Category: Speeches

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum applications have been refused as a result of the good character test in each year for which information is available.

    James Brokenshire

    Guidance on the good character requirement is published at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/406368/Chapter18AnnexDv02.pdf

    It is a requirement that applies to anybody over the age of ten who applies for naturalisation or registration and therefore plays no part in the assessment of asylum applications.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-04-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Baroness Anelay of St Johns to the private notice question from Lord Alton of Liverpool on 21 April, which members of the United Nations Security Council they believe would veto a referral to the International Criminal Court of evidence of genocide against Christian, Yazidi and other minorities in Iraq and Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor set out some of the complicated issues involved in the ICC investigating Daesh in her press statement of 8 April 2015. It is not possible to refer Daesh itself to the ICC. Any referral would cover ALL potential crimes against international humanitarian law within a specified geographic area, rather than a specified organisation or set of actors.

    When efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014, it was vetoed by Russia and China. We expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the ICC would likewise be blocked.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

    Mark Lancaster

    The amount spent on non-payroll staff in 2015-16 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to accelerate family reunification for unaccompanied refugee children in Europe.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government began work to implement the ‘Dubs amendment’ immediately after the Immigration Bill gained Royal Assent. Over 30 children who meet the criteria in the Immigration Act have been accepted for transfer since it received Royal Assent in May, the majority of these have already arrived in the UK.

    We continue to work with the French, Greek and Italian authorities and others to speed up existing family reunification processes or implement new processes where necessary for unaccompanied children. We have seconded a UK official to Greece, we have a long-standing secondee working in Italy and will shortly be seconding another official to the French Interior Ministry to support these efforts.

    We have established a dedicated team in the Home Office Dublin Unit to lead on family reunion cases for unaccompanied children. Transfer requests under the Dublin Regulation are now generally processed within 10 days and children transferred within weeks. Over 120 children have been accepted for transfer this year from Europe. We also continue to consult local authorities about the transfer unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK, where it is in their best interests.

  • Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emma Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emma Reynolds on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce youth unemployment in areas with high levels of youth unemployment.

    Damian Hinds

    Since 2010 the youth claimant count has fallen in all regions, and only 5.7% of the youth population are unemployed and not in full-time education, a rate that is near record low. We are investing further in an intensive support regime for young people, equipping them with vital skills to not only find a job, but build capability to sustain work.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the universal credit programme was subject to Project Assessment Reviews instead of Gateway Reviews.

    Priti Patel

    The Department is following the procedures for the assurance and support of major projects outlined in ‘HM Treasury the Major Project approval and assurance guidance’ introduced from April 2011. More details can be found in the link below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/179763/major_projects_approvals_assurance_guidance.PDF.pdf

    “

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the benefit to the public purse was of the closing of tax loopholes in each of the last six years.

    Mr David Gauke

    Revenue protected in connection with avoidance measures announced over the last 6 years is scored in relevant Budget documentation published by HM Treasury.

    However, for convenience on 19 March 2015 the coalition government published a document detailing the action taken over the course of the last Parliament to tackle tax evasion and avoidance. That document can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-tax-evasion-and-avoidance

    “

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Autumn Statement and Summer Budget 2015, paragraph 2.172, what the (a) annual income and (b) running costs of the Government Property Unit is.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government Property Unit was established in 2010 to work with central government departments to drive savings across the central civil mandated estate. Since May 2010, we have reduced our Estate by 2 million square metres, saving over £750 million in running costs and generating nearly £1.8 billion in capital receipts.

    Funding was agreed at Spending Review for the work which the Government Property Unit is taking forward. This includes our Government Office Hubs Programme, which is driving a radical reshaping of the Civil Service office estate, the One Public Estate Programme which works with local authorities to deliver better services, achieve savings and deliver local growth including releasing land for new homes and jobs.

    We are also taking a more commercial approach to property through the creation of a New Property Model which will help drive better strategic oversight and management of the estate, and provide greater incentives for departments to rationalise the space they occupy.

    The Government Property Unit’s administrative running costs for the FY 2015/16 is forecast as £7.4m.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether the 119 Saudi-led coalition sorties documented in the Final Report of the UN Panel of Experts in Yemen represent potential violations of international humanitarian law.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We take all allegations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations very seriously. The MOD monitors incidents of alleged IHL violations using available information which in turn informs our overall assessment of IHL compliance in Yemen. This includes looking at the allegations raised in the UN Panel of Experts’ report. Looking at the information available to us, we have assessed that there has not been a breach of IHL by the coalition, but continue to monitor the situation closely, seeking further information where appropriate.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of trade union members in (a) Great Britain and (b) Northern Ireland pay the political levy.

    Nick Boles

    The latest Annual Report of the Certification Officer shows that 4,954,606 union members in Great Britain paid the political levy in the period 2013-2014. This represents 70.67% of the total number of individuals who were union members in the same period.[1]

    Employment law is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and I am not able to respond to the questions relating to Northern Ireland.

    [1] Political Funds of Trade Unions, 2013-2014, Annual Report 2015/2016 of the Certification Officer, page 68-69, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449387/CO_Annual_Report__2014-2015_.pdf

    “