Category: Speeches

  • Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Berkeley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what the roles and responsibilities of the National Infrastructure Commission and Infrastructure UK are, to whom they report, and what overlaps there are between them, if any.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The National Infrastructure Commission is an independent advisory body, currently operating on an interim basis. It will deliver a long-term plan and assessment of national infrastructure needs and publish advice on specific infrastructure issues. The Commission reports to the Chancellor.

    Infrastructure UK is a specialist unit within the Treasury that works on the UK’s long-term infrastructure priorities and secures private sector investment. It provides commercial support for infrastructure projects, administers the UK Guarantee Scheme, and reviews and refines the way that Public Private Partnerships are run in the UK. Infrastructure UK reports to the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury and to the Treasury Permanent Secretary.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why chairing the Environment Agency is a part-time post.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Agency has a full time Executive and CEO who are responsible for all operational decisions.

    The role of the Chairman is to hold the Executive to account through regular meetings and committees and provide leadership and strategic vision for the Board.The Chairman does not operationally manage day to day business and is therefore part-time. This is the usual case for Chair appointments to Public Bodies across Government.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government has provided to witnesses, survivors and the families of victims of the terrorist attack in Sousse, Tunisia, on 26 June 2015.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Immediately after the terrorist attack in Sousse, a helpline was set up to provide advice to British nationals in the area. At the height of the crisis there were 140 FCO, Police, MoD and DfT staff in Tunisia. Rapid Deployment Teams comprising of consular staff and Red Cross psychosocial experts were sent to Tunisia to assist those affected. We worked with the tour operators to help those families who wished to return to the UK. Some of the injured and the 30 deceased were repatriated back to the UK using military assets. The next of kin were offered support via Police Family Liaison Officers. This support was offered through our Exceptional Assistance Measures policy (EAM) which we have the discretion to use in extremis after a terrorist attack.

    The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) established an ad hoc Ministerial Committee, supported by a Joint Unit based in the FCO, to coordinate Government assistance to British nationals affected over the longer term. The Committee has oversight of arrangements for a fitting memorial service, a physical memorial, compensation and a programme to provide support for those experiencing difficulties with mental health. We have partnerships with victim support organisations in England, Wales and Scotland to refer bereaved families to specialist support, and have a dedicated support page with further information on GOV.UK.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average growth in Gross Value Added for (1) the English Core Cities, and (2) Liverpool, from 2009 to 2014.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

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

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of new universal credit claims were processed within one month in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.

    Priti Patel

    The information you have requested is currently not available.

    Additional breakdowns will be included in future Universal Credit official statistics as quality assurance of data from the Universal Credit systems progresses during 2016.

  • Mark Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Field on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the National Crime Agency’s National Referral Mechanism Statistics – End of year summary 2015, of the 1,104 potential victims of trafficking who presented in the Metropolitan Police Force area in 2015 (a) how many came from EU countries, (b) from which region each such person came and (c) where each such person was first recruited for trafficking.

    Karen Bradley

    Of the 1,104 potential victims referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in 2015 that presented in the Metropolitan Police Force area, 68 were EU nationals. The countries of origin of these EU nationals were: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and the UK. Information on the region of origin and location of recruitment of potential victims is not available.

    All 1,104 potential victims who presented in the Metropolitan Police Force Area in 2015 were referred to the NRM by a first responder organisation. A breakdown of referrals is available from published NRM statistics on the National Crime Agency website and can be found here: www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics. Breakdowns of data about the London boroughs where potential victims presented are not available.

    The Salvation Army and its subcontractors provide support in different locations within England and Wales for adult potential victims given a positive reasonable grounds decision. Following a reflection and recovery period, victims are assisted to move on within the UK or voluntarily return to their home country. The Home Office does not hold data on what happens to individuals once they leave the service.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with her Irish Republic counterpart on security co-operation since the latest published security assessment of the threat posed by Irish republican terrorists.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I am in regular contact with Irish ministers on security and other matters. Political and operational co-operation is strong and the Irish authorities are having considerable success disrupting the activities of dissident republican terrorists and bringing them to justice.

    I commend the PSNI and AGS for their work on tackling the terrorist threat and their efforts to keep people safe on both sides of the border. The establishment of the Joint Agency Task Force on organised crime adds another important dimension to this already effective co-operation.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many equal pay cases were not taken forward after post-claim conciliation in each year since 2010.

    Margot James

    We are currently collating this information and will place this in the Libraries in due course.

  • Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Condon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Condon on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to encourage the provision and wearing of body cameras by operational police officers to improve police and public confidence in cases of disputed incidents.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Home Office fully supports the police exploiting technology to help cut crime wherever possible. Body worn video can be a powerful tool to help the police be more effective, efficient and accountable. The decision to procure and deploy it is an operational one for chief officers.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which organisations have received government funding to assist their efforts to compile a complete electoral register.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government provided £14 million across 2013/14 and 2014/15 to support the costs of activities at a local and national level to maximise the number of people on the electoral register. This includes allocating funding to local authorities and national organisations.

    The following organisations received funding to target under registered groups:

    Active Citizens FE

    Bite the Ballot

    British Youth Council

    Citizens Advice

    Citizens UK

    Gingerbread

    Operation Black Vote

    The Hansard Society

    Homeless Link

    National Association of Managers of Student Service

    National Union of Students

    Scottish Youth Parliament

    Sixth Form Colleges Association

    The Royal Mencap Society

    The Student Room

    The Tab

    UK Youth

    UpRising

    vInspired