Category: Speeches

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Prime Minister, whether he plans to issue a new Memorandum of Understanding under section 2(2) of the Justice and Security Act on the remit of the Intelligence and Security Committee in the current Parliament.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Ms West) on 21 January 2016, UIN 22720.

    By long-standing convention under successive Governments the Law Officers’ advice is not published. The legal basis for the airstrike against Reyaad Khan is set out in the Government’s Memorandum to the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

    The Government’s legal position in relation to UK airstrikes against Daesh in Syria is reflected in my response to the Foreign Affairs Committee Report on the extension of offensive British military operations to Syria.

    The current Memorandum of Understanding together with the Justice and Security Act 2013 provides the necessary scope for the ISC to conduct robust oversight of those matters that are within its statutory remit.

    “

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the Carbon Airports Commission calculated that air fares would need to rise in order to comply with the capped model, and what estimate they have made of the increase in air passenger duty that would be necessary to achieve that increase.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Airports Commission included an estimate of the impact of air fares in the carbon capped case in Chapter 4 of their interim report, copies of which are available in the Libraries of both Houses.

    There are no such estimates alongside the updated forecasts in their final report, nor is there consideration of the interaction between carbon prices and air passenger duty.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

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

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what expenses were claimed by members of the Independent Commission on Freedom of Information.

    Matthew Hancock

    The total expenditure of the Commission will be published in due course.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-04-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the fact that donations to the Jewish National Fund are tax deductible, and that one of its primary activities has been the creation of forests over disputed Palestinian land, what action they are taking to rescind the charitable status of organisations that are for the benefit of one group at the expense of another.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Jewish National Fund is not a charity. The Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales having exclusively charitable purposes. Under s34 of the Charities Act 2011, the Commission must remove a charity from the register if it no longer considers the organisation to be a charity or if it has ceased to exist or does not operate. None of these criteria apply to this charity. Any concern regarding the charitable status of an organisation is a matter for the Commission.

    Taxation is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs who do not comment on individual cases.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has conducted on the health benefits and risks of male circumcision.

    George Freeman

    The Department has not conducted or commissioned any specific research on the health effects of male circumcision.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will take steps to ensure that the House of Commons Commission’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

    Tom Brake

    The House of Commons procurement policies operate within the parameters set out by the UK Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

    The House has a Sustainable Purchasing Policy which, amongst other things, requires contracts that are particularly suitable for SMEs to be highlighted as so being, contracts to be divided into lots and processes to be as simple and proportionate as possible to encourage SMEs to participate in our competitions. Further, the policy requires contracts that are suitable for Social Enterprises to be identified at an early stage and that market engaged to ensure their participation.

    More generally, the House supports British industry and agriculture by:

    • Purchasing our goods and services in a way that maximises the ability of SMEs, Social Enterprises and organisations with less bargaining power to win our contracts;
    • Conducting open and competitive tender processes that are accessible to all British suppliers whether small, medium or large;
    • Advertising our contracts on the UK Government procurement website Contracts Finder and the House’s own electronic procurement portal to ensure that there is maximum visibility of our contractual opportunities;
    • Writing specifications of requirements that take into account domestic social, economic and environmental requirements.
  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total value of their support to disabled people in developing countries.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK’s global leadership and commitment to disability inclusive development has been increasing. Through the Sustainable Development Goals, the promise to Leave No One Behind, and DFID’s Disability Framework, we have committed to promoting disability-inclusive international development through a twin-track approach. This means that, guided by our Framework, we aim to mainstream disability in all of our policies and programmes as well as supporting programmes that target disability specifically.

    We do not currently track spend on disability inclusion, but a review of progress in December last year told us that we are doing more to support people with disabilities than ever before. Key disability-specific programming includes funding to important partners such as ADD International and the Disability Rights Fund, and Bridging the Gap – a research project to identify gaps between disability policy formulation and implementation. But people with disabilities also directly benefit from spending across our geographic and thematic portfolios. To make it increasingly possible to determine if programmes are reaching and successfully serving people with disabilities globally, the international development system must get better at disaggregating data by disability status. In response, DFID has produced guidance to inform programmes and policies.

  • David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the daily rate or fee will be for members of the proposed review committee on securing the decisive role of the House of Commons on financial matters and secondary legislation.

    John Penrose

    The Government has asked Lord Strathclyde to lead a review to examine how to secure the decisive role of the elected House of Commons in relation to (i) its primacy on financial matters; and (ii) secondary legislation. Lord Strathclyde will be supported by a panel of experts and further details will be announced in due course.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Stewart Jackson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether reclassification by the Office of National Statistics of housing associations as public entities will entail their carrying the legislative obligations contained in the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    Registered providers of social housing will not automatically become subject to the Freedom of Information Act as a result of their reclassification.

  • 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 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what additional funding allocations have been provided to each local authority as a result of declared claw back from BT under the National Broadband Scheme.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Thanks to the way we have constructed the contracts, BT has announced £129 million of clawback funding. This is available to the local authorities to support further broadband deployment without any additional funding being added to it by either the government or by the local authorities.