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Category: Speeches

  • Paul Scully – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Paul Scully – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Scully on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with housing associations on flexibility in the time allowed to spend capital receipts from Right to Buy.

    Brandon Lewis

    Under the terms of the historic voluntary agreement between the Government and the sector, the Government will compensate housing associations for the value of the Right to Buy discount. In return, housing associations will deliver at least one additional new home for each home sold nationally. They will have flexibility in relation to the tenure and location of the additional homes built. It is a mutual objective to ensure that additional homes would be delivered as quickly as possible. The aim is to deliver the new properties within two years. The historic grant portion of any receipt released by the property sale will go back into the Recycled Capital Grant Fund. Under the current rules for that Fund receipts must be spent within three years or returned to the Homes and Communities Agency.

  • Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Luke Hall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luke Hall on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information the Certification Officer holds on the number of members of the National Union of Mineworkers in each year from 2003-04 to present.

    Nick Boles

    The number of members of the National Union of Mineworkers in each year from 2003-04 to present, as submitted to the Certification Officer, are provided in the two links below.

    2003-2012

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140701201750/http://www.certoffice.org/Nav/Trade-Unions/National-Union-of-Mineworkers.aspx

    2012-2014

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-union-of-mineworkers-annual-returns

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will bring forward proposals for a national register of wills similar to that used in Spain.

    Dominic Raab

    This Department has no plans to create a national register of wills for England and Wales. Wills may be deposited for safekeeping with the Probate Service, part of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, on payment of the appropriate fee (currently £20). Various private sector bodies, including many legal practitioners, also offer registration and safekeeping services.

  • Lord Tyler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Tyler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees what have been the (1) security, and (2) other, costs to the House administration in preparing for and conducting the State Opening of Parliament in each of the last five years.

    Lord Laming

    State Opening is the major ceremonial event of the parliamentary calendar and the Estate is significantly reconfigured for hosting it. Its traditions date back as far as the sixteenth century and it is the only regular occasion when the three constituent parts of Parliament meet: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The event is broadcast to the nation by the main UK TV channels and also to many international networks with high viewing figures across the globe.

    The security costs to the House administration in preparing for and conducting the State Opening of Parliament in each of the last five years are set out in the table below. These figures are additional to the fixed cost base for police officers and staff, tasked daily with protecting the Parliamentary Estate. They are indicative, due to the complex nature of police officer and staff allocation for a large scale operation.

    Year

    Amount (£)

    2012

    c.15,000

    2013

    17,234

    2014

    10,300

    2015

    15,814

    2016

    c.15,000

    Estimates of other costs are set out in the table below. These include supply and fit of additional structures, preparations of the interior, additional lighting, move and reinstallation of the vehicle security barrier, construction costs of reconfiguring the Lords chamber and Royal Gallery, building media facilities within the Palace of Westminster, storage of equipment throughout the year, and other domestic and administrative costs.

    The costs for 2016 are based on estimates only at this stage, because not all invoices have yet been received from relevant suppliers. Some costs are annual rather than tied to a particular State Opening of Parliament; these annual costs have been attributed to the next State Opening.

    Since 2015, a proportion of overtime has been captured specifically in relation to the State Opening of Parliament. This accounts for the apparent steep increase in overall ‘other’ costs for that and the subsequent year, but it should be noted that these costs always existed, but were assigned to separate budgets.

    Year

    Amount (£)

    2012

    251,341

    2013

    261,504

    2014

    280,707

    2015

    325,937

    2016

    c.326,000

    The House of Lords pays a proportion of these costs, many of which are costs from services shared with the House of Commons. This information does not represent the full cost of State Opening, as costs will also have been incurred by other bodies, which may include Westminster City Council, the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Household.

  • Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of the security situation in Juba, South Sudan, on UN operations in that region.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The recent deterioration in the security situation in South Sudan has made UN operations – including protecting civilians and facilitating the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance – more difficult. In the UN Security Council on 13 July, we urged the Council and regional countries to unite in demanding the South Sudanese authorities allow UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan to have freedom of movement and all the equipment it needs in country.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 September 2016 to Question 45588, what recent representations he has received from Saudi officials on their Joint Investigation Assessment Team and the timescale for the investigation.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The UK welcomes the release by Joint Incident Assessment Team (JIAT) of the outcome of eight investigations into incidents of alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen. The Saudi-led Coaltion announced it will immediately investigate the airstrike hitting a funeral hall in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on 8 October along with Joint Incidents Assessment Team (JIAT). I raised my concerns with the Saudi Ambassador to London on 9 October and urged the Saudi-led coalition’s announced investigation into the incident to take place as a matter of urgency.

  • Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Patrick Grady – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of respect for human rights in Nepal.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We note the milestone represented by the new Nepalese Constitution and welcome the adoption of 31 different rights, which include rights for women and Dalits. However, we are concerned about discrimination against women in the citizenship provisions and the violence which followed the adoption of the Constitution. We welcome progress on Nepal’s implementation of the recommendations made in 2011 by the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review on transitional justice but remain concerned about amnesty provisions and the absence of legislation to criminalise torture.

    We issued a statement and a series of recommendations to this effect on 4 November 2015, at the 23rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/uk-statement-on-nepal-at-the-23rd-session-of-the-universal-periodic-review-geneva-2-to-13-november-2015

    “

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she has reviewed the fitness-for-purpose of the UK Nuclear Industry Malicious Capability Planning Assessment to deal with attacks similar to those carried out recently in Paris and San Bernadino.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The security of the UK’s civil nuclear sector is of paramount importance to the Government. The Nuclear Industry Malicious Capability Planning Assumptions (NIMCA) provide a common basis for determining the sector’s required protective security posture. It is reviewed by DECC, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), and industry representatives on an annual basis. To ensure that the NIMCA assumptions remain appropriate, these annual reviews are supplemented with assessments of threat information provided by the police and the intelligence agencies on an ongoing basis. Additionally, the ONR maintains a permanent presence within the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which guarantees the fastest possible identification and notification of intelligence that might indicate changes to present and foreseeable threats to civil nuclear sites.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with his counterparts in the devolved administrations steps to ensure that programmes such as Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies can be implemented across the UK.

    Alistair Burt

    We have no specific plans at present for a Ministerial meeting on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme, but Departmental officials are in regular contact with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations on cross-cutting issues.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will hold discussions with the Defence Police Federation on the (a) level of morale and (b) terms and conditions of service within the Ministry of Defence Police; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    I met the National Chairman of the Defence Police Federation on 17 December 2015 to review the status of the ongoing negotiations on changes to Ministry of Defence Police terms and conditions of service. I would expect any issues associated with the morale of the Force to be raised and discussed at the Ministry of Defence Police Joint Consultative Committee that is chaired by the Chief Constable.