Category: Speeches

  • Ian Paisley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Ian Paisley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how Northern Ireland can benefit from contributing to the Northern Powerhouse.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I have regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a range of issues, including his plans for the Northern Powerhouse, which is about building a strong economy from which all parts of the United Kingdom can benefit.

  • Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff have been employed in (a) the National Crime Agency’s National Cyber Crime Unit and (b) each of the nine Regional Organised Crime Units for each year from 2010 to date.

    Mr John Hayes

    Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs) provide capability to investigate serious and organised crime across police force boundaries, including but not limited to, cyber crime. At the end of September 2015, there were 1,626 full-time equivalent staff employed by forces in the nine Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs), excluding London.

    These figures have only been centrally collected by the police, and shared with the Home Office, since the beginning of this financial year. Details on the number of staff employed in individual ROCUs are operationally sensitive and have therefore not been provided. The most recent figures for the number of National Crime Agency (NCA) officers employed in the National Cyber Crime Unit will be available in the National Crime Agency’s Remuneration Review Body evidence to be published on the NCA’s website shortly.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to encourage larger companies to make payments to small and medium-sized enterprises on time.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government recognises that late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK and is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts. This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the private sector.

    The Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 legislated for a new reporting requirement on the UK’s largest companies and Regulations will be introduced this year which will compel larger companies to report on payment practices and performance. This information will be published on a six-monthly basis and will be made publicly available.

    Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to give general advice and to help small businesses resolve disputes relating to payment matters with larger businesses.

    Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government has taken to reduce fuel insecurity in Yemen.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The UK is the 4th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its humanitarian support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis with medical supplies, food, water, and emergency shelter.

    Yemen is highly dependent on commercial imports for essential fuel supplies. That is why one of our top priorities is working to help commercial shipping return to pre-conflict levels. We welcome the progress made on maritime access in recent months, but more needs to be done. DFID is providing £1.42m of support to the UN’s Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) which will help speed up checks for commercial cargo, including fuel, entering Yemen and increase commercial confidence to get markets working again and lower very high commodity prices.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will carry out an investigation into whether there was a breach of Privy Council rules in relation to the story in The Sun of 9 March 2016 relating to HM The Queen and the referendum on EU membership.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the statement made to the House by the Lord President of the Council on 14 March 2016, Official Report, columns 653-654. and to the Cabinet Secretary’s letter to the hon. Member for Ilford North (Mr Streeting) 11 March 2016. I have placed a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there was any consultation with businesses in flood-risk areas before the decision was taken to cut funding to the Climate Ready programme delivered by the Environment Agency.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra has not consulted on the Climate Ready Support Service delivered by the Environment Agency. The Service was originally envisaged as a three year programme that was extended to a fourth year in March 2015. This enabled completion of the majority of National Adaptation Programme actions to which the Service was contributing. Indeed the first National Adaptation Programme sets out more than 370 actions to help the UK better prepare for climate change – we continue to deliver on these actions and make sure adaptation is integrated across government policy making.

    The Environment Agency continues to play an important role in helping businesses adapt to climate change, in particular as part of its core role on flooding, coastal risks, water management, freshwater habitats, and as a statutory adviser in the land-use planning system. In addition, the EA will continue to provide advice to businesses and other organisations on using the UK climate projections and it will continue to contribute to a range of stakeholder groups. Over 70 online tools developed by the Climate Ready Support Service are available for use by businesses.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of UK military staff posted to (a) Eurocorps and (b) other EU institutions.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The UK is not a member of Eurocorps and has no military staff posted to it. The UK currently has 17 military staff posted in the EU institutions.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of a programme to introduce more oysters in the waters around the UK.

    George Eustice

    Fisheries management is a devolved issue in the UK. The Government currently has no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of a programme to introduce more oysters to the waters around England.

    Oyster restoration schemes currently underway in the UK include the Chichester Harbour Oyster Partnership Initiative, the Essex Native Oyster Regeneration Initiative, and an initiative in the Solent led by the Blue Marine Foundation.

    In 2005, Defra and Seafish commissioned Cefas to produce a feasibility study of native oyster (Ostrea edulis) stock regeneration in the UK. The full report is available on the Seafish website.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the capacity of Pension Wise to meet the volume of over the telephone and face-to-face appointment requests it receives; and what plans he has to increase Pension Wise’s capacity after the introduction of the proposed secondary market for annuities.

    Richard Harrington

    Pension Wise regularly reviews capacity within the service with its delivery partners to ensure it has the right number of guidance specialists in the right places. Since launch there have been over 82,000 Pension Wise appointments and customer satisfaction has been consistently high.

    The service is confident that it will be able to meet the demand of those seeking guidance on selling their annuity on the secondary market.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will issue a response to the Federation of Small Businesses report, entitled Reassured, optimised, transformed: driving digital small business, published in September 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, and Anna Soubry, the Small Firms Minister, participated in roundtable discussions on September 10th when the report was launched. We do not propose to formally respond to the FSB report.