Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so when, they intend to instigate an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in politics at all levels.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease in the place where they live. There is no place for hatred against people because of their race, gender, ethnic origin, faith, sexual orientation, age or disability. This includes anti-Muslim attacks which are unacceptable in Britain.

    The Government is already taking a number of steps to counter Islamaphobia and does not intend to carry out an independent inquiry. We fund Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) to encourage reporting of these crimes and to support victims. We have also set up the first cross Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group to raise awareness of Islamaphobic attacks. In addition, the police began to disaggregate hate crime by religion in April 2016. This will help the police to build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to hold them to account.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many businesses do not have access to high speed broadband in each region of England.

    Matt Hancock

    Superfast broadband with speeds of at least 24Mbps is now available to 90 per cent of UK premises and we are on track for this to reach 95 per cent by December 2017.

    We do not hold data at regional level or specifically for businesses. We hold information for all premises at constituency level and this was deposited with the Parliamentary Library in January 2016. You can access the deposited papers database here:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/?fd=2016-01-01&td=2016-01-31&search_term=Department+for+Culture%2c+Media+and+Sport&itemId=122028#toggle-56

    The Deposit reference is: DEP2016-0056

  • Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of domestic abuse victims in child contact cases in the family court have been in receipt of legal aid in each year since 2010.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    This data is not centrally recorded and could only be obtained by incurring disproportionate costs.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to meet the requirements of the Equine Identification Regulations in anticipation of requirements arising from EU regulation to monitor the importation and exportation of horses by 1 January 2016.

    George Eustice

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 23 November 2015 to PQ UINs 16593, 16594 and 16595.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of delaying the introduction of a fixed recoverable costs regime for medical negligence cases until the planned reductions in costs resulting from the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 have been made.

    Ben Gummer

    The intention is to introduce fixed recoverable costs (FRC) for clinical negligence claims from 1 October 2016, following the outcome of the public consultation. The Department is aware that there are pre-Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 cases in the system and will be for a number of years. However, FRC for clinical negligence is not a new concept and had been proposed by Lord Woolf and Lord Justice Jackson in 1996 and 2009 respectively in order to better manage clinical negligence claims through the legal process.

  • Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Angela Rayner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Rayner on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what modelling his Department has undertaken on potential transitional arrangements for women born in the period 1951 to 1953 who are affected by accelerated equalisation of the state pension age; and if he will publish the results of any such modelling.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Of the group stated in the question only women born on or after 6 April 1953 are affected by the changes in State Pension age in the 2011 Pensions Act.

    The faster increase to 65 under the Pensions Act 2011 affect an estimated 230,000 women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. This figure, rounded to the nearest 10,000, is for Great Britain and is based on DWP calculations using ONS statistics.

    During the passage of the Pensions Bill 2011 the Government tabled an amendment so that the maximum delay to State Pension age relative to the previously legislated timetable that any individual faced was 18 months. This amendment affected people born between 6 January 1954 and 5 September 1954. The analysis accompanying this amendment is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182066/pensions-bill-spa-info.pdf

    “

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people in employment earn (a) the national minimum wage rate which will apply from 1 April 2016 and (b) between that rate and one per cent above that rate.

    Mr Rob Wilson

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

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answers of 3 February 2016 to Question 24298 and 8 March 2016 to Question 28866, on Revenue and Customs: Greater Manchester, whether any value for money review was undertaken on the decision to relocate staff from Phoenix House, Oldham to Manchester.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs has not undertaken a separate value for money review on the decision to relocate staff from Phoenix House, Oldham to Manchester. I refer you to my answer of 8 March.

    “

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether equipment provided by the UK has been used to facilitate the delivery of cluster munitions by the Saudi Arabian forces in the Yemen conflict.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are aware of reports of the alleged use of Cluster Munitions by the Coalition in Yemen. We have raised this issue with the Saudi Arabian authorities and, in line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to aid agencies working in Yemen.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK is the 4th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16 in response to the humanitarian crisis. UK aid is focused on the most urgent life-saving needs, and has so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict with food assistance, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter.

    We work with partners such as UN agencies and NGOs who have good access and a strong track record of delivering and monitoring assistance in difficult and dangerous places. The security situation in Yemen is, however, impacting the ability of humanitarian organisations to access populations to deliver assistance, and to make assessments of their needs. The UK continues to urge all parties to the conflict to take all reasonable steps to facilitate rapid and safe access for humanitarian agencies to all people in need in Yemen.

    UK aid is also supporting the UN to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response and to facilitate the delivery of aid in Yemen including; the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UN Humanitarian Air Service and the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to improve supply of essential goods into Yemen.