Category: Speeches

  • Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Kate Hoey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will place in the Library a list of the members of the IRA who have been beneficiaries of the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Based on an assessment of the records held by my department, the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) was granted in Northern Ireland365 times between 1979 and 2002, but this total does not include the period between 1987 and 1997 for which records cannot currently be found. The department does not hold information which specifically confirms whether individuals who received the RPM were members of prescribed groups. There are no cases where the RPM has been granted since the current Government came to office in May 2010, and the records indicate that there are no instances where the RPM was granted after 2002.

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the reduction in businesses fined for employing illegal immigrants since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    Since 2010 there has been a 13% increase in the number of civil penalties issued to businesses employing illegal migrant workers with 2,149 penalties issued in 2013/14 compared with 1,899 in 2010/11.An assessment of enforcement activity and operating procedures in relation to illegal working visits led to increased deployment and a renewed focus on illegal working in 2013. This resulted in 8,573 illegal working visits in 2013/14 compared with 5,441 in 2012/13. Additionally the target of issuing 2,500 Notices of Potential Liability (NOPL) for a civil penalty was exceeded with 3,562 NOPLs being issued in 2013/14 compared with 1,659 in 2012/13 equating to a 70% increase.We are committed to tackling illegal working and we are increasing our multi-agency operations to step up enforcement action against businesses. Through the Immigration Act and secondary legislations, we are getting tougher with non-compliant employers by increasing the maximum financial penalty from £10,000 to £20,000 per illegal worker; making it easier to enforce payment in the civil courts; and simplifying right-to-work checks for legitimate employers.

  • Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale on 2014-03-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which the work of Feronia fits with the National Development Strategy of the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    Baroness Northover

    CDC is a public limited company with an independent Board and takes individual investment decisions independent of DFID. Information about the investment and its expected development impact is available on CDC’s website http://cdcgroup.com/Media/News/CDC-invests-US181m-in-agribusiness-in-the-Democratic-Republic-of-Congo/.

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  • David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David Amess – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions he has had with the (a) Chairman and (b) Secretary of the Chilcot Inquiry on the publication of its report since March 2013; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Cameron

    The Iraq Inquiry is independent of government, and should be allowed to complete its work without interference.

    Neither I nor Ministers have had any discussions with or made any representations to the Inquiry. Nor have I discussed the Inquiry with President Obama.

    The Inquiry has sought the declassification of material for inclusion in its report from many thousands of documents, some of which have been or will be published. Government does not, as a rule, comment on any discussions between officials and the Inquiry.

    The Maxwellisation process is a matter for the Inquiry.

    The Government remains committed to ensuring that the Inquiry’s final report will be able to disclose all but the most sensitive information which will be determined in accordance with the protocol governing the disclosure of documentary evidence which is available through the Inquiry website.

    Timing of the delivery of the report to me is a matter for the Inquiry, but it is my hope that the Inquiry can complete its work before the end of the year. Upon publication, copies of the report will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

  • Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Seccombe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Seccombe on 2014-03-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Department for Communities and Local Government has taken to cut spending on Common Purpose leadership courses.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    I confirm that the Secretary of State has given a clear steer that spending on Common Purpose is not appropriate, and no expenditure has been undertaken since 2010. By contrast, the last Administration spent £235,950 on Common Purpose.

    In ’50 ways to save’ the Department’s best practice guidance on sensible savings, we recommended councils cancel spending on Common Purpose leadership courses as a practical way of saving money.

  • Marcus Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Marcus Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marcus Jones on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department allocated to projects relating to cycling between (a) 2005 and 2010 and (b) 2010 to 2014.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    During the five financial years 2005/6 to 2009/10, the Department for Transport (DfT) provided funding for cycling through Cycling England, an arm’s length organisation set up in 2005; in that period, Cycling England received £105m from the DfT.

    During the five financial years 2010/11 to 2014/15, the DfT allocated a final £63m to Cycling England, and has allocated direct funding of £224m for cycling projects, comprising: the £94m Cycling Cities and National Parks fund, £28.5m for Links to Schools / Linking Communities, the £35m cycle safety fund, £14.5m for Cycle Rail, £4.8m to the Highways Agency and £46.8m for Bikeability. In addition, the DfT’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund is providing £540m for local authorities to prioritise sustainable transport projects, of which 28% or £151m is being allocated to cycling projects. So total investment by this government in cycling in the five financial years 2010/11 to 2014/15 is £438m.

    DfT funding for the LSTF and its Cycling Ambition, Cycle-Rail, and Linking Communities funds is often used to lever matching local contributions. When these other sources are included, spend on cycling in England is equal to £5 per person a year, whilst spend in the eight cycling ambition cities is around £10 per person a year. From 2015/16, the LSTF forms part of the Local Growth Fund, a long-term funding commitment of £2bn a year.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Emily Thornberry – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many and what value of asset freezing orders have been enforced in the UK at the request of overseas jurisdictions in each year since 2008-09.

    Oliver Heald

    The number and estimated value of restraint orders obtained by the CPS and SFO pursuant to requests from overseas jurisdictions since 2008/09 are shown in the tables below.

    The value of restrained assets may vary over time due to changes in asset valuations , exchange rates and payments of expenses.

    Crown Prosecution Service

    Year

    Number of overseas restraint orders

    Estimated amount preserved (to nearest 000)

    2008/09

    16

    £60,504,000

    2009/10

    15

    £11,006,000

    2010/11

    7

    £2,693,000

    2011/12

    2

    £50,074,000

    2012/13

    6

    £4,080,000

    2013/14

    3

    £409,000

    Serious Fraud Office

    Year

    Number of overseas restraint orders

    Estimated amount preserved (to nearest 000)

    2008/09

    2

    £1,000,000

    2009/10

    3

    £69,500,000

    2010/11

    2

    £1,500,000
  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 15 January 2014, Official Report, column 578W, on unmanned air vehicles, whether his Department maintains munitions records from the UK Reaper fleet on a sortie-by-sortie basis or for each operation carried out.

    Mr Mark Francois

    After each UK Reaper sortie a mission report is written detailing the aircraft used and events of the flight. This includes weapon releases on a sortie-by-sortie basis.

    “

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the current level of teachers teaching ability whilst using tablet computers in primary schools.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The available evidence suggests that teachers adapt quickly to using tablets as a tool for learning.

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions have been held with HM Treasury about changes in costs of administering the personal independence payment assessment process; what the outcomes of those discussions have been; and how they affect the current Spending Review benefits savings target and the proposed cap on benefit expenditure.

    Mike Penning

    The costs of administering the PIP assessment process were published in the NAO report in February 2014 and quote the current PIP business case (2013-2014)

    http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Personal-independence-payment-early-progress.pdf

    Forecast expenditure on PIP will be updated at Autumn Statement. The most recent forecasts were published by the Office for Budget Responsibility following Budget 2014.

    http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/37839-OBR-Cm-8820-accessible-web-v2.pdf

    The Department meets regularly with HM Treasury to discuss progress on all programmes.

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