Category: Speeches

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what alternative office accommodation was sought in the Hull area to reduce the operating costs of the Hull Official Receiver’s office.

    Jenny Willott

    Alternative Government accommodation was sought through the Government Property Unit and its online database and various possibilities considered. The costs of such alternative accommodation in Hull were included in reaching the final decision to close the Hull office.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, who within her Department authorised the passing of information about forthcoming proscription orders to The Sun newspaper; and whether that authorisation was agreed by a Minister or special adviser in her Department.

    James Brokenshire

    No Minister or Special Adviser at the Home Office authorised the release of information about the forthcoming proscription to The Sun newspaper.

    I have written in response to the point of order reiterating that we take Parliamentary business very seriously and always seek to follow Mr Speaker’s preference that the House is informed first of the Home Secretary’s intention to proscribe terrorist groups. This was our intent on this occasion.

  • Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ian Austin – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2014-04-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the value of Landfill Community Fund grants to projects in (a) Dudley North constituency, (b) Dudley Borough, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.

    Nicky Morgan

    ENTRUST, the regulator of the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF), has provided the value of the LCF in Dudley, the West Midlands and England from the inception of the fund to date and for the last financial year. This is set out in the table below. ENTRUST does not have this information broken down by constituency.

    Dudley

    West Midlands (includes Dudley)

    England

    £m

    £m

    £m

    2013-14

    0.142

    2.17

    67

    1996 to date

    2.3

    24

    987

    Given the level of unspent funds that the LCF continues to hold, reducing the value of the fund by less than 10% is not expected to impact on communities’ ability to receive LCF funding.

  • Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Jim Murphy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Murphy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with regional organisations in Pakistan and neighbouring countries about honour killings.

    Justine Greening

    Following the brutal murder of Farzana Parveen in Lahore on 27 May, I raised this issue at various levels in the Government of Pakistan. The Foreign Secretary and senior HMG officials in Pakistan have also publically and privately condemned the appalling crime of ‘honour killings’ and called for immediate action to bring the culprits of the 27 May attack to justice.

    HMG regularly engages with the government and civil society in Pakistan on women’s rights and violence against women, including so-called ‘honour killings’. Across DFID’s programmes in Pakistan we are helping women and girls to live healthy and secure lives.

  • Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen O’Brien – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen O’Brien on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in what circumstances he uses a calculation of the (a) value of preventing a fatality, (b) willingness to pay and (c) cost-per-quality adjusted life year approach to quantify the value of a policy intervention; what other tools he uses to quantify the benefit of a policy intervention; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Green Book and associated supplementary guidance is publicly available on the Treasury website. It sets out a range of approaches and methods that may be appropriate in a number of different appraisal circumstances.

  • Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Yasmin Qureshi – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Yasmin Qureshi on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the treatment of child victims and witnesses within the courts system.

    Damian Green

    We do everything we can to support child witnesses and help them give their best possible evidence to bring offenders to justice.We are piloting recorded pre-trial cross-examination, allowing vulnerable witnesses for the first time to give evidence in advance of trial.

    In ‘Transforming the Criminal Justice System: Strategy and Action Plan’ (June 2013), the Ministry of Justice committed to improving the consistency and take-up of special measures for vulnerable and intimidated victims and witnesses, such as the use of live-link, screens in court and the use of an intermediary (communication specialist). We are working with other criminal justice agencies to deliver this.

    Child victims and witnesses are automatically eligible for special measures when giving evidence in court. The presumption in most cases is that they should give their evidence by video-recorded statement, and that any subsequent cross-examination is conducted by live-link with a supporter present who has been approved by the court.

    The pre-trial cross-examination pilot ends in October 2014 and the evaluation of the pilot will inform plans for any future rollout of the measure.

  • Jeremy Browne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jeremy Browne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Browne on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been removed from their parents by social services in each of the last five years.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The following table shows the number of children who were taken into care in each of the last five years. Children who were taken into care were children who started to be looked after under a care order, police protection, emergency protection order or child assessment order.

    Children who were taken into care during the years ending 31 March:

    Year

    2009

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    Number of children taken into care

    8,180

    9,580

    9,560

    10,140

    11,100

    The information provided in the table is also published in table C2 of the statistical release, which is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption

    “

  • David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Crausby – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time to process a personal independence payment claim has been in each month since it was introduced.

    Mike Penning

    The information you have requested is not currently available.

  • Henry Bellingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Henry Bellingham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Bellingham on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) protect and (b) police the shell fisheries industry in the Wash area.

    George Eustice

    The shellfisheries in the Wash are managed by the Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) through a combination of the Wash Fishery Order 1992 Regulations and local IFCA Byelaws. This includes the introduction of closed seasons, gear restriction and the use of permits to control access to certain fisheries. This is in addition to EU and UK regulations. The IFCA officers also work closely with Marine Management Organisation officers on enforcement operations within the Wash area.

  • Biography information for Duncan Hames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Biography information for Duncan Hames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Duncan Hames on Home Office.

    1

    Damian Green

    This is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.