Category: Speeches

  • Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Watson of Invergowrie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Watson of Invergowrie on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out an assessment of the number of children likely to be separated from their parents as a result of the provisions of the Immigration Bill.

    Lord Taylor of Holbeach

    Our starting-point is that it is generally in the best interests of the child to remain with their parents, including where the parents are removed from the UK. We have therefore made no assessment of the number of children who might be separated from their parents as a result of the provisions of the Immigration Bill.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rates of (1) total deaths from liver disease, and (2) age-standardised deaths from liver disease in (a) England, and (b) each parliamentary constituency, in each year since 1997.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

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

  • Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    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 help young people buy their own homes.

    Baroness Stowell of Beeston

    This Government is committed to supporting people’s aspirations to own their own home. That is why we have introduced schemes such as Help to Buy Equity Loan and Mortgage Guarantee, and reinvigorated Right to Buy. Since the spring of 2010, these, together with our affordable housing schemes have helped or are helping nearly 112,000 people to buy a home of their own. Since April 2010, 420,000 homes have been built, with new housing construction output now at its highest level since 2007.

  • 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, what progress his Department has made in encouraging bodies to find innovative ways of improving employability of young people within the national curriculum.

    Matthew Hancock

    These questions ask about a number of actions related to skills development from “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services”, published in July 2013 as part of Government’s industrial strategy. The strategy was developed in collaboration with the professional and business services sector, focusing on the industry’s agenda for long term growth. It is led by the Professional and Business Services Council.

    The strategy reflects two key business priorities in skills development. First, to expand recruitment routes into the sector, in particular higher apprenticeships, to access a wider, more diverse talent pool. Second, to help businesses engage with the education system to raise aspirations and promote work readiness. A business-led skills taskforce for professional and business services has been established. It is developing approaches to implement the strategy and will report progress at the end of this year.

    The skills taskforce is leading work to help towards the strategy’s ambitious target to treble the number of higher apprenticeship starts across professional and business services to 10,000 over five years; and to follow progress in the interim, so that the numbers of these apprenticeships can be monitored. As a first step, the taskforce is supporting the London Professional Apprenticeship scheme, which was launched in December 2013, and is now recruiting apprentices and employers to take part. The scheme will pilot the proposal for a “clearing house” to help small firms access higher apprenticeships in professional and business services. In addition, the taskforce is backing new ‘trailblazer’ initiatives, announced in March 2014, to develop employer-driven standards for apprenticeships in several professional and business services occupations.

    The skills taskforce is currently researching the metrics for schools’ reporting and their effect on the prestige of higher apprenticeships as initial career destinations. It will consider if more could be done to ensure higher apprenticeships have parity of esteem with higher education.

    The taskforce is also mapping current school engagement activity involving professional and business services firms with a view to identifying and sharing good practice.

    The new emphasis on wider use of higher apprenticeships across professional and business services should contribute towards a greater diversity of routes into these careers in the years to come; potentially offering opportunities to a wider pool of talent.

    The skills taskforce intends to consider how the employability of young people can be supported within the national curriculum, but believes that greater engagement between employers and young people is the best way of improving employability skills.

    My noble friend Lord Lingfield has set up the independent Institution for Further Education to take forward work on a new chartered status quality schemeand is considering the application and assessment process for Further Education providers.

    The skills taskforce is exploring how web-based services can support engagement between firms and the education sector, including a planned digital “inspiration” tool being developed by this Department to encourage business-schools engagement.

    Further information on the implementation of “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services” is included in a progress report on industrial strategy, published on 23 April 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-early-successes-and-future-priorities.

    “

  • 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 estimate his Department made of the annual level of fraud involving the existing one pound coin in order to inform the decision to introduce a new style coin.

    Nicky Morgan

    At Budget the government announced that it will introduce a new and highly secure £1 coin.

    According to Royal Mint estimates counterfeiting of the £1 coin has been on an upwards trend for the past decade. The latest data shows an increase in the counterfeiting rate to 3.04%. This data is based on a survey undertaken in November 2013. Further information can be found at www.royalmint.com/discover/uk-coins/counterfeit-one-pound-coins

    “

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of armoured fighting vehicles which will be (a) returned to the UK, (d) destroyed or (c) sold by the time of the main withdrawal from Afghanistan; and what the costs associated with each of those categories are to date.

