Category: Speeches

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will press for the immediate release of Meriam Ibrahim and her two children who are imprisoned in Sudan.

    Mark Simmonds

    Meriam Ibrahim was released on 23 June, which we strongly welcomed. She has subsequently been detained again by the Sudanese authorities. Together with our international partners we are urgently seeking clarity on the precise details of her re-arrest and to seek her immediate release.

    Before her short release, the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Development and I had all issued statements calling for Meriam Ibrahim to be released immediately. We also raised our concerns directly with the Government of Sudan: my colleague Lynne Featherstone with the Sudanese Foreign Minister; and our Ambassador in Khartoum with other ministers and senior officials. We will continue to press for her freedom

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the quality of feedback to hon. Members by (a) his Department and (b) private sector providers when they raise constituents’ concerns about personal independence payments.

    Mike Penning

    The Department for Work and Pensions and Ministers provide feedback to hon. Members in a range of ways, for example at meetings, during debates, through correspondence and by answering Parliamentary Questions. Where it is not possible to answer a particular query the Department will say so and indicate, where appropriate, when the information will become available in the future, for example through the release of statistical material.

    The two assessment providers for Personal Independence Payment are responsible for dealing with complaints about their own respective levels of service and I understand that they may also deliver their own events for honourable members. Both providers have their own processes for dealing with enquiries from MPs.

  • Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police community support officers there were in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

    Damian Green

    The following table contains the requested data for police community support
    officers in:
    (a) Coventry Basic Command Unit, from 31 March 2009 to 31 March 2011. Figures
    at basic command unit level ceased to be collected from then to reduce the
    administratvie burden on the police.
    (b) figures for Coventry North East constituency are not collected by the Home
    Office.
    (c) (d) the West Midlands police force, the West Midlands region and England,
    from 31 March 2009 to 30 September 2013.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what meetings he has had with organisations (a) from the advice sector and (b) representing people with disabilities on the performance of Capita in introducing personal independence payments.

    Mike Penning

    I have had regular meetings with various stakeholder organisations, for example Macmillan, and my officials and I continue to engage with them on a regular basis.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles were seized by the police as a result of being driven without insurance in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

    Damian Green

    The Home Office does not hold this information.

    The police have the power under the Road Traffic Act (1988) to seize vehicles
    driven without insurance. Enforcement of vehicle seizures is an operational matter for the police.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Scotland Office to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

    Lord Wallace of Tankerness

    The Scotland Office does not have a cost overrun established by its management board above which it merits a budget being tabled at its management board. No overruns have been reported to the management board in the last 12 months.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the National Probation Service will have access to case records of community rehabilitation companies.

    Jeremy Wright

    Staff in the National Probation Service (NPS) and the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have, and will continue to have, necessary access to each other’s case records. NPS staff are able to read all CRC records and update any case they are working on. CRC staff will be able to see and update records that relate to offenders they are working with.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept claims for hearing loss from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    Yes, provided that the Department accepts that it would be likely to be found liable if the claim were to be considered by a court.

  • Liam Fox – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Liam Fox – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the spread of Islamic extremism among the prison population.

    Jeremy Wright

    We are alert to the risks posed by individuals who may wish to radicalise others, and we are committed to tackling radicalisation in the prison environment as an important element of our responsibility to protect the public and reduce re-offending.

    NOMS has in place a wide-ranging programme of work to manage individuals convicted of terrorist or related offences. This programme focuses on: increasing the counter-terrorism intelligence infrastructure working with partner agencies; ensuring provision of an effective Chaplaincy which can challenge extremist ideology; structured risk assessment tools and bespoke interventions; staff briefing and training, and robust processes for the management of offenders on release.

    NOMS contributes to the cross-Government CT strategy CONTEST, and works alongside other Departments to manage the threat posed. As with all significant criminal threats, a multi-agency approach is taken to ensure that information and learning is shared between agencies.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the recent conference in London, what support they are providing to the government of Botswana in preparing for the follow-up conference in early 2015 on the illegal wildlife trade.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Government welcomes the announcement made by the Government of Botswana that it will host a follow up conference on the illegal wildlife trade in early 2015. This meeting will be vital in helping to ensure that the commitments made at the London Conference in February 2014 are fully implemented.

    The Government has offered its full support to Botswana in preparing the meeting. This may include continuing to convene the group of senior officials that prepared the London Conference, offering the support of the UK’s diplomatic network in maintaining high level political engagement on the issue with existing and new partner countries and a possible contribution to the cost of the conference.