Category: Speeches

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prison officer hours spent guarding prisoners in hospital as as a result of incidents involving new psychoactive substances.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Prime Minister’s Oral Statement of 22 February 2016, Official Report, column 35, on the European Council, whether his Department is undertaking planning in the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the EU referendum.

    Priti Patel

    On 19 February, the Prime Minister set out the Government’s view on remaining in the European Union.

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

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of gaps in maritime capability.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Given the constantly evolving nature of the threats we face, maritime capabilities are regularly reviewed and assessed. I am witholding the details of those assessments as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to encourage US-based IT companies to make customer use data available to UK intelligence services to help tackle international terrorism.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Government works with IT companies around the world to ensure that we have the information required to tackle threats to the UK.

    UK law grants warrants issued in pursuit of such data extra-territorial jurisdiction. The Government is also in the process of negotiating a bilateral agreement with the US which will aid the ability of US companies to respond to UK warrants.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the average price paid by the NHS for prescription drugs in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The average net ingredient cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England is in the table: Information for medicines supplied in secondary care is not available.

    Year

    Average net ingredient cost
    per prescription item (£)

    2005

    11.02

    2006

    10.90

    2007

    10.51

    2008

    9.88

    2009

    9.64

    2010

    9.53

    2011

    9.16

    2012

    8.52

    2013

    8.37

    2014

    8.32

    2015

    8.55

    Source: Prescription Cost Analysis data provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure an effective balance between its policies on tackling radicalisation and protecting people at risk of Islamaphobic attacks.

    Sarah Newton

    The Government is determined to tackle hate crime and extremism wherever it occurs.

    The Government’s Prevent strategy, published in 2011, explicitly tackles all forms of terrorism. That includes protecting individuals who are at risk from far right and Neo-nazi extremism, as well as those vulnerable to Islamist extremism.

    Prevent is about safeguarding people who are at risk of radicalisation. Prevent does not target a specific faith or ethnic group. Rather, Prevent protects those who are targeted by terrorist recruiters. Currently the greatest threat comes from terrorist recruiters inspired by Daesh. Our Prevent programme will necessarily reflect this by prioritising support for vulnerable British Muslims, and working in partnership with British Muslim communities and civil society groups.

    The Prevent programme is implemented in a proportionate manner that takes into account the level of risk in any given area or institution. In some areas the risk of far right extremism may be significant and we would expect in those circumstances for Prevent activity to focus on the far right threat.

    Far right extremism often brings with it the threat of anti-Muslim or antisemitic attacks. We have a strong record of action against Islamophobia and antisemitism and deplore all religious or racially motivated crimes.

    We strongly condemn the increase in attacks on Muslims that have been seen in this country in recent years. We know the majority of people in United Kingdom join our condemnation, and we have seen great examples of individuals and communities standing together to tackle this hatred.

    Muslims make an enormous contribution to British society. They are all too often the victims of hatred and intolerance in this country and overseas. This Government is determined to act to protect British Muslims.

    The United Kingdom has in place one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect communities from hostility, violence and bigotry. We will keep it under review to ensure it remains effective and appropriate in the face of new and emerging threats. We also published a new Cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan on 26 July which will drive forward action against all forms of hate crime, including anti-Muslim hatred. This will be taken forward in partnership with communities to ensure we target the harm that hate crime causes.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many car owners whose car tax has expired have not made a SORN declaration since the tax licence disc was abolished in 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport conducts a roadside survey every two years. This survey estimates the number of vehicles without a valid licence or Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to determine the rate of vehicle excise duty evasion.

    The last survey took place in June 2015, which was eight months after the DVLA stopped issuing paper tax discs. The survey estimated that 1.4% of vehicles on UK roads were unlicensed and were not subject to a SORN.

    The DVLA aims to make vehicle excise duty easy to pay and hard to avoid and operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle vehicle excise duty evasion. These measures range from reminder letters, penalties and court prosecutions through to the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, wheel clamping and the removal of unlicensed vehicles.

  • Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ian Lavery – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lavery on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support UKTI has provided to Rio Tinto in locations where Rio Tinto invests or plans to invest.

    Anna Soubry

    UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) mining sector team has regular and ongoing engagement with Rio Tinto both in market and in the UK as we seek to realise economic benefit for the UK through the involvement of the UK’s mining supply chain in Rio Tinto’s projects.

    Rio Tinto closed its Lynemouth Aluminium facility in 2013. That same year UKTI was part of a Rapid Response taskforce (which included local Economic Development organisations and Rio Tinto), to explore redeployment and site re-marketing options.

    UKTI support included:

    – an audit of the unique characteristics and selling points of the site to determine the sectoral focus of Rio Tinto’s site marketing activity to potential investors.

    – research to assess from where the strongest investor interest was likely to come from.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of people aged (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 there will be in England in (i) 2016, (ii) 2017, (iii) 2018, (iv) 2019 and (v) 2020.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many licences for experimentation with animals the Animals and Science Committee granted in the most recent year for which data is available.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Animals in Science Committee (ASC) are responsible for providing impartial, balanced and objective advice to Ministers relating to the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA). The Committee is not responsible for granting licences. Under Section 9 of ASPA, the Secretary of State may consult the Committee regarding licence applications. Current policy requires referral of the following categories of project licence application:

    • the use of wild-caught non-human primates;

    • the use of cats, dogs, equidae or non-human primates in severe procedures;

    • use of endangered species;

    • projects with major animal welfare or ethical implications;

    • projects involving the use of admixed embryos falling into category 3 of the Academy of Medical Science report on Animals Containing Human Material and category 2 where the predominance of an admixed embryo is unclear or uncertain;

    • projects which may invoke any of the ‘safeguard clauses’ in the Directive with respect to the purpose of primate use, proposals for the use of a great ape, or proposals to cause long-lasting pain, suffering or distress that cannot be ameliorated; or

    • projects of any kind raising novel or contentious issues, or giving rise to serious societal concerns.

    In 2014, the most recent year for which we have data available, the ASC provided advice on four project licences. These were subsequently granted by the Home Office. The numbers of licences the ASC provided advice on in 2015 will be published in the ASC Annual Report later this year.