Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the government of Bahrain concerning the number of children who have been arrested there since 2011.

    Baroness Warsi

    Our Embassy in Manama has raised the rates of imprisonment of young people with the Ministry of the Interior and senior members of the Government of Bahrain on several occasions. This included supporting the decision by the Ombudsman’s Office of the Ministry of the Interior to investigate fully concerns about the imprisonment of children set out by human rights non-governmental organisations last year.

  • Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent representations he has received on the regulatory regime associated with fracking.

    Michael Fallon

    The Department has received a number of comments and has been made aware of recommendations by a variety of interested parties, including Non-Governmental Organisations and members of the public, that are relevant to the UK’s shale gas regulatory regime. The UK has a strong regulatory system which provides a comprehensive and fit for purpose regime for exploratory activities, but we want continuously to improve it. The Office for Unconventional Gas and Oil (OUGO) works closely with regulators and others to ensure that regulation is also fit for purpose for production; and that it remains robust enough to safeguard public safety and protect the environment.

    The Department is presently conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on further onshore licensing. The SEA consultation closed on 28 March. Some of the responses to this consultation are relevant to the UK’s shale gas regulatory regime. All responses will be carefully considered before any decision is made on further licensing.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received any representations about the refusal of Eurostar to allow pets on board its trains using the Passports for Pets scheme.

    Lord De Mauley

    Defra has received a small number of letters from pet owners on this issue since 2012.

    Government does not impose any obligation on transport companies to carry pet animals. It is a commercial decision on the part of transport companies as to whether they offer this service to their customers.

  • 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, what assessment he has made of the Met Office report, Too Hot, Too Cold, Too Wet, Too Dry: Drivers and impacts of seasonal weather in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

    Dan Rogerson

    Both of these reports make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the impacts of climate change. We are considering them with keen interest and will take full account of them when we publish the UK’s next Climate Change Risk Assessment, which in turn will inform the next National Adaptation Programme report.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

    Jenny Willott

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Francis Maude) on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 434W.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what level of engagement, support or resource the Government is contributing to the expected EU mission in the Central African Republic.

    Mr William Hague

    I welcome the launch of the EU’s Central African Republic (CAR) military operation, EUFOR, on 2 April 2014. EUFOR will help the International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) and French (Sangaris) forces to provide security in Bangui until a hand-over to MISCA or a possible UN Peacekeeping Operation can take place.

    I encouraged the quick deployment of the mission when I attended the Mini-Summit on CAR on 2 April in the margins of the EU-Africa Summit. The UK will pay its share of the common costs for EUFOR, and has played a strong role in planning, including through provision of a military officer to EUFOR’s Operational Headquarters in Larissa. Discussions are currently underway about the possibility of providing strategic airlift assistance with countries that have contributed troops.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Mrs Helen Grant

    The table shows the proportion of staff, within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years and who have declared themselves as white British.

    Year

    Percentage of DCMS headcount who have been subject to disciplinary proceedings

    Proportion of staff subject to disciplinary proceedings who declared themselves as white British

    Proportion of staff subject to disciplinary proceedings who declared their nationality as British but ethnicity is undeclared

    1 April 2009 – 31 March 2010

    0.2%

    100%

    0%

    1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011

    0.7%

    67%

    33%

    1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012

    0.4%

    50%

    50%

    1 April 2012 – 31 March 2013

    0.3%

    100%

    0%

    1 April 2013 – 31 March 2014

    0.8%

    67%

    33%

    The figures as they relate to the period from September 2012 include the Government Equalities Office, which joined the Department in that month as part of a machinery of Government move. Before September 2012, the Government Equalities Office was part of the Home Office and the information requested for this period is not available.

  • 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 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new drivers had their licences revoked as a result of insurance offences in each year since 2010.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act 1995 requires that drivers who accumulate six or more penalty points during their probationary period will have their licences revoked. The accumulation of offences can be for any reason. The table shows the number of drivers whose licences were revoked under the New Drivers Act who committed at least one insurance offence:

    Year Number of licences revoked
    2010 4,372
    2011 5,921
    2012 5,897
    2013 5,606
    2014 (up to 29 March) 1,118
    Total 22,914
  • Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Our data does not record nationality; data held records only ethnicity.

  • Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Chuka Umunna – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chuka Umunna on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many bids by LEPS to the (a) regional growth fund and (b) exceptional regional growth fund have been (i) under discussion with officials, (ii) submitted, (iii) approved and (iv) rejected in each (A) bidding round and (B) region.

    Michael Fallon

    All bids received to the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) and for exceptional RGF (eRGF) support are discussed with officials as part of the appraisal process. The following table lists bids received directly from Local Enterprise Partnerships to the RGF by bidding round and the outcome.

    RGF Round 2

    Region

    Number of bids received

    Number of bids selected

    Number of bids not selected

    Yorkshire & Humber

    5

    1

    4

    North East

    3

    0

    3

    South East

    2

    2

    0

    North West

    3

    2

    1

    East Midlands

    4

    2

    2

    West Midlands

    2

    2

    0

    East of England

    0

    0

    0

    South West

    3

    2

    1

    RGF Round 3

    Region

    Number of bids received

    Number of bids selected

    Number of bids not selected

    Yorkshire & Humber

    3

    3

    0

    North East

    2

    2

    0

    South East

    4

    4

    0

    North West

    3

    3

    0

    East Midlands

    4

    4

    0

    West Midlands

    8

    4

    4

    East of England

    1

    1

    0

    South West

    4

    1

    3

    RGF Round 4

    Region

    Number of bids received

    Number of bids selected

    Number of bids not selected

    Yorkshire & Humber

    3

    3

    0

    North East

    1

    1

    0

    South East

    5

    3

    2

    North West

    4

    3

    1

    East Midlands

    3

    3

    0

    West Midlands

    7

    7

    0

    East of England

    2

    2

    0

    South West

    1

    1

    0