Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38441, what estimate he has made of the date by which all prisoners serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection whose tariffs have expired will be released.

    Andrew Selous

    The sentence of IPP was introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for offences committed after April 2005. They were abolished in 2012 by the Coalition Government.

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not disaggregate spending on IPP prisoners from spending on all prisoners.

    It is a priority for us to help remaining IPP prisoners progress towards release, when it is safe to do so, including by giving them opportunities to complete relevant interventions and work to reduce their risk of harm and risk of reoffending.

    The ongoing work to improve progression opportunities is continuing to achieve results, with 512 IPP releases approved by the Parole Board in 2015, the highest number of annual releases since the sentence became available in 2005.

    The release dates of prisoners serving IPP sentences, once they have completed their tariff, is entirely a matter for the independent Parole Board. The Board will direct release only if prisoners’ risks have been reduced to a level that may be safely managed in the community.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department’s policy on the uprating of the pensions of British people living abroad of the UK leaving the EU.

    Richard Harrington

    We are about to begin negotiations for Britain’s future relationship with Europe and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance. At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency and (b) Cheshire West and Chester have had a tax credit claim stopped by Concentrix; and how many such claims were subsequently reinstated by HM Revenue and Customs.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold the data broken down specifically by constituency areas. HMRC is currently focused on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing regional analysis, which will be available in due course.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Turkish counterpart on concluding the trial of five men accused of murdering three Christian missionaries in 2007.

    Mr David Lidington

    Her Majesty’s Government has previously condemned this shocking attack in Malatya and welcomed the Turkish Government’s determination to bring the perpetrators to justice. We continue to monitor this case and human rights developments in Turkey closely, including through regular bilateral discussions with our Turkish counterparts.

    We continue to encourage Turkey to work towards meeting EU standards on all human rights, especially in the areas of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and minority rights, including tackling hate crimes. We also fund a number of projects with minority groups in Turkey, including religious communities, aimed at promoting their inclusion.

  • Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Chris Stephens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on that organisation’s pension scheme; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 October 2015 to Question 13202 to the hon. Member for Gedling (Mr Coaker).

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the evaluation and recommendations of the Law Commission on the Advice Services Transition Fund.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The aim of the Advice Services Transition Fund (ASTF) was to support the sector to be able to respond with confidence to the challenges presented by the changing funding environment.

    The Fund was always intended to support time limited transformational activity. Cabinet Office is not in a position to commit longer-term funding to support the core-running costs of advice services. However, the fund has supported organisations to transition to more collaborative working. We will also be working with the Big Lottery Fund to ensure that learning is identified and shared across the advice services sector. This work aligns with recommendations outlined in the Low Commission report.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with the Scottish Government about the future electrification of the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

    Lord Dunlop

    UK and Scottish Government officials have regular discussions regarding transport policy, and the rail industry is undertaking studies to identify the best value cases for further route electrification in Scotland, England and Wales. The introduction of bi-mode intercity express trains on East Coast Scottish services from 2018 is expected to help the business case for electrification between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her Department’s wellness strategy is.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department of Energy and Climate Change is aligned with the Civil Service Health & Well-being Strategy which was agreed by the Civil Service People Board.

    This focuses on three priority areas:

    Mental Health

    Musculoskeletal Health

    Healthy Lifestyle

    In DECC this means we ensure visible senior leadership of the well-being agenda, we encourage all managers to undertake mental health awareness training increasing manager capability through Civil Service Learning training.

    We have been adopting the Public Health England ‘Workplace Well-being Charter’ and promoting ‘Time to Change’. The Department offers support to staff including ‘Employee Assistance’. The Department is also running wellbeing events and initiatives over the coming year.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 31709, how many incidents of face-down restraints there have been in mental health services in (a) January and (b) February 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    No information is currently available regarding the number of incidents of face down restraint for the months requested. The first publication by the Health and Social Care Information Centre of January 2016 information is due during April 2016. Data will only be published when the Health and Social Care Information Centre is confident that the dataset is accurate and complete.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of reforming (a) pension protection arrangements and (b) corporate pension schemes.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The pension protection arrangements for defined benefit occupational pension schemes have been robust and effective.

    The Government keeps these arrangements under review, engaging relevant stakeholders, in order to ensure that members of pension schemes are properly protected, and considers long term as well as short term factors for the pension protection landscape.