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Category: Speeches

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of aid disposed in Syria in protecting people from disease and starvation.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    UK support has reached hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, enabling vulnerable Syrians to survive. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria had provided over 15.1 million food rations, access to clean water for over 1.6 million people, 2 million medical consultations and resulted in over 6.9 million instances when people benefited from sanitation and hygiene activities.

    We are concerned that the 2015 UN appeals for the Syria crisis were severely underfunded, meaning Syrian people did not receive the food, shelter and medical treatment they needed so desperately. The UK is playing its part. The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016)" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a daily basis. It is outrageous, unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war.

    The UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to people who are starving. They have the mandate, expertise and capacity to assess needs and deliver an appropriate, timely response. We continue to press for them to be granted full access to all areas in need. We also lobbied hard for UN Security Council resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258, enabling the UN to deliver aid across borders without the consent of the regime. As a result, 240 shipments of cross-border aid have been delivered by road to Syrians in need.

    The most effective way to get food and medical assistance to vulnerable Syrians is for Assad and all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law. That is why the UK Government is calling on the Assad regime and all parties to the conflict to allow immediate and unfettered access to all areas of Syria.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in her Department.

    Karen Bradley

    The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers sets out the role of special advisers and describes the range of activities they may undertake. Copies of the Code of Conduct are available in the Libraries of the House and on-line at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/468340/CODE_OF_CONDUCT_FOR_SPECIAL_ADVISERS_-_15_OCTOBER_2015_FINAL.pdf

  • James Heappey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    James Heappey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Heappey on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to help support research into the Zika virus.

    Joseph Johnson

    In February we allocated £1 million from the Government’s Global Challenges Research Fund to help urgently tackle the Zika virus; the Medical Research Council (MRC) received over 100 applications for support through its Rapid Response Initiative. To meet this demand, in March we committed up to an additional £2 million, with a further £1 million from the Wellcome Trust, bringing the total that was available up to a maximum of £4 million of funding.

    Today, the MRC has announced that it has allocated c. £3.2 million of this funding to tackle the emerging and unknown threats of this virus. Our commitment to protect the science budget in real terms to the end of the Parliament means we can react quickly to help tackle these life-threatening global challenges.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34222, on the humanitarian situation in Madaya, what discussions she has had with her Russian counterpart about humanitarian access across Syria.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK plays a key role in opening up humanitarian access in Syria. At least 280 shipments of cross-border aid have been delivered because of the UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258.

    The Department for International Development works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as part of a whole of government response to the Syria crisis. The FCO are raising issues of humanitarian access across Syria with their Russian counterparts at every opportunity.

    We continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to call on all sides to the conflict and their backers – including Russia – to respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and to ensure free, unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies.

  • Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Bradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance has been issued to the courts to ensure that the option of a mental health Community Treatment Order is considered as part of a Community Sentence.

    Lord Faulks

    The National Probation Service provides sentencers with advice on requirements that could from part of a court ordered community order or a suspended sentence order. Guidance has been produced by the National Offender Management Service that is aimed at all partners, including the National Probation Service and the courts, to support increased use of Mental Health Treatment Requirements. This guidance can be found in the document Mental health Treatment Requirement – a Guide to Integrated Delivery, published on gov.uk.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the consequences for the viability of the Successor submarine programme of the conclusions of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s assessment of that programme.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s assessment of the Successor submarine programme accords with our own. That is why we have established a new Director General Nuclear sponsor organisation and will set up a new submarine delivery body, as set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. The assessment recognises the complexity and scale of delivering the most advanced submarines ever commissioned by the Royal Navy.

  • Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ms Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking with the College of Emergency Medicine to help attract middle-grade and senior doctors to local hospitals.

    Ben Gummer

    Health Education England is working with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine to ensure they have a skilled, trained and motivated workforce in urgent and emergency care. This has included recruiting an additional 75 trainee emergency medicine doctors commissioned per year in 2014-2016, recruiting and appointing 29 international doctors in 2015 and supporting development of the multi-professional workforce.

    National Health Service organisations are best placed to determine the size and skill mix of the workforce they need to deliver safe care and how, through local campaigns, they attract middle-grade and senior doctors to local hospitals.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel following reports that the Israeli army is preventing a Palestinian woman from travelling to her own wedding ceremony in Jordan.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities over this specific issue. We do, however, remain deeply concerned about restrictions on freedom of movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Our Ambassador in Tel Aviv raised this issue with Israeli National Security Advisor Cohen on 2 November. Our Consul-General to Jerusalem also raised this issue with the Mayor of Jerusalem on 28 October.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of onshore oil and gas (a) licence blocks and (b) wells with permission to be drilled are in areas with high or medium flood risk; what the Government’s policy is on permitting fracking in areas of flood risk; what assessment she has made of the effect of flooding on the risks of water contamination associated with shale gas extraction; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    Prior to the launch of the 14th Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing Round, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was undertaken for all areas offered for licensing applications, which addressed flood risk. The award of a Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence (PEDL) does not itself give any permission for operations to begin. Before a licensee can commence any operations they must apply for and be granted a number of further permissions and consents for each specific site within a PEDL area. These include planning permission and environmental permits from the Environment Agency.

    Flood risk will be considered on a case by case basis where relevant as part of the consideration through the planning system of proposals for onshore oil and gas development, including development involving hydraulic fracturing. National planning policy is clearthat inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding shouldbe avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk. Where development is necessary, it should be made safe without increasing flood risk elsewhere. The policy is also clear that development should not contribute to, or be adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of water pollution.

    Flood risk is also taken into account by the Environment Agency before any environmental permits are issued to drill for oil and gas. If a company wishes to carry out works in, over, under or near a main river, flood defence or a sea defence, they must apply to the Environment Agency for consent. To carry out work on watercourses which are not regulated by the Agency, a company will need to apply to the relevant regulatory body responsible for that particular watercourse.

  • Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22908, on prisoner escapes, if he will place a copy of the letter to the hon. Member for Romford in the Library.

    Andrew Selous

    Once the information requested is available I will write to the hon. Member for Romford and place a copy of that reply in the Library.