Category: Speeches

Lord Clement-Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have issued guidance as to whether members of either House of Parliament are, or should be, considered as Politically Exposed Persons for the purposes of United Kingdom financial regulation; and, if so, what guidance.

Lord Deighton

The UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2007 define Politically Exposed Persons [PEPs]. UK Members of Parliament are not currently considered PEPs for UK purposes. However, revised global standards require that they are treated as PEPs.

As similar definitions apply in other jurisdictions UK Parliamentarians are likely to be considered as PEPs in other jurisdictions. We are seeking a risk-based approach to the application of this requirement in negotiating the Fourth Money Laundering Directive.

Treasury Ministers have approved industry guidance which further confirms that UK Parliamentarians are not PEPs for UK purposes. Some UK banks may apply enhanced due diligence to UK Parliamentarians in accordance with their own risk appetite, and as part of global policies and procedures.

01/11/2022
Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

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

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the introduction of online voting in (a) Australia and (b) South Africa and its relevance to the UK.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission informs me that it monitors developments in voting technology in other countries, including the limited online voting pilot schemes which have so far taken place at an individual state level in Australia. South African overseas voters can go online to register to vote, but cannot actually vote online.

The Commission will continue to take account of relevant experience from other comparable democracies as it develops a strategy for modernising voting at elections in the UK.

01/11/2022
Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote human rights in North Korea.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK is deeply concerned by reports of widespread and systematic state sanctioned human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as I made clear in my Written Ministerial Statement following the publication of the UN Commission of Inquiry report into these violations. I have called publicly on the DPRK to take immediate steps to close political prison camps, to act on the Commission’s recommendations and to give full and unimpeded access to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other relevant parts of the UN. I also made clear the UK’s commitment to ensuring the Commission’s findings were a beginning and not an end.

Reflecting this commitment, the UK played an active role in ensuring a strong DPRK resolution at the March UN Human Rights Council. I lobbied personally on this issue during my visit to Geneva at the beginning of the Council. Since the resolution was passed we have continued to engage, supporting an informal briefing of the UN Security Council and pressing the DPRK during its recent Universal Periodic Review to respond to the Commission of Inquiry’s findings. In May, I met US Special Envoy on DPRK Human Rights, Robert King, to discuss next steps, and during a visit to Geneva next week I will have further discussions with Ambassador King and others.

01/11/2022
Mr Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Nicholas Brown on 2014-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the performance of Atos in carrying out medical assessments for personal independence payments; and if he will review this contract following the recent announcement on the Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment contract.

Mike Penning

The Department’s contracts with Atos Healthcare and Capita for the delivery of assessments for Personal Independence Payment include a full set of service level agreements setting out the Department’s expectations for service delivery, including quality of assessments and the number of days to provide advice to the Department. We are closely monitoring their progress against these and are taking action to drive up performance where this does not meet the required standards.

In particular, for both providers, the end-to-end process for many claimants is taking significantly longer than originally anticipated. We are working with the providers to ensure that they are taking all necessary steps to improve performance, speed up the process and ensure claimants receive a satisfactory experience.

The contracts include a range of remedies which allow the Department to take action on minor as well as more significant poor performance and ultimately the Department has the right to terminate the contract if there is sustained underperformance.

The contracts for Personal Independence Payment assessments are entirely separate to the contract Atos Healthcare has for the delivery of assessments for Employment and Support Allowance and other benefits.

01/11/2022
Henry Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will measure changes in the number of animals used in scientific procedures in the UK following publication of Working to reduce the use of animals in scientific research in July 2011.

Norman Baker

The Annual Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals Great Britain
for 2013 will be published on 10 July 2014.
I will be publishing a progress report on the Coalition Commitment "Working to
reduce the use of animals in research" in early 2015.

01/11/2022
Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the planned in-service date is for the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon; how many will be procured; and what estimate he has made of the (a) total programme and (b) unit cost.

Mr Philip Dunne

The planned in-service date for the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) (FASGW(H)) is 2020. I am withholding the information relating to the number being procured as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

The total programme cost for FASGW(H) is £500 million and is a joint investment with the French Government. The UK’s contribution is £280 million (contract value excluding VAT). I am withholding information on the unit cost of FASGW(H) as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

I am also withholding all information on the FASGW (Light) as contract negotiations are ongoing and disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

01/11/2022
Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average weekly gross earnings of full-time (a) men, (b) women and (c) people in York has been in (i) cash terms and (ii) at constant prices in each year since 2006-07.

Mr Nick Hurd

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

01/11/2022
Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the fire services was of dealing with fires at privately-owned waste management sites in the last two years.

Brandon Lewis

This information is not held centrally. The cost to fire and rescue authorities in England of dealing with specific fires is a matter for each fire and rescue authorityThe cost to fire and rescue authorities in Wales of dealing with specific fires is a devolved matter.

Fire and rescue authorities must produce regularly, and consult on, an integrated risk management plan. The plan must identify the risks facing local communities and detail how the fire and rescue authority will allocate its resources to mitigate them effectively. People have opportunities to make their voices heard on such issues.

There is still scope for fire and rescue authorities to make sensible savings, such as through reforms to flexible staffing and crewing arrangements, better procurement; shared services, collaboration with emergency services and other organisations on service delivery and estates, sickness management; sharing of senior staff, locally led mergers and operational collaborations, new fire-fighting technology, preventative approaches and working with local businesses.

01/11/2022

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 many UK-domiciled (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students enrolled at the (i) University of York and (ii) University of York St John in each year since 2009-10.

Mr David Willetts

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

The number of UK domiciled undergraduate and postgraduate enrolments at University of York and York St John University in the academic years 2009/10 to 2012/13 has been provided in the following table.

Information on the number of enrolments at UK HEIs for the academic year 2013/14 will become available from HESA in January 2015.

UK domiciled ⁽¹⁾enrolments ⁽²⁾by level and institution of study

Academic years 2009/10 to 2012/13

Institution	Level of study	2009/10	2010/11	2011/12	2012/13
University of York	Postgraduate	2,405	2,610	2,680	2,135
	Undergraduate	9,645	10,190	10,475	10,395
	Total	12,050	12,800	13,155	12,525
York St John University	Postgraduate	815	780	735	715
	Undergraduate	4,835	4,855	4,920	4,960
	Total	5,650	5,640	5,660	5,680

Source: HESA Student Record

Notes:

(1) Domicile refers to a students’ home or permanent address prior to starting their course

(2) Enrolments refers to students in all years of study

This information can also be found on the HESA website at the following link:

https://www.hesa.ac.uk/free-statistics

01/11/2022

Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of victims who took part in the research used in the report Everyone’s business; Improving the police response to domestic abuse were (a) male and (b) female.

Norman Baker

As part of its inspection of the police response to domestic violence and
abuse, which was the basis for the report "Everyone’s business: Improving the
police response to domestic abuse", Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
(HMIC) held focus groups and interviews with 80 victims, of which six were male.

HMIC also circulated an electronic self-completion victim survey to inform its
inspection. 532 victims of domestic abuse completed the survey, of which 483
were female, 39 were male and ten preferred not to disclose their gender.

01/11/2022