Category: Speeches

  • Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Bob Ainsworth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Ainsworth on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police community support officers there were in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

    Damian Green

    The following table contains the requested data for police community support
    officers in:
    (a) Coventry Basic Command Unit, from 31 March 2009 to 31 March 2011. Figures
    at basic command unit level ceased to be collected from then to reduce the
    administratvie burden on the police.
    (b) figures for Coventry North East constituency are not collected by the Home
    Office.
    (c) (d) the West Midlands police force, the West Midlands region and England,
    from 31 March 2009 to 30 September 2013.

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept claims for hearing loss from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who served before 1986; and if not, why not.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    Section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 prevented service personnel, including former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, from suing the Crown for alleged negligence which occurred before that section was repealed in 1987. The repeal was not retrospective. Depending on their level of hearing loss, they may, however, be eligible for a War Disablement Pension.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gareth Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vehicles were seized by the police as a result of being driven without insurance in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

    Damian Green

    The Home Office does not hold this information.

    The police have the power under the Road Traffic Act (1988) to seize vehicles
    driven without insurance. Enforcement of vehicle seizures is an operational matter for the police.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to encourage the governments of China and Vietnam to cease the trade in ivory.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Governments of both China and Vietnam participated at Ministerial level in the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade on 12 and 13 February 2014. They joined the other participating countries in agreeing to the London Conference Declaration. In this, Governments have committed to support the existing CITES commercial prohibition on international trade in elephant ivory until the survival of elephants in the wild is no longer threatened by poaching. They have also committed to taking a wide range of actions to reduce the demand for wildlife products, including ivory, and to agreeing for the first time to renounce the use of any products from species threatened with extinction. We very much welcome this strong signal by China and Vietnam of their commitment to join the rest of the international community in tackling the scourge of the illegal trade in ivory and other wildlife products.

    In the margins of the Conference I had constructive meetings with both Forestry Vice Minister Jianlong Zhang of China and Deputy Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Ha Cong Tuan of Vietnam to discuss the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade and the action needed to tackle the problem. I hope to visit Vietnam in the near future to continue this constructive dialogue.

    We will also fund two projects in Vietnam which applied through the 2013-2014 Darwin Initiative Funding Round, at a total cost of just over £0.5m. These will be supported from the £10m of new funding for tackling the illegal wildlife trade, announced on 23 December 2013 by the Secretaries of State for Environment and International Development. One project is focused on combating wildlife trafficking by cutting out the ‘middle man’. The other will support action to reduce demand for rhino horn.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the National Probation Service will have access to case records of community rehabilitation companies.

    Jeremy Wright

    Staff in the National Probation Service (NPS) and the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have, and will continue to have, necessary access to each other’s case records. NPS staff are able to read all CRC records and update any case they are working on. CRC staff will be able to see and update records that relate to offenders they are working with.

  • 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 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) bonuses, (b) additional salary increments and (c) premiums are offered to UK Trade & Investment staff for proficiency in foreign languages; for which foreign languages these are available; what level of financial support is available for each language; and how many staff receive support for each foreign language for which support is offered.

    Michael Fallon

    UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) draws mainly on civil service staff employed by one or other of its two parent departments – the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).

    BIS does not give bonuses, additional salary increments or premiums to the staff of UKTI for proficiency in any foreign languages. BIS does however actively encourage individuals to learn languages and they have access to the FCO’s language school.

  • Liam Fox – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Liam Fox – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the spread of Islamic extremism among the prison population.

    Jeremy Wright

    We are alert to the risks posed by individuals who may wish to radicalise others, and we are committed to tackling radicalisation in the prison environment as an important element of our responsibility to protect the public and reduce re-offending.

    NOMS has in place a wide-ranging programme of work to manage individuals convicted of terrorist or related offences. This programme focuses on: increasing the counter-terrorism intelligence infrastructure working with partner agencies; ensuring provision of an effective Chaplaincy which can challenge extremist ideology; structured risk assessment tools and bespoke interventions; staff briefing and training, and robust processes for the management of offenders on release.

    NOMS contributes to the cross-Government CT strategy CONTEST, and works alongside other Departments to manage the threat posed. As with all significant criminal threats, a multi-agency approach is taken to ensure that information and learning is shared between agencies.

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of people in England and Wales identified themselves as (a) British, (b) Scottish and (c) British and Scottish in the 2011 census.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Frank Dobson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Frank Dobson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Dobson on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he expects Chinese workers to be employed in the construction of High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Contracts let for the construction of HS2 infrastructure and rolling stock will be open to competition irrespective of country of origin, in accordance with EU and UK procurement legislation.

    Prospective bidders are welcome to work alongside British based bidders.

    It will be for bidders to propose how they can best deliver their proposals and the contribution of British companies and supply chain will be of interest.

    HS2 Ltd is undertaking a range of initiatives to ensure businesses are aware of the opportunities and their forthcoming requirements so that they can prepare, so as to compete effectively.

    Any non-EU overseas workers would of course be subject to the UK’s immigration regime and would be required to comply with whatever regulations were in force at the time.

  • Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregg McClymont – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregg McClymont on 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people made the maximum allowed contribution to an ISA in each of the last three years; and how many he estimates will do so in each of the next three years as a result of changes announced in the 2014 Budget.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM TREASURY

    Gregg McClymont MP

    CUMBERNAULD, KILSYTH AND KIRKINTILLOCH EAST

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people made the maximum allowed contribution to an ISA in each of the last three years; and how many he estimates will do so in each of the next three years as a result of changes announced in the 2014 Budget. 195422

    DAVID GAUKE

    In 2010-11, around 1.2 million individuals made full use of their (£10,200) ISA allowance. Figures for more recent years are not yet available.

    As announced at Budget 2014, from 1 July 2014 the overall annual New ISA subscription limit will be increased to £15,000 and can be used for either cash or stocks and shares investments, or any combination of the two, up to this limit. Over 6 million people are expected to benefit from these increases, including over 5 million adults currently making full use of the cash ISA limit.

    Estimates of the numbers of individuals expected to save at the new limit in each of the next three years are not available.