where a landowner has carried out deforestation contrary to the Forestry Act 1967.

    Dan Rogerson

    Only the courts have the power to impose fines on people convicted of felling trees without a licence where one is required under the Forestry Commissioners’ Power to control felling of trees in Part II of the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). This can be up to £2,500 or twice the value of the trees, whichever is the higher.

    Where it appears to the Forestry Commissioners that somebody has committed an offence by felling trees without a licence where one is required, the Commissioners can serve them with a Restocking Notice requiring the area to be restocked. Failure to comply with the requirements of a Restocking Notice can result in an Enforcement Notice being issued. It is an offence not to obey an Enforcement Notice, which can mean a possible fine of up to £5,000.

    Where deforestation accompanied by a change of land use has not received the required consent and has a significant impact on the environment, the Forestry Commission can, under the provisions in The Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry)(England and Wales) Regulations 1999, issue an Enforcement Notice requiring the land to be restored to its condition before the work started.

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which 10 consultancy firms were paid the most by his Department in the last financial year; and how much each of those firms was paid.

    Mr David Lidington

    For the past financial year (2013-2014) the 10 organisations paid most by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for consultancy and the associated spend figures were as follows: ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION & DEVELOPMENT (OECD) £285,579.00 DLA PIPER UK LLP £148,283.34 CBRE LTD £103,412.14 FIELD FISHER WATERHOUSE £52,940.75 FONNEGRA GERLEIN S.A £50,745.43 SAMSON AND MCGRATH £34,136.41 ACCENTURE (UK) LTD £29,892.00 DTZ CONSULTING AND RESEARCH £28,700.00 HOGAN LOVELLS INTERNATIONAL LLP £26,153.81 HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS £21,061.27

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of establishing new Combined Cadet Force detachments in state schools on recruitment to existing community-based cadet forces.

    Anna Soubry

    The cost of setting up a new Combined Cadet Force (CCF) unit under the Cadet Expansion Programme depends largely on the number of cadets in the unit.

    Decisions on opening new CCFs in schools are made jointly by the Department for Education and Ministry of Defence (MOD). The key criteria for deciding which schools can establish a new CCF are the ability of the school to fund the new unit and provide sufficient adult volunteers to run it. However, we are particularly interested in establishing CCFs in areas of deprivation.

    No assessment has been made of the effect of establishing new CCFs in state schools on recruitment to community cadet units. However, it should be noted that CCFs and community cadet units deliver different but complementary elements of the MOD’s youth engagement strategy.

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Attorney General, whether any cases of domestic violence have led to prosecutions for stalking when the stalking behaviours occurred before the victim and perpetrator had separated.

    Oliver Heald

    The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service do not identify the number of people prosecuted for domestic violence that have led to prosecutions for stalking where the stalking behaviour occurred before the victim and perpetrator had separated. Such information could only be obtained through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on the question of who retains ownership of the land in cases where freehold interest in local authority land is granted to an academy trust.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may allow publicly-funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.

    There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

    A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

    The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

    “

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what meetings she has had with (a) the First Minister of Northern Ireland, (b) the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and (c) both the First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I meet regularly with the First Minister and deputy First Minister to discuss a range of issues and will continue to do so.