Category: Speeches

  • Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to fill vacant school governor positions.

    Lord Nash

    Responsibility for filling a vacancy on a governing body rests with the relevant appointing body for that vacancy. This will vary depending on the category of school and the category of governor.

    Governing bodies should review their membership and size on a regular basis and ensure that appointments are made in an efficient and timely manner. The Governors’ Handbook recommends that for every vacancy, governing bodies should conduct a skills audit to identify any gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience of existing governors. Governing bodies should also set out the specific skills and experience that the school needs for the relevant appointing body or electorate.

    The Department for Education has committed funding to School Governors’ One-Stop Shop (SGOSS), the governor recruitment charity, to March 2015. SGOSS provides a free service, matching high quality candidates that want to become governors with schools that have governor vacancies, according to the skills the schools need. In addition we are working with employers to encourage them to promote volunteering as a governor to their staff. This can potentially provide schools with an important source of highly skilled governors and is also an excellent learning and development opportunity for the employees concerned, carrying benefits back to their employer.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their total expenditure on financial support for organisations which lobby them on government policy.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The information requested is not held centrally. Government Departments fund and contract with various organisations. It would be a matter for the relevant Department to determine whether any of these organisations lobby the government inappropriately.

  • Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-03-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Jordan concerning reports of Palestinian refugees being held under harsh conditions in Cyber City refugee camp in northern Jordan.

    Baroness Northover

    We are in regular contact with the Government of Jordan about refugees in Jordan, including Palestinian refugees.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Donoughue – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 18 March (WS 50–52), how many trustees have been removed by the Charity Commission since 2007; how many trustees have been suspended by the Commission since 2007; and what discussions they have had with the Commission about its using its powers to investigate a breach of charitable law.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The number of trustees of charities suspended or removed by the Charity Commission in each year since 2007 can be seen in the table below:

    Number of trustees suspended

    Number of trustees removed

    2013/14

    4

    0

    2012/13

    0

    0

    2011/12

    1

    0

    2010/11

    1

    0

    2009/10

    1

    0

    2008/09

    1

    1

    2007/08

    7

    6

    A number of meetings have been held with the Charity Commission to discuss its use of regulatory powers. The draft Protection of Charities Bill, announced as part of the Queen’s Speech, would strengthen the powers of the Charity Commission to tackle abuse in charities.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department’s policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

    Brandon Lewis

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the long-term impact of the conflict in the Central African Republic on education there, particularly of girls, on higher education, and on the use of schools for military purposes.

    Baroness Northover

    The ongoing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to take a distressing toll on the civilian population, compounding an already acute humanitarian crisis. The UN estimates that 557,000 people have been displaced within CAR, with 483,000 estimated to have fled the country, of whom 358,000 are refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and South Sudan.

    Prior to the crisis, CAR was host to over 15,000 refugees from DRC and Sudan; however the deteriorating security situation has led to the voluntary repatriation of many refugees with support from UNHCR. In April over 6,000 Congolese refugees were voluntarily repatriated to Equateur province in DRC – a further sign of the gravity of the situation in CAR.

    The crisis is having a marked impact on education provision, with the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimating that 400,000 vulnerable children are in need of emergency access to education. Many schools outside the capital have been closed since the onset of the crisis and whilst some schools in Bangui have reopened, work on rebuilding educational institutions as well as infrastructure is needed. The Multi-Cluster Initial Rapid Assessment in January 2014 placed the level of functioning schools at 4%, with many looted and occupied by displaced people, but did not report military use of schools. The interruption of education affects both girls and boys.

    The most important need continues to be security, and the UK has worked closely with international partners, including the African Union (AU), to support efforts to bring stability to the country. We have provided £2m in non-lethal support to the UN-mandated AU force, MISCA, which despite serious challenges, has worked well with the French Operation Sangaris to bring some security to the country. We will continue to work with the AU and others as we approach the handover to the UN Peace Keeping Operation, MINUSCA, in September 2014, and as preparations are made for elections, currently scheduled for 2015.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of the UK’s (a) coal, (b) gas and (c) oil requirements were met by imports from Russia in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Michael Fallon

    The amounts of coal and oil imported from Russia by the UK for each year between 2008 and 2012 compared to total UK demand for those fuels are shown in the following tables.

    Coal

    (thousand tonnes)

    2008

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    Import

    21,249

    17,726

    8,322

    12,126

    16,933

    Proportion of demand

    33%

    34%

    15%

    22%

    25%

    Primary Oil

    (thousand tonnes)

    2008

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    Import

    8,295

    5,065

    5,000

    6,058

    7,491

    Proportion of demand

    10%

    7%

    7%

    8%

    11%

    Petroleum Products

    (thousand tonnes)

    2008

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    Import

    1,435

    2,066

    2,306

    2,407

    2,630

    Proportion of demand

    2%

    3%

    3%

    4%

    4%

    There was no gas imported directly from Russia by the UK.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to ensure thatthe rights in international law of both Israel and Palestine become the starting point for any renewal of negotiations.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Government has strongly supported the tireless efforts of US Secretary of State Kerry to facilitate a lasting final status agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. It is disappointing that, despite these efforts, greater progress was not made. However, we remain convinced that common ground and political strength can be found, and we remain committed to doing all we can to support the US and the parties as they seek to find a way forward.

  • Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mr David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr David Hanson on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many failed removals of foreign national offenders there were in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    I will write to the Rt. hon. Member.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Israeli counterpart on the recent destruction of fruit trees at the Tent of Nations farm on the West Bank.

    Hugh Robertson

    We have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities. However, we repeatedly make clear to the Israeli authorities our serious concerns about continued demolitions of Palestinian property and the need to abide by their other obligations under international law. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised the issue of demolitions in general on 28 May with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office.