UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) meetings, (b) hospitality, (c) gifts and (d) overseas travel officials at Grade 7 or above in HM Revenue and Customs have received or undertaken in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16 to date.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information requested for points (a), (b) and (c) is not available. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not have a central register of all internal and external meetings. Moreover, the details of gifts and hospitality is not broken down by grade.

    On point (d), HMRC officials at Grade 7 and above undertook 1,557 overseas journeys by air or rail to 88 different destinations in 2014-15, and 709 journeys to 65 destinations in the first half of 2015-16.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the change in the debt to gross domestic product ratio in 2014-15 and 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    Public sector net debt is forecast to fall from 2016-17 to the end of the Parliament, reaching 77.2% of GDP by the end of 2019-20. The OBR’s latest forecast is that the level of cash debt at the end of 2015-16 will be £1591 billion, down from £1599 billion in its November forecast. Debt as a share of GDP is forecast to rise from 83.3% in 2014-15 to 83.7% of GDP at the end of 2015-16 because the economy is smaller in nominal terms in 2015-16 than forecast in November, largely due to lower inflation. The government has also delayed the sale of the remaining shares in Lloyds Banking Group as a result of market conditions.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department takes to ensure claims for diplomatic immunity are authentic.

    James Duddridge

    Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 the sending State must make certain that the agrément of the receiving State has been given for the person it proposes to accredit as its head of mission (Article 4). The UK also requires sending States to submit the names of military, naval and air attaches for approval (Article 7). Diplomatic missions are further required to notify the receiving State of the arrival of all members of the mission and their accompanying family members (Article 10). If a foreign national resident in the UK claimed diplomatic status, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) would check whether the person’s name was on its database of foreign diplomats and their families, as notified to the FCO by the sending State. As necessary, the FCO would also seek confirmation from the relevant diplomatic mission.

  • Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Hodgson of Abinger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are providing support to the central bank of Yemen to avert financial collapse.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) is a key Yemeni institution. We have made sure that the economy and the state of the CBY are not ignored during the peace talks in Kuwait. We continue to lobby the Government of Yemen and the Houthis and Pro-Saleh General People’s Congress at the highest levels to emphasise the seriousness of the economic situation, including pressing for all Yemeni parties to cooperate, take ownership of the issues, and ensure key institutions such as the CBY are protected.

  • 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

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of victims and witnesses in historic sex abuse cases.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    Victims of specific sexual offences, including historical sex abuse cases, are automatically provided with lifetime anonymity, by way of reporting restrictions, from the point of complaint. Anonymity is granted in recognition of the nature of the offence against them and to encourage other victims to come forward.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many hostel places for the homeless there were in (a) London and (b) each London borough on 1 October in each year since 2008.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department does not hold information regarding the number of places in hostels for rough sleepers in London. It is for London boroughs to determine what homelessness services are required to best meet the needs of their local area, including provision of suitable accommodation.

    This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why since 2010 we have invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England. In London, we have given the Mayor £34 million to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, with an extra £8.5 million for this work in 2015/16.

    We have supported local areas, including London, to improve the quality of hostels through the Homelessness Change Programme, which provided £42.5 million of capital funding in 2012 – 2015 for new and refurbished bed spaces and facilities to provide meaningful activities to supporta pathway to independent living. For 2015 – 2017, the Department of Health will make available funding for local areas, including London, to invest in tailored hostel accommodation to improve the physical and mental health of rough sleepers, and successful partnership bids will be announced shortly.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all lower limb amputees have access to the most appropriate prosthetics.

    Alistair Burt

    The commissioning of prosthetics is the responsibility of NHS England as a specialised service. The rehabilitation and re-ablement of patients is provided at a local level by specialised Multi-Disciplinary Teams which should be consultant led. The NHS Standard Contract for Complex Disability Equipment – Prosthetics, sets out how the specialist centres should operate and the required level of prosthetic services to be delivered.

    A revised policy proposal for the routine commissioning of microprocessor controlled knees was considered by NHS England’s expert Clinical Priorities Advisory Group which recommended its adoption for routine commissioning. The proposal was then considered by NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Oversight Group at its meeting on 9 December where it was agreed that NHS England would support this service development as a possible call on its resources. However given the potential scale of investment and the need to consider its priority relative to other treatments which would also have a possible call on the specialised commissioning resources, it was decided that the policy should go forward for consideration as part of NHS England’s next annual prioritisation round in June 2016.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what measurements he has made of the UK armed forces’ carbon emissions for (a) 2015 and (b) any previous years for which data is held; and what plans the Government has to reduce UK military carbon emissions in response to the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

    Mark Lancaster

    Information on the UK Armed Forces’ carbon emissions from 2009-10 to 2014-15 can be found in pages 11 and 12 of the Sustainable Ministry of Defence (MOD) Annual Report, using the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/447951/20150723-Sustainable_MOD_Annual_Report-internet-ver.pdf

    The MOD continues to reduce carbon emissions as part of the Government’s Greening Government commitments and the new targets are being developed for 2016-2020.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he plans to take to reduce domestic rent prices in London.

    Greg Hands

    The Government believes that the key to improving affordability in domestic rents is to increase the supply of homes. That is why the Government has taken measures to attract billions of pounds of investment to build homes specifically for private rent. This includes a £3.5 billion debt guarantee scheme to support the delivery of new homes purpose built for private rent.

    At the Spending Review the Government set out its Five Point Plan for increasing housing supply. This includes plans to deliver 400,000 affordable home starts by 2020/21, including 10,000 Rent to Buy homes; a £2billion fund to provide infrastructure on large housing sites; a £1billion fund to provide loans to SME builders; further reforms to the planning system and the release of public sector land for 160,000 homes.