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Category: Speeches

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of his Department provided support to the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Commission was supported by a small secretariat which comprised of one full time secondee from the Cabinet Office and two secondees from the Ministry of Justice, all of whom are below the Senior Civil Service. In addition, adhoc administrative support was provided on request.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they will take to ensure that arrangements for post-trade collateral management consequent on the takeover of the London Stock Exchange by Deutsche Börse does not increase risks to financial stability.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    I refer the noble Lord to the investor relations section of the London Stock Exchange Group website, which contains information about the proposed merger, including some information on the combined group’s proposed structure. I also refer the noble Lord to my previous written answer HL7153.

    Once formally notified of the proposed merger, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (as supervisors of the London Stock Exchange Group’s UK-authorised subsidiaries) must assess the proposal from a regulatory standpoint.

    In addition the proposed merger must be approved by competition authorities and is subject to a range of other assessments including those of overseas regulators and shareholders.

    European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) sets out detailed standards on the quality of collateral that a central counterparty (CCP) can accept, and includes a general requirement that the CCP can demonstrate to its supervisor that the form of collateral in question does not present unmanageable risk to the CCP. Furthermore, CCPs are permitted under EMIR to invest their collateral “only in cash or in highly liquid financial instruments with minimal market and credit risk.”

    Any proposals for inter-CCP links would need to be assessed against relevant parts of EMIR by the Bank of England, as supervisor of LCH. EMIR requires that models used to set CCP margin requirements (and any changes to them) are validated by the CCP’s supervisor. EMIR also requires that a CCP wishing to extend its business to additional products or services must obtain the authorisation of its supervisor.

  • John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    John Redwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of freedom of expression in Turkey.

    Mr David Lidington

    We share the concerns of the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the EU over freedom of the expression in Turkey, including the arrest and detention of a number of journalists. As a friend and ally we strongly encourage Turkey to continue work towards the full protection of all fundamental rights, especially in the areas of minority rights, freedom of religion and freedom of expression – and will continue to do so.

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Principles for maintaining continuity of care when moving across borders within the United Kingdom, published in March 2015, whether an adult with a care package who needs to raise a cross-border moving issue should raise that issue with the local authority they are leaving or the one they are moving to.

    Alistair Burt

    The “Principles for maintaining continuity of care when moving across borders within the United Kingdom” provide a framework for local authorities to support adults with care and support who move between countries in the United Kingdom without having their care interrupted.

    Adhering to the principles should reduce the potential for disagreement, however, where disagreements do arise, the Department and the Devolved Administrations would expect the parties to act reasonably and to make full efforts to resolve the dispute between themselves through constructive dialogue, cooperation and communication, including the timely sharing of information, and focussing on the well-being of the adult. The timely and effective resolution of disputes is in the interest of all parties, not least, the adult in question.

    It is not possible to be definitive about which authority a cross-border continuity of care matter should be pursued with because it will depend on the facts and the nature of the issue. The adult may wish to approach their own local authority in the first instance. However where an issue raised with an authority falls within the remit of the other, the principle that the authorities should work together and share information should apply.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the proportion of retail businesses that have designated an appropriate alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider for their sector in accordance with the EU ADR Directive.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government supports the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to help businesses and consumers save time and money when dealing with complaints. Approved ADR is available for every consumer to trader dispute in the UK.

    We have not estimated what proportion of retail businesses have a designated ADR provider as it is open to the retailer to choose a different ADR provider with the necessary skills and experience to deal with a particular dispute.

    The Chartered Trading Standards Institute acts as the lead competent authority and has held working groups and individual meetings with the other competent authorities to ensure consistency of approach.

  • Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance has been issued to Jobcentre Plus staff on the application of benefit sanctions where a parent is unable to comply with the conditions for that benefit because of lack of suitable childcare.

    Priti Patel

    This Government spent £5bn on childcare in 2014-2015 – more than any previous administration and an increase of £1bn since 2010. We are now going further still, with a new package of support designed to improve the affordability and accessibility of childcare for working families. We are extending the free entitlement for 3 and 4 years from 15 hours to 30 hours per week for working parents, from September 2017, worth £5,000 per child per year. We are also introducing Tax-Free Childcare for working parents from early 2017, with a Government contribution of up to £2,000 per child.

    Guidance for Jobcentre Plus staff makes it clear that the Jobseeker’s Allowance requirements should be tailored to the individual circumstances of each claimant and may be varied if those circumstances change.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on the distribution and use of funds raised by the proposed Apprenticeship Levy.

    Nick Boles

    Skills policy is a devolved area so the devolved administrations will continue to have control over how to support businesses through training and apprenticeships.

    We are working closely with the Welsh Government and other devolved administrations to ensure they get their fair share of the levy and can work out how best to use it to complement their own apprenticeships and skills policies.

    We will engage with skills ministers in the devolved administrations, including Julie James AC/AM, to do all we can to make the levy work for employers and would-be apprentices across the UK.

  • Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rachel Reeves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachel Reeves on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of reinstating the qualifying age for pension credit to its 1995 timetable.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Pension Credit was designed to provide income related support for people without sufficient provision for their retirement and as such the qualifying age for both men and women has been linked to women’s State Pension age since its introduction.

    Our initial estimates of the cost of retaining the 1995 timetable for the qualifying age for Pension Credit were published in response to a question from Lord Boswell in 2011 Hansard vol. 725, column 1607, 9 March 2011.

    We have not formally updated this costing but we have reconsidered the evidence based on the latest information and our analysis indicates that the cost of breaking the link between the Pension Credit qualifying age and women’s State Pension age is likely to be significantly higher than previously estimated for a number of reasons including:

    – Women under State Pension age would be entitled to larger amounts of Pension Credit than the original analysis assumed.

    – This may incentivise more women to stop working and claim Pension Credit instead.

    In addition to the impacts considered above there would also be increased expenditure on other benefits, most notably Housing Benefit, localised Council Tax Support, the Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments which were not included in the original figures.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what funds the Government is providing for businesses affected by flooding which did not have insurance.

    Anna Soubry

    I have made it clear to local councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships who are administering the Business Recovery Grant that they should look to provide funding to un-insured businesses so long as it is clear that this is not rewarding deliberate bad business practice. So where a flooded business has made a reasonable effort to secure insurance and not been successful they can be funded. We have provided £11m in total to provide support to businesses, allocated to local areas based on the number of flooded businesses.

  • Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what modelling his Department used to propose the new transitional benefit arrangements for EU migrants; when benefit payments under those arrangements will be greater than zero per cent; and what proportion of benefits EU migrants will be able to claim in each of the next five years.

    Priti Patel

    These details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.