UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of online abuse on (a) Facebook, (b) Twitter and (c) all other social media have been reported to the police since 2010.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Home Office do not hold the information requested.

    However, we have introduced an ‘online flag’ as part of the police recorded crime data collection. This allows police forces to record online instances of abuse and other crimes such as stalking, harassment, sexual offences and others. These offences could have taken place solely online, or had an online element to them. These data are currently still in development but will be published in due course. However, it will not be possible to split the data according to type of social media used (if any).

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2016-07-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to publish the evaluation of the moving on period for those granted refugee status, announced during the passage of the Immigration Act 2016.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We are working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that new recognised refugees apply promptly for any welfare benefit for which they may be eligible and receive the first payment of any benefit for which they qualify before their Home Office support ends.

    We plan to publish our evaluation of this work later this year and will bring forward a change to the current 28-day move-on period if the evaluation shows that to be necessary.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will undertake research on whether alternative pricing structures of the access charges set by Eurotunnel could incentivise greater passenger and freight traffic between the UK and mainland Europe.

    Paul Maynard

    Since the 15th June 2016 responsibility for Economic regulation of the Channel Tunnel rests with the independent regulators, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in the UK and Autorité de regulation des activities ferroviaires et routières (ARAFER) in France.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many regulated Retail Financial Advisory firms there are; and how many have five or more financial advisers working for them.

    Harriett Baldwin

    This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who are operationally independent from Government. The question has been passed on to the FCA. The FCA will reply to you directly by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications of coroners recording narrative verdicts in cases of suicide on the provision of accurate suicide statistics.

    Alistair Burt

    We have been working with the Chief Coroner to address areas around suicide, including narrative verdicts and the information recorded by coroners in deaths where suicide may have been suspected. However, coroners must meet the standard of proof of an intention beyond reasonable doubt in order to record a conclusion of suicide – to establish beyond reasonable doubt that a person took their own life and that they intended to take their own life.

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has also worked with the Chief Coroner to improve the coding for narrative verdicts to improve data quality around suicide. The suicide rates published by the ONS may include deaths that were given an open verdict where the person’s intent was unknown.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) UK Trade and Investment, (b) FCO Services, (c) Wilton Park, (d) the British Council, (e) the Great Britain-China Centre, (f) the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and (g) the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, (h) Government Communications Headquarters and (i) the Secret Intelligence Service; how many of those employees earn more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Mr David Lidington

    The number of press and public relations staff employed in each organisation is
    as follows:

    FCO Services: 0.5 full-time equivalent
    Wilton Park: 0
    The British Council: 7
    The Great Britain-China Centre: 0
    The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission: 0
    The Westminster Foundation for
    Democracy: 0

    i) The number of press and public relations employees who
    earn more than £50,000 in each organisation is as follows:

    FCO Services: 0
    Wilton Park: 0
    The British Council: 1
    The Great Britain-China
    Centre: 0
    The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission: 0
    The Westminster
    Foundation for Democracy: 0

    ii) No press and public relations employee
    earns more than £100,000 in any of the organisationslisted above.

    iii)
    The total expenditure on press and public relations by each organisation in
    2014/15, excluding staff costs, is as follows:

    FCO Services: £21,312

    Wilton Park: Nil
    The British Council: £126,041
    The Great
    Britain-China Centre: Nil
    The Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission: Nil

    The Westminster Foundation for Democracy: Nil

    It is long standing government policy not to publish Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) expenditure or staff figures to the requested level of detail. However, other data on the intelligence agencies’ expenditure and staff numbers are normally published in the annual reports of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament.

    Across Government the government communications profession saved £330 million for taxpayers last year compared to 2009 to 2010 – by making its campaigns more cost effective. This means the government reduced communications spending by a total of £1 billion during the last Parliament.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2016 to Question 23508, by what mechanisms his Department plans to check and monitor standards and quality of apprenticeships until the Institute for Apprenticeships is fully operational in April 2017.

    Nick Boles

    Existing quality checks will remain in place until the Institute for Apprenticeships is fully operational in April 2017. These include scrutiny and approval of standards and assessment plans by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Education, Skills Funding Agency and education advisors, inspection of training provision by Ofsted, and quality assurance of qualifications by Ofqual.

    Employer-led reforms continue to improve the quality of apprenticeships, providing the skills that employers need. All apprenticeships must be full time paid jobs; have a minimum duration of 12 months and involve substantial, sustained training including at least 20% off-the-job training. Apprentices develop transferable skills and English and maths to enable them to progress in their careers. New quality measures for training providers and assessment organisations have also been developed to help employers make informed choices.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she has made an assessment of the potential effect on UK GDP of the National Grid using its demand side balancing reserve powers; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Demand Side Balancing Response (DSBR) is part of National Grid’s Contingency Balancing Reserve. Under the DSBR, firms bid for contracts to reduce their demand from the grid when instructed by National Grid in return for an agreed utilisation fee.

    DECC has not made an assessment of the impact of DSBR on GDP; DSBR is small (133 MW in 15/16), runs infrequently and is entirely voluntary.

    Since the service commenced in winter 14/15, National Grid has only instructed on one occasion, instructing a total of 42.9MW, for which participants were paid a pre-contracted utilisation fee.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the risk of civilian drones being used to carry out terrorist attacks and of accidental collisions, whether they are considering (1) introducing a mandatory registration system for civilian drones, and (2) introducing mandatory geo-fencing technology to prevent drones from flying over high-risk areas.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    I refer my Noble Baroness to my answer of the 16 March, UIN HL6659.

  • Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the devolution of Air Passenger Duty to Wales.

    Alun Cairns

    The Government is considering the case and options for devolving Air Passenger Duty to Wales, informed by a review of options to support English regional airports from potential impacts caused by its devolution.

    As part of this review, HM Treasury published a discussion paper at Summer Budget 2015 exploring a number of options. HM Treasury is carefully considering the evidence received from stakeholders on an ongoing basis.