Category: Speeches

  • Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pete Wishart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pete Wishart on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of changes in the number of staff in the Glasgow Passport Office since 2008 on the speed of the processing of applications for passports by that office.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not consider that changes in its office in
    Glasgow have had any impact on the speed of processing applications for passports.

  • Lord Luce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Luce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the circumstances of the incursion by a Spanish state research vessel accompanied by a Spanish Guardia Civil vessel into British Gibraltar territorial waters on 1 April; whether they consider that such incursions present any danger to human safety; and what naval and police resources are available in Gibraltar to counter such incidents and to secure the safety of personnel.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    On the evening of 1 April, the Spanish state research vessel, Angeles Alvarino, entered British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW). The vessel was shadowed by Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron and Royal Gibraltar Police vessels. The Angeles Alvarino departed BGTW after approximately three hours. The Government publicly summoned the Spanish Ambassador to the UK on 2 April to make a formal diplomatic protest. In his statement of the same day, the Minister for Europe, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), made clear that not only were the actions of the survey vessel unlawful, but the dangerous manoeuvring of the accompanying Spanish Guardia Civil vessel presented a significant safety concern on the waters.

    Although unlawful, incursions are a violation of British sovereignty, not a threat to it. They do not weaken or undermine the legal basis in international law for British sovereignty over Gibraltar including British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

    Maritime security in Gibraltar is provided by the Royal Navy’s Lifespan Patrol Vessels, HMS SCIMITAR and HMS SABRE, and up to three Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs), all operated by the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron. The Gibraltar Defence Police have two 15 metre launches and three Arctic 24 RHIBs for maritime force protection. Ordinarily three police officers are assigned to marine duties, drawing on a cadre of some 20 personnel. Larger Royal Navy ships visit Gibraltar regularly in relation to operational and training activity, reflecting its utility as a permanent joint operating base.

    The Royal Gibraltar Police is responsible for law enforcement in Gibraltar. Their Marine Section has two patrol vessels, one of them with a small deployable RHIB onboard, three RHIB interceptors, one ‘jet boat’ and three jet skis.

    All elements of the situation, including the maritime security capabilities available to the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, are kept under review. We are ready to provide additional assets to the Squadron or augment our broader maritime posture as necessary.

  • 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 community rehabilitation companies have access to National Probation Service case records.

    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 Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount of money, fraudulently, corruptly or criminally acquired and transferred to the United Kingdom from (1) Russia, and (2) Ukraine, has been frozen, confiscated or returned to its rightful owners, in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy sets out our commitment to making the UK a hostile environment for money laundering. The information you have requested is not centrally held, but the UK has taken a leading role in responding to allegations of corruption in Ukraine, promptly implementing European Union sanctions against individuals identified as responsible for the misappropriation of state funds, and posting a multi-agency team, comprising of the National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police Service, and Crown Prosecution service, to Kiev to provide technical assistance and support to the Ukrainian authorities. All appropriate criminal justice and administrative routes to support the Ukrainian authorities are being pursued.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what new prison accommodation is planned to come on stream and in which locations before May 2015.

    Jeremy Wright

    We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.

    Over 2,000 further places for adult male prisoners will become available before May 2015, including new house-blocks at HM Prisons The Mount, Thameside, Parc and Peterborough. The remainder of the places will come from re-opening refurbished or mothballed capacity

  • Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of death sentences handed down so far during 2014 in Iran; and whether they have discussed the issue with President Rouhani and the government of Iran.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    We are deeply concerned by reports of more than 100 executions in the first three months of 2014, including for crimes not considered by the international community to be the ‘most serious’ and for which the death penalty can be applied. We have raised our concerns about Iran’s use of the death penalty with the Iranian authorities; and will continue to do so.

  • Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Christopher Chope – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what recent estimate the Electoral Commission has made of the number of British citizens registered as overseas voters and the number of such citizens eligible for registration.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    Every British citizen who has been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years is eligible to vote in UK Parliamentary (general) elections and European Parliamentary elections.

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the most recent figure showed that there were 15,848 registered overseas voters on the UK electoral registers.

    The most recent estimates of the total number of UK citizens living abroad are of 5.5 million (The Institute for Public Policy Research in 2006) and 4.7 million (The World Bank in 2010). However, it is not possible from this data to establish how many citizens living abroad were registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years and are therefore eligible to vote from abroad. Even in the absence of a reliable estimate, it is nonetheless clear that the number of UK citizens living abroad who are eligible to register to vote is considerably more than those currently registered.

    The Commission runs public awareness campaigns to encourage British expatriates to register to vote; the most recent took place ahead of the European elections this year.

  • Austin Mitchell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Austin Mitchell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Austin Mitchell on 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will bring forward proposals to limit the interest rate payable on payday loans; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government legislated in the Banking Reform Act 2013 to require the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to introduce a cap on the cost of high-cost short-term credit, including payday loans, in order to protect consumers from excessive costs. In designing the cap, the FCA will take into account the interest rate and other fees and charges which may be incurred in relation to a high-cost loan.

    As part of the FCA’s powers to cap the cost of credit in the Financial Services Act 2012, the Government gave the FCA specific powers to prevent a lender enforcing a credit agreement and recovering the debt, if the agreement contravenes its rules on the cost of credit. It can also require that any money or property transferred under the credit agreement must be returned.

    The FCA is currently conducting analysis to inform the design of the cap; it has committed to publishing its proposed rules which implement the cap in July. The FCA plans to publish final rules in the autumn and all lenders must be compliant with the cap by 2 January 2015. The Government supports the FCA’s proposed timetable for implementing the cap: it allows the FCA appropriate time to conduct analysis, consult on its proposals and ensure that firms are fully compliant by January. It also allows the FCA to draw on the insight of the Competition and Markets Authority’s study into payday lenders in designing the cap.

  • 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 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of partners in small businesses who will apply for universal credit; and what steps such people need to take to establish their monthly income in order to do so.

    Esther McVey

    We have not produced estimates of the numbers of partners in small businesses who will apply for Universal Credit.

    Guidance on self-employment issued for Universal Credit decision makers can be found in the Advice for Decision Makers, which is available online at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-for-decision-making-staff-guide

    “

  • Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Simon Kirby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Kirby on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on ensuring that Government IT initiatives represent best value for money; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    After the 2010 General Election, this Government formed the Efficiency and Reform Group to help and support departments in maximising value for money. Although responsibility for projects remains the responsibility of individual departments, we introduced strict controls to provide further scrutiny of spend including on IT projects.

    These controls can and have been used by the Cabinet Office to block inappropriate spending. In 2012-13 alone these controls helped us save taxpayers over £500 million from IT, contributing to overall efficiency savings of £10billion in 2012-13 (the last year for which we have audited figures).

    We have clarified our ‘red lines’ for IT procurement – these are designed to encourage competition in the sector, free the government from longstanding inflexible contracts with IT providers and ensure maximum taxpayer value. These rules include:

    · we will no longer let ICT contracts over £100 million in value – unless there is an exceptional reason to do so. Contracts should be smaller to ensure the widest possible range of suppliers can compete for them.

    · we will not give a contract for service provision to a company providing the system integration function in the same part of government. It’s an important way of ensuring we are an intelligent customer.

    · we won’t extend existing contracts unless there is a compelling case – it’s rare to find any good reason to extend the pricing and technology of the past.

    · we do not expect to let hosting contracts for more than 2 years. The cost of hosting seems to halve every 18 months. Businesses wouldn’t sign up for years upon end – and neither should government.