Category: Speeches

  • 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.

  • Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Simon Burns – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Burns on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the composition will be of the selection committee for the appointment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive; and what the composition was of the equivalent committee when the present postholder was appointed.

    John Thurso

    Three organisations specialising in executive search services were invited to tender to provide support for the recruitment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive. Saxton Bampfylde was selected through this process.

    The selection panel comprises Mr Speaker, Rt Hon Andrew Lansley MP, Angela Eagle MP, John Thurso MP, Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP and Dame Julie Mellor (Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman). No confirmation hearing is envisaged. The composition of the panel for the recruitment of the present postholder was Mr Speaker, Rt Hon Sir George Young MP, Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, John Thurso MP, Rt Hon Sir Alan Beith MP, Rt Hon Lindsay Hoyle MP and Sheila Drew Smith.

    Knowledge of procedural and constitutional issues will be tested as part of the formal interview process. The Clerk of the House is appointed by the Crown by Letters Patent, on the recommendation of the Speaker to the Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister to the Crown. As part of normal pre-appointment checks it will be a requirement for the next Clerk of the House to be subject to security vetting. The terms of the recruitment brief were agreed by the Commission by correspondence, and the advertisement, finalised by the Speaker and the Director General of HR and Change, was based on the agreed brief.

  • 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.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Aarhus claims in England and Wales have been granted permission to proceed since 1 April 2013.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The information requested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. The data is not held centrally and providing information at the level of detail sought would require a review of many manual files.

  • 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.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local colleges train the people of Northern Ireland with the appropriate skills to enable further growth in film and television production in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    This is a devolved matter but I took the opportunity of raising it with the Northern Ireland Minister for Employment and Learning, on the hon Member’s behalf, when I met him on 18 June.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to work with affected hauliers to avoid the increased cost caused by the reduction in Vehicle Excise Duty introduced as part of the Heavy Goods Vehicle User Levy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We have worked closely with the UK road freight sector throughout the development of the Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) Road User Levy to ensure that the cost to UK business as a result of paying a combined charge for Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) and HGV levy from 1st April 2014 is minimised, whilst working within the minimum levels of Vehicle Excise Duty set out in the Eurovignette Directive. Furthermore, to keep the administrative burden to UK operators to a minimum, the Levy will be paid at the same time as VED and in a single transaction.

    Where costs do rise as a result of the combined Levy and VED payment, hauliers have the option to lower the plated weight of the vehicle and thereby reduce the VED they need to pay.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of projected ticket prices for rail passengers using the High Speed 2 rail line.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In order to test the case for HS2, current fares were assumed to increase by RPI+1% annually until 2036 after which fares are assumed to grow in line with inflation. No fares differential was applied to services using the high speed infrastructure. This is an assumption which provides an appropriate basis for modelling costs and benefits, but does not represent a prediction of future rail fares, which will be affected by government policy, market and industry changes across the GB rail network over many years.

  • Mike Crockart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mike Crockart – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Crockart on 2014-04-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the payment of armed forces pensions in the event of Scottish independence.

    Anna Soubry

    Armed Forces pensions are currently uprated annually in April using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure from the previous September. These are occupational pensions and are therefore paid, including any CPI increase, to scheme members wherever they reside in the world.

    The UK Government is confident that the people of Scotland will continue to support remaining within the UK. There have, therefore, been no discussions with the Scottish Government about this matter.

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on the freezing of state pensions for those living overseas.

    Steve Webb

    The UK state pension is payable worldwide. However, where a recipient is not ordinarily resident in the UK, eligibility for annual up-rates is generally restricted to people living in a country which is a member of the European Economic Area, including by extension Switzerland, or in a country with which the UK has a bilateral social security agreement that provides for up-rating of the UK state pension. A list of these countries can be found at

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pensions-annual-increases-if-you-live-abroad

    Restricting the availability of annual up-rates to the UK state pensions in this manner has been the long standing policy of successive Governments. This Government has no plans to change it.

    “