Category: Speeches

  • 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 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many unfilled vacancies there were on 1 June 2014 in (a) each community rehabilitation company and (b) the National Probation Service.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) commenced operation on 1 June, and all staff have now moved to the new structure. Detailed information on vacancies is not held centrally. CRCs and NPS Divisions are currently developing their workforce plans, building on the staff structures inherited from Trusts. Once these are completed, they will be reviewed centrally and will inform the current round of recruitment for trainee probation officers. In the meantime, NPS Deputy Directors and CRCs are continuing to monitor and manage staffing in their areas.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Seema Malhotra – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Attorney General, what the average timescale was for the Crown Prosecution Service to provide the Independent Police Complaints Commission with advice on criminal charges against current or former police officers suspected of involvement in serious crimes in (a) 2011 to 2013 and (b) 2008 to 2010.

    Oliver Heald

    The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not identify the number of cases referred to it for advice by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Such information could only be obtained through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the delay by the British Embassy in Doha in issuing new passports to children born to United Kingdom parents in Qatar; and whether they have held discussions with the local authorities over the law in Qatar under which fines may be imposed on foreign nationals who are not in possession of a passport by the age of two months.

    Baroness Warsi

    The British Embassy in Doha no longer issues passports. We have raised with the Qatari authorities the issue of fines imposed on British nationals without a passport, and are working to find an agreed solution. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working closely with Her Majesty’s Passport Office to overcome any problems that result from a delay in the issuing of British passports. In line with the recent statement on 12 June by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right Hon Friend the Member for Maidenhead, South East (Theresa May), any British nationals facing a problem should consult the Embassy to discuss this – including the alternatives for urgent travel to the UK without a full passport.

  • Dr Alan Whitehead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dr Alan Whitehead – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dr Alan Whitehead on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to implement the recommendations of the second State of Natural Capital report on (a) sustaining economic growth and (b) providing public services; and if he will make a statement.

    Nicky Morgan

    The NCC’s report contains a range of recommendations which the Government needs to consider collectively. The Government will respond to the NCC’s report once it has fully considered it.

  • Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Masham of Ilton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Masham of Ilton on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans are being made to improve the collection of information about children and adults affected by anti-convulsant drugs during pregnancy.

    Earl Howe

    The Department and The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have met representatives of Independent Fetal Anti Convuslant Trust (In-FACT) to discuss issues relating the prescribing of anti-epileptic drugs to women of child bearing age. We are considering what action might be taken. This includes looking at our current data collection systems to see how information on the incidence of fetal anti convulsant syndrome can be improved.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) a bat, (b) a dormouse, (c) a crested newt and (d) an owl survey has been carried out at Defence Infrastructure Organisation site Ashchurch; what the result of each such survey was; and if he will make a statement.

    Dr Andrew Murrison

    A baseline ecological survey was undertaken at Ashchurch in 2008 and updated in 2012. Following this survey no detailed assessments were undertaken for owls, as there have been no sightings or evidence of protected birds, or dormice, due to no suitable habitat being identified.

    Further detailed studies have been carried out for both crested newts and bats. Results of these surveys showed there was no evidence of crested newts and little evidence of bat activity across Ashchurch. However, one building had a small bat roost and there was a possibility of a bat roost in a second building.

  • Lord Vinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Vinson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Vinson on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost to public funds, in each of the last five years, of compensation payments to illegal immigrants who had been unlawfully detained beyond the statutory period; and what was the legal aid cost of the lawyers undertaking those compensation claims.

    Lord Faulks

    1 April 2008 we have reported on compensation cases and disclosed information on individual cases where the costs exceeded £250,000. We do not report the individual details on cases below this threshold, or prior to this date.

    Information relating to compensation, ex-gratia and adverse legal costs payments is available and can be found within the Losses and Special Payments disclosure in the UKBA Annual Report and Accounts. These are available on the Home Office Website via the attached link.

    www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=uk-border-agency

    Legal Aid Agency data does not distinguish between false imprisonment claims made by illegal immigrants and those made by other individuals.

    “

  • Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many non-Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management staff counted under the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management cost-heading at the Environment Agency have been redeployed to inspect flood defence assets in each of the last five months.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Environment Agency has not redeployed any non–flood and coastal erosion risk management staff to inspect flood risk management assets in the last five months. The Environment Agency only uses fully trained staff to inspect assets and has trained and used 200 armed forces personnel for this purpose.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2014-06-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints have been made against employers registered in (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the Sunderland local authority area and (c) the North East region for paying employees less than the National Minimum Wage in each of the last three years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government takes the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC enforces the national minimum wage legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and has done so since the introduction of NMW in April 1999. It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, and carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.

    HMRC does not capture complaints or the outcomes of its investigations by reference to Government regions, constituencies or county. Its management information relates to the work of teams who are multi-located. Additionally, because it resources to risk, work relating to a specific geographical area is not always done by the NMW team based in that area.

    Prior to 6 April 2009, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued penalty notices to those employers who failed to comply with an enforcement notice, within 28 days. A new enforcement regime, introduced in April 2009, saw the introduction of automatic penalties for employers who are found to have underpaid their workers.

    I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) on 6 May 2014 contained in Official Report column 110W which gives the number of completed inspections and number of non-compliant cases across the UK in the financial years 2009/10 to 2013/14.

  • Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McIntosh on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he next plans to meet the Ukranian Foreign Minister; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) is in regular contact with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Deshchytsia. He met him most recently on 31 March, in the margins of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Foreign Ministers’ meeting. The Government will continue to maintain regular contact with the government of Ukraine at all levels, to support their efforts to deal with the serious economic, political and security challenges that they are facing.