Category: Speeches

  • David Mowat – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Mowat – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2014-04-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to reform the Business Premises Renovation Allowance following HM Revenue and Customs’ recent consultation.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has introduced legislation in Finance Bill 2014 to clarify the scope of Business Premises Renovation Allowance. The aim is to address exploitation of the allowance, whilst preserving it as an investment incentive and ensuring continued value for money for tax payers.

  • Earl Attlee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Earl Attlee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Earl Attlee on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the issue of online third parties acting as middlemen between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and driving licence applicants.

    Baroness Kramer

    The Government is taking decisive steps against such websites.

    Officials are working with various government organisations and search engine providers to raise awareness and ensure appropriate enforcement action is taken. Ministers recently met with Google and as a result, Google has taken down a series of adverts. Similar work will be carried out with other search engine providers.

    The National Trading Standards Board will receive an additional £120,000 to clamp down on misleading websites.

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has issued messages on Twitter and gov.uk to advise customers that gov.uk is the only official website. Officials have worked with the press to inform customers that they may be charged an unnecessary fee if they do not use gov.uk. The DVLA is arranging to amend forms, leaflets and envelopes to make the correct website clearer for customers. Officials will continue to issue appropriate communications to help raise awareness of these sites.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to aid to Ethiopia, whether they have liaised with the government of the United States about the co-ordination of development assistance in the agricultural sector.

    Lord Bates

    The UK is part of the US-led ‘New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition’ in Ethiopia, which entails regular dialogue and coordination of our work in the agricultural and related sectors. DFID and USAID are co-donors to the national safety net programme, which provides cash and food for some seven million food insecure Ethiopians, most of whom are rural farmers. We also collaborate closely on land issues; DFID’s new land certification programme in Ethiopia builds on work by USAID to test certification methodologies.

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to support the teaching of foreign languages in schools.

    Lord Nash

    The new national curriculum sets out clearly what should be taught to pupils, and gives teachers the flexibility to decide how to teach it. We expect schools to identify the support that they need to prepare for the new curriculum, recognising that different schools will face different challenges.

    We are allocating £350,000 to fund teaching school alliances and others to provide training on the new national curriculum for teachers of modern foreign languages in primary and secondary schools. Also, in terms of overall support for the new national curriculum, we have allocated some £1.9 million to teaching schools to lead curriculum change across and within their teaching school alliances.

    To support the introduction of a compulsory foreign language at key stage 2 (ages seven to 11) from September 2014, the independent Expert Group, chaired by a leading primary headteacher, has provided links to useful resources, which are hosted on the website of the Association for Language Learning.

    We are also making extensive use of social networking, including using high profile headteachers and others to raise the profile of the new curriculum, including for languages, through podcasts, webchats and blogs.

  • Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Growth is Our Business: A Strategy for Professional and Business Services published in July 2013, whether his Department is on course to run at least two professional and business services dedicated trade missions each year; and what such missions have taken place since the Strategy was published.

    Michael Fallon

    UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is developing professional and business services dedicated trade missions to North America, South America, South East Asia and India this year. These missions will complement other planned trade missions open to this sector, for example the business delegations which accompany the Lord Mayor of London’s overseas visits.

    UKTI delivered a professional services event in Russia with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment and the Royal Society of Chartered Surveyors in November 2013.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what change there has been in the total amount of gift aid claimed by charities between 2008 and 2013.

    Nicky Morgan

    HMRC publishes data on repayments of Gift Aid to charities in Table 10.1 of its National Statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/256802/table10-1.pdf

    “

  • 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 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason an Apache helicopter had to make an emergency landing outside Aberdeen during Exercise Joint Warrior.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Apache helicopter was taking part in a biannual joint multi national exercise and was travelling from West Freugh to Kinloss when the crew were given a warning notice. They followed correct flight procedures and safely conducted an emergency landing.

    An engineering fault investigation report identified a failure with the oil pump and the engine is now being replaced before further engineering checks are conducted and the aircraft is cleared to fly.

  • Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann McKechin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann McKechin on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made any recent representations to the government of Uzbekistan regarding the imprisonment of the journalist, Salidzhon Abdurakhmanov.

    Mr David Lidington

    We, along with our European partners, have raised the case of Mr Abdurakhmanov with the Uzbek authorities at Ministerial and official level on several occasions. The Senior Minister of State, my noble Friend the Rt. Hon. Baroness Warsi, raised this issue with the Uzbek Foreign Minister when he visited London last November. Our Embassy in Tashkent is in contact with the Uzbek human rights organisation, Ezgulik, which visited Mr. Abdurakhmanov in custody in January. Baroness Warsi discussed a range of human rights issues, including freedom of expression, with Ministers and senior officials when she visited Uzbekistan earlier this month.

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) reporting has consistently highlighted our concerns about freedom of the press and harassment of journalists in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan remains on the list of Countries of Concern in the FCO’s annual Human Rights and Democracy Report, reflecting longstanding concerns about the overall human rights situation in Uzbekistan. Our Embassy in Tashkent regularly raises these issues with the Uzbek authorities and funds projects that support good governance and human rights. We also continue to encourage further progress towards full implementation of Uzbekistan’s international human rights commitments.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many UK Government Ministers have visited Lesotho since 2010.

    Mark Simmonds

    I visited Lesotho in March 2013 as part of a larger tour of the Southern African region. My visit to Lesotho was the first bilateral Ministerial visit to the Kingdom since 2002. I was delighted that the Prime Minister of Lesotho was able to visit the UK between 4-9 April, further strengthening bilateral relations and the ongoing links between our two countries. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) and I both enjoyed meeting the Prime Minister of Lesotho during his visit to the UK.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, column 703W, on translation services, how much was spent on interpreters in courts in each court in Lancashire in 2011, 2012 and 2013; which languages were interpreted; and how much was spent on interpreting each language.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Department does not hold centrally all of the information that has been requested. To provide the information would incur disproportionate cost.