UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the contribution of the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the hon. Member for East Devon, of 22 October 2015, Official Report, column 1264, what training was provided to the election observers supported by Government funding referred to in that contribution.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The United Kingdom funded the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in training and deploying some 5000 Burmese civil society observers throughout the country. These national observers were trained to evaluate the quality of the electoral process at polling stations and to rapidly report incidents on the day. The presence of national and international observers was a key part of the United Kingdom’s strategy for deterring fraud in Burma’s elections on 8 November.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the cost was of maintaining her Department’s properties in (a) London and (b) nationally in 2014-15.

    George Eustice

    Defra is the controlling holder of 133 properties on behalf of the civil estate. These include offices, laboratories, farms, foot and mouth burial site and contaminated land.

    Increasingly space in these properties is shared with Executive Agencies and NDPBs within the Defra network, as well as other government departments, their Executive Agencies and NDPBs, and commercial tenants.

    Information regarding the Department’s Expenditure in relation to Estates Management can be found in the Annual Report and Accounts at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449323/defra-annual-report-2014-2015-web.pdf

    “

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the security situation in the Sinai and its impact on the military capability of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Egyptians have been carrying out operations against violent extremists in the Sinai since late 2013. We understand that as part of those operations the Egyptian Armed Forces have destroyed the majority of the tunnels between Sinai and Gaza. This is likely to have reduced significantly the smuggling of weapons to Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the tourist industry in Cumbria of recent flooding and severe weather.

    David Evennett

    The region has some of the most iconic tourist attractions in the UK and tourism is an essential part of the local economy. We want to ensure that our tourism businesses have as much support as possible as they recover from the recent floods. Some tourism businesses in flood affected areas have reported a drop in bookings of up to 60%.

    That is why a new £1m PR campaign was launched by the Prime Minister in Cumbria, on the 28th January, to support businesses ready to receive visitors, and this is part of a wider package of immediate measures to help the area.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many consultants’ contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce lifetime awards for people assessed as requiring the upper personal independence payment allowance mobility component who have been diagnosed with muscle degenerative diseases or conditions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Personal Independence Payment is specifically designed to ensure that the benefit is awarded to those with the greatest need and the award review process is integral to ensuring this happens. Under Disability Living Allowance over 70% of all claims had no review built-in, meaning that claimants could have been receiving too much or too little in benefit.

    We take a personalised approach to setting the length of awards, varying the frequency and format of awards and reviews depending on the individual’s needs and the likelihood of their health condition or impairment changing.

    Where the claimant has high levels of functional impairment which are only likely to increase or not improve, it is likely that the claimant will receive an enhanced rate of benefit and a longer term award.

    We recognise that it is important to ensure that the review process is applied sensitively and appropriately. As such, it is likely that the awards of such claimants would also go through a less intensive review process which may not, if all the necessary information is held, include a face-to-face assessment.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to protect the pensions of grandparents that care for grandchildren.

    Justin Tomlinson

    From 6 April 2011 a weekly Class 3 National Insurance credit is available to grandparents and other adult family members under State Pension age that look after children aged under 12 to enable the children’s parents to work. The credits can help protect the grandparent’s National Insurance record and will count towards entitlement to the new State Pension and (before 6 April 2017), Bereavement Benefits.

    Since its introduction in 2011, over 4,000 people have been approved.

    In addition, support is available through income-related benefits to grandparents of working age who have responsibility for their grandchildren or act in the place of the child’s parents. The Government announced its intention to exempt grandparents, and other family members or close friends, looking after children, who could otherwise be at risk of entering the care system, from the restriction which limits the child element of Universal Credit to a maximum of two children. The Government is committed to working with stakeholders to develop a solution that meets the needs of the children in respect of whom this exemption is intended to apply, whilst guarding against the risk of fraud and error

    Universal Credit recipients who are grandparents can have childcare costs reimbursed. Where a firm job offer has been accepted childcare costs can be claimed for at least one month before they start work and after the employment ends. The childcare costs element is intended to protect work incentives and ensures that support is focused on low-earning families.

  • Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Kinnock on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce measures to prevent companies based in tax havens from purchasing assets during privatisations.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government seeks to ensure value for money for the taxpayer in conducting asset sales. This includes running sales on a competitive basis that are open to a wide range of potential buyers. The Government has no plans to change the existing arrangements governing participation in the sale of government assets.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to include students from other EU countries in the eligibility criteria for student loans in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 admissions years.

    Joseph Johnson

    The UK has a long-established higher education system that supports, and therefore attracts, the brightest minds, at all stages of their careers. Existing rules on EU and other EEA students remain in force. Future arrangements for EU students wishing to study in the UK will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to protect members of the public from unsolicited telephone calls.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    The Government is determined to tackle the problem of nuisance calls, and is considering implementing a number of legislative measures to provide better consumer protection, from unsolicited telephone calls. These measures include; extending the Information Commissioner’s powers of compulsory audit to organisations that generate nuisance calls and holding company directors to account for breaches of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). The Government introduced a new requirement for all direct marketing callers to provide caller line identification, which came into effect on 16 May. More recently we introduced a measure in the Digital Economy Bill, making it a requirement for the Information Commissioner to issue a statutory code of practice on direct marketing, which will support a reduction in the number of unwanted direct marketing calls.