Tag: Henry Smith

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps the CPS has recently taken to improve its support for (a) child witnesses and (b) people with learning disabilities who give evidence in criminal proceedings.

    Robert Buckland

    The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to improving the ‘at court’ experience for all witnesses. The CPS works closely with the police and the voluntary sector to ensure that vulnerable