Category: Speeches

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the target for new recruits to the Royal Navy Reserve has been met in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Maritime Reserve (MR) is a vital component of the Naval Service’s capability and consists of the Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Marines Reserve.

    Centrally held data for the MR recruitment targets does not go back 10 years. Since the Future Reserve 2020 Programme was established in July 2012 the MR have achieved their targets each year.

  • Alan Mak – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Alan Mak – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Mak on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to increase the personal allowance during this Parliament.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government is committed to raising the income tax personal allowance from £10,600 to £12,500 by the end of this parliament. This is alongside our commitment to raise the higher rate threshold to £50,000. Over 30 million individuals will benefit from these changes.

    Summer Budget 2015 confirmed that the personal allowance will increase to £11,000 in 2016-17, and £11,200 in 2017-18.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the contribution of the UK’s membership of the EU to the UK’s work in identifying and detaining criminals.

    James Brokenshire

    Terrorism and serious organised crime are global threats that cross national borders. Our unique relationship with the EU gives UK law enforcement access to EU tools and instruments that help keep people safe and tackle serious and organised crime, but also mean we are not obliged to participate in new measures when we do not judge them to be in the national interest.

    The tools and instruments that the UK participates in include Europol, an EU agency which supports cross-border police operations and intelligence sharing, and can assist in the identification of terrorist threats; the European Arrest Warrant, which allows swift extradition between EU countries of individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence; and the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), which enables law enforcement agencies around the EU to share live alerts, for example, for missing people and stolen vehicles. The UK is also in the process of implementing Prum, which will give us access to fingerprint and DNA data from other member states.

    Since 2004, using the European Arrest Warrant, over 1,000 individuals accused or convicted of a criminal offence have faced justice in UK courts and over 7,000 have been extradited from the UK.

  • Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Wills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2016-04-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have not provided a specific date for when they will publish a response to the Choice in end of life care review, and why that response has not yet been published.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The Government recognises that the response to the Review of Choice in End of Life Care is keenly awaited. Ensuring that everyone at, or nearing, the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences is a priority for this Government, and the response to the Choice Review is therefore being carefully considered.

    As previously set out, in its response the Government will address each of the Review recommendations including: care coordination; improving the quality, availability and responsiveness of care; improving the quality and use of data; care planning and the use of digital care records; and the involvement of family members and carers in discussions about care. Further details regarding the publication of the response, which is expected shortly, will be made available when it is appropriate to do so.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Nicholas Soames on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to build smaller warships.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 announced our intention to build two further Offshore Patrol Vessels, in addition to the three already under construction on the Clyde. In addition, work has already begun on the development of the lighter, flexible, General Purpose Frigates, but it is as yet too early to provide details of the timing, form and capability of these vessels. They will be designed to be capable, more attractive to a wider export market and will allow us to increase the number of frigates and destroyers. The means for achieving this will be outlined in the national Shipbuilding Strategy, which is due to report by the end of 2016.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to publish the report of her Department’s implementation review of employment tribunal fees which was initiated on 11 June 2015.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    We will publish the outcome of our review into Employment Tribunal Fees in due course.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many incidents of disruptive passengers on flights departing from or arriving in the UK have been recorded in 2016; what mechanism they use to record such incidents; and what assessment they have made of the effect of such incidents on the safety of other passengers and cabin crew.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government does not collect specific data on the frequency of incidents of disruptive passengers on flights departing from, or arriving in the UK. As such, no estimates have been made.

    If serious enough such incidents would be counted amongst data for safety related events. In accordance with EU Regulation No 376/2014, safety-related events which endanger or which, if not corrected or addressed, could endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person have to be reported to the Civil Aviation Authority as part of the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme (MORS).

  • Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Higgins on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the effect on air pollution of the construction and use of bicycle lanes, particularly in London.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport has not completed any estimates specifically on the effect of construction and use of bicycle lanes on air pollution. But we recognise that encouraging car users to switch to alternative, more sustainable, forms of transport like cycling can generally have both health and carbon reduction benefits as well as improving local air quality.

    When we appraise cycle schemes for funding, we apply WebTAG unit A5-1. This appraisal looks at outcomes only and does not consider impacts during the construction phase of a scheme. Where a scheme includes shifts away from mechanised modes and changes in congestion levels, we use marginal external costs, including air pollution. This is done at an individual scheme level and reported in the appraisal of each case; therefore no holistic study has been undertaken. This appraisal does not take account of potentially complex changes to motorists behaviour (such as speed and route choice) resulting from the introduction of cycle lanes.

    Transport for London state that during the construction phase some localised short-term slight impacts on local air quality can be expected from the use of plant and vehicles. However, contractors are required to minimise dust and emissions to air and comply with the Greater London Authority and London Councils’ Control of Dust and Emissions from Construction and Demolition Best Practice Guidance.

    Transport for London undertake air quality modelling to ascertain the impacts during operation. Schemes such as the East-West Cycle Superhighway show that the likely impact of the introduction of cycle lanes and changes to the road layout on air quality ranges from adverse to beneficial. The study shows that changes in traffic will redistribute emissions across the study area but will not increase overall emission levels.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what funding his Department has provided to the BBC World Service in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    In each year from 2010 the department provided the following funding to the BBC World Service: 2009/2010 – £268,043,000 2010/2011 – £268,523,000 2011/2012 – £255,200,000 2012/2013 – £244,200,000 2013/2014 – £238,480,000

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answers of 15 December 2015 to Questions 18901 and 18902, what the source is of the statement that 71 of the 131 neonatal critical care services now meet required staffing ratios; and if he will place a copy of the source document in the Library.

    Ben Gummer

    NHS England has used the Women and Children’s Derogation report to describe compliance against staffing ratios.

    The source document is attached.