Category: Speeches

  • Derek Twigg – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Derek Twigg – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department spend was in total in 2013-14 on defence procurement; and what proportion of that total was spent in the (a) UK, (b) EU and (c) rest of the world.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Information on spending on defence procurement in financial year 2013-14 will be available once the audit of defence expenditure in that year has been completed; we are due to report our 2013-14 financial performance in our Annual Report and Accounts before the House rises for the summer recess. Information for April to September 2013 was published in the Ministry of Defence (MOD)’s Mid Year Report on 24 January 2014, available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-mid-year-progress-report

    The MOD does not routinely record information on the geographic location of its supply chain.

    “

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the total cost of disposal of Nimrod MR4A associated material at RAF Kinloss.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The current net cost of removal of Nimrod MR4A material is £86,000. However, we expect the final net cost to be lower since some of the material removed from site has yet to be sold.

  • Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Tom Greatrex – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Greatrex on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many staff of the Environment Agency are engaged in regulation of hydraulic fracturing and unconventional gas.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency has set up a team of ten national officers working full time to develop the regulatory regime for oil and gas activities. This work covers conventional and unconventional oil and gas activities.

    This team is supported by additional technical resource from elsewhere in the organisation. The workload fluctuates and these specialists are not solely dedicated to regulating and permitting unconventional activities. It is therefore not possible to give an exact answer, but the Environment Agency estimate that approximately a further 40 staff are currently involved in this work across England.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many meetings he has had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

    Elizabeth Truss

    As was the case under previous administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Environment Agency has made on the potential for flood risk at UK fracking sites; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    For surface installations required for borehole construction and hydraulic fracturing, the Environment Agency is a statutory adviser in the planning process. Where appropriate, it will require flood risk assessments. It may object to developments if flood risk is unacceptable or require conditions on how the site is constructed and operated to mitigate flood risk, through flood consents.

  • Joan Walley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Joan Walley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Walley on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which UN peacekeeping missions established since 1990 do not have a human rights mandate.

    Mark Simmonds

    21 out of 51 peacekeeping missions established since 1990 did not include a human rights mandate to monitor and intervene. Of these 21, only the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is still in operation.

    Human rights mandates or components in peacekeeping missions vary depending on the context, and are common in newer peacekeeping missions. The UK Government has supported these human rights mandates wherever possible. This is part of our broader efforts to mainstream human rights into the UN’s peace and security work.

  • Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Watson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has issued any exemptions pursuant to section 28 of the Data Protection Act 1998 which apply to data obtained via unmanned aircraft systems in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    It has been the position of successive Governments to not comment on national security issues.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Zac Goldsmith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of reports that scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have created a virus that closely resembles the 1918 Spanish flu strain; whether he has made an assessment of the potential threat to the UK population arising from that experiment; and whether the Government has made any representation to the US administration on this matter.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England (PHE) was advised that the work undertaken at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has been reviewed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, in keeping with the institute’s implementation of the United States Government Policy for Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern.

    As part of this, PHE understand that the research was carried out in secure facilities with high levels of containment. A key finding of the research was that people vaccinated with the current seasonal influenza vaccine (which protects against 2009 H1N1 influenza, a related virus) had some evidence of protection against the novel virus that had been created. In addition, the team showed that the novel transmissible virus is expected to be sensitive to the antiviral medication oseltamivir. Effective counter measures to this novel virus are therefore available.

    This research provides information on the mechanisms responsible for adaptation of avian influenza viruses to mammals. Knowing what genes are associated with a potentially severe pandemic strain can help predict the likelihood of a strain emerging and help devise appropriate counter measures.

  • Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Pamela Nash – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Pamela Nash on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will implement travel bans against those who have been actively promoting the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014.

    James Brokenshire

    The Secretary of State has a non-statutory power to exclude from the UK any
    foreign national whose presence is considered not conducive to the public good.
    The power to exclude is broad but is normally used in circumstances involving
    national security, ‘unacceptable behaviour’ (extremism), international
    relations and foreign policy and serious organised crime.

    Where the Government identifies or is made aware of any individual who may have
    crossed the threshold for exclusion, we will consider carefully the evidence in
    the case before the Secretary of State decides whether or not to take action.

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if she will review the effectiveness of Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals to extend the scope of these provisions to include complaints on high hedges.

    Nick Boles

    Part 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 (‘High hedges’) addresses private disputes about tall evergreen hedges adversely affecting neighbouring homes and gardens. We have no current plans to undertake a specific review of this part of the 2003 Act.