    Mr Mark Francois

    All armoured fighting vehicles deployed to Afghanistan will be returned to the UK. None of these have been destroyed and none are currently due to be sold.

    The information on costs associated with this activity cannot be readily broken out from the wider costs of all equipment and personnel recovery.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on implementing a regional wildlife enforcement strategy in the Horn of Africa and addressing the illegal trade in shark fins.

    George Eustice

    Countries and stakeholders in the Horn of Africa held a wildlife trafficking workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 3 to 4 October 2012 to discuss the formation of a regional enforcement network to address the illegal wildlife trade. Participants concluded that a Horn of Africa Wildlife Enforcement Network (HAWEN) should be set up. Ethiopia, on behalf of Horn of Africa countries that attended the workshop, submitted a progress report to the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP16) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which took place in Bangkok from 3 to 14 March 2013.

    The work of Wildlife Enforcement Networks was welcomed at the recent London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, chaired by my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary. Action XVI in the Declaration adopted at the Conference commits participating governments to strengthening cross‐border and regional co‐operation, through better co‐ordination and full support for regional wildlife law enforcement networks. Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, all of which are members of HAWEN, attended the London Conference.

    The UK Government is wholly opposed to the wasteful and unsustainable practice of shark finning, and the illegal trade in fins. We continue to lead the way in pressing for the adoption of appropriate fisheries and trade controls within bodies such as the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) and CITES, in order to ensure any trade in shark products is rooted in sustainable fishing practices. At CoP16 the UK played a critical role in securing increased protection under CITES for five shark species, all of which form an important component of the shark fin trade. This now means that these species will be protected from unmanaged and unsustainable trade in their fins. UK officials continue to work closely with other likeminded countries and non-governmental organisations to help build capacity and ensure that the CITES rules are fully implemented.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much the UK contributed towards the funding of the United Nations and International Monetary Fund in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

    Mr David Lidington

    The UK makes numerous contributions to the many different parts of the UN system and UN-led activities. Payments come from a wide range of British Government Departments. Our two largest assessed, or mandatory, payments are for the UN Regular Budget and the UN Peacekeeping Budget.

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) pays the UK’s share of the UN Regular Budget, which covers core UN Secretariat costs and the UN’s political activities. During the last three calendar years the UK made assessed contributions to the UN Regular Budget in US dollars as follows:

    2011 $155.3 million
    2012 $156.1 million
    2013 $132.0 million

    The UN Peacekeeping Budget follows the UN’s financial year (July-June). The UK’s assessed contributions in the last four UN financial years in US dollars were:

    2010-11 $602.8 million
    2011-12 $576.4 million
    2012-13 $477.1 million
    2013-14 $476.6 million

    The UK, typically through the relevant lead Whitehall department in the appropriate field, also makes many other substantial payments into the UN system. For UN specialised agencies these are mostly voluntary contributions, with some assessed contributions e.g. for core costs. Additionally there are many significant voluntary contributions to UN funds and programmes and other UN bodies depending on how they support UK objectives and priorities. The Department for International Development is the largest contributor of voluntary funding, of all British Government Departments.

    The UK does not have an annual subscription to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and does not contribute to its administration costs. These are financed out of the IMF’s own revenue. As per the annual accounts of the National Loan Fund, published to Parliament, the Government’s Quota Subscription and Lending to the IMF at the end of each financial year stood at:

    Quota (£m) Lending (£m) Total (£m)
    31 March 2011 10,581 1,109 11,690
    31 March 2012 10,391 2,030 12,421
    31 March 2013 10,638 2,320 12,958
  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the report of Parliamentary Ombudsman into the complaint raised by a constituent of the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion regarding her Department’s oversight of CDC Group Investments published in February 2014 and her letter of 19 November 2013 to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion stating that she would reply in full after the publication of the Ombudsman’s report, when she plans to make that full reply.

    Justine Greening

    I have replied to the Hon. Member’s latest correspondence on this issue.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many 17 year olds have been held in police custody in the UK in each year since 2010.

    Damian Green

    This information is not held centrally.