Category: Speeches

  • Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide details of the current workforce model for the Army Reserve that his Department is using to assess how long it will take to recruit the required number of 30,000 reserves; and when under the current model that target will be met.

    Anna Soubry

    I refer the hon. Member to the Written Statement and paper my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Philip Hammond) placed in the Library of the House on 19 Dec 2013 (Official report, column 124WS).

  • Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mark Tami – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what oversight mechanisms his Department had in place of bid evaluations of the contract to award ownership of shares in Magnox Ltd and Research Sites Restoration Ltd on 31 March 2014; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is responsible for running the competition to secure a new Parent Body Organisation for Magnox Ltd and Research Sites Restoration Ltd. Bid evaluations were made by the NDA’s competition team in strict accordance with UK and EU procurement regulations. DECC was not involved in the bid evaluations. Oversight and governance of the wider competition process is provided by the NDA’s Competition Programme Board (CPB), on which DECC is represented by the Shareholder Executive. Formal Government approval will be required before the contract can be awarded in September.

  • 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 2014-06-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) male and (b) female recruits who commenced phase two training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre had undertaken phase one training at Harrogate Army Foundation College in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement.

    Anna Soubry

    No female recruits undergo infantry training. The information requested for males is in the table:

    Year

    Male

    2006-07

    300

    2007-08

    300

    2008-09

    320

    2009-10

    380

    2010-11

    280

    2011-12

    470

    2012-13

    630

    2013-14

    420

    Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in ‘5′ are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

  • 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 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which air quality monitoring stations went off-line in each year since 2010-11; and on what dates they were off-line.

    Dan Rogerson

    Defra operates an extensive monitoring network of nearly 300 sites in order to assess air quality in the UK and report to the EU for compliance. Many of these sites have multiple instruments measuring different pollutants.

    The Automatic and Urban Network has 130 sites that provide information on five key pollutants on an hourly basis. Information from this network is updated hourly on the UK Air website to provide the most recent data to the public.

    An extensive Programme of maintenance, auditing and site inspections is required to maintain the networks operation. EU directives state that instruments must be operational for a minimum period of time for data to be reported and these requirements are met in our annual compliance reporting.

    It is therefore not possible to provide information on the specific times when instruments were not operational during the last four years, but I refer the hon. Member for Brent North to the UK’s annual compliance report for statistics regarding data capture at each site, at:

    http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

    “

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will develop and implement a cross-departmental strategy for tackling food poverty in the United Kingdom.

    Lord De Mauley

    Food inflation fell to an annual rate of -0.6 per cent in the year to May, down from 0.5 per cent in March, which means food is cheaper now than it was twelve months ago (the first this has happened since 2006). The Government has a clear strategy on benefits and welfare which includes making work pay, creating a fiscally sustainable system for future generations and ensuring we are focusing benefit support on those most in need. Our benefits system provides a strong safety net for the poorest and most vulnerable, with £94 billion per year provided for working age benefits which support millions of people who are on low incomes or out of work. The introduction of Universal Credit willalsosee three million households better off and significantly improve take-up of unclaimed benefits.

    In addition, through Healthy Start the Government provides a nutritional safety net by encouraging healthy eating to around half a million pregnant women and children under 4 years old in low income and disadvantaged families throughout the UK.

  • Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will list all meetings Dmitry Firtash has had at his Department since May 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials met Dmitry Firtash on 24 February to discuss developments in Ukraine and support for Ukraine from the international community. They did not discuss matters of national security. The meeting was part of a wider approach by the FCO to understand better the situation in Ukraine, by seeking information and views from a wide range of contacts, including senior business figures. The Government does not have plans to publish a note of the meeting at this time. According to our records, Dmitry Firtash has not attended any other meetings with the FCO in London.

  • Lord Eames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Eames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Eames on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to re-examine the proposals of the Consultative Group on the Past in the light of current circumstances in Northern Ireland.

    Baroness Randerson

    The Government continues to urge the Northern Ireland parties to engage in discussions about how to deal with the past. I would expect that the work of the Consultative Group on the Past would continue to provide useful material for consideration in these discussions. The Government has been clear that it will not seek to impose any solutions and continues to encourage political leaders in Northern Ireland to work towards an agreement.

  • Iain McKenzie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Iain McKenzie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain McKenzie on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the Emergency Services Mobile Communication programme; and what steps she is taking to ensure that commercial operators offer a service at least equivalent to the existing service.

    Karen Bradley

    The current Airwave Solutions Ltd contracts were let under a 20 year Private Finance Initiative arrangement, with a series of 15 year contracts, which expire over the period from September 2016 to December 2020.

    The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme aims to introduce a replacement for Airwave, as current contracts expire from September 2016. The requirements have been developed in partnership with the emergency services and we are running an open and fair competition in accordance with government guidelines.

    The aim is to provide a replacement solution which is at least equivalent to the existing service, but not necessarily delivered in the same way.

  • Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Murray – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Murray on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the budget for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate is for 2014-15.

    Jenny Willott

    The budget for the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate is no longer devolved below branch level in the Labour Markets Directorate, and we are therefore unable to provide this information.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women have been charged with child sex offences but not convicted in each of the last three years.

    Simon Hughes

    The proportion of offenders given custody for sexual offences has increased since 2003.

    The number of female defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts and found guilty or not guilty at all courts for sexual offences against children, in England and Wales from 2008 to 2012 (the latest data available), can be viewed in the table.

    Court Proceedings data for calendar year 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014

    Charging data is not held by the Ministry of Justice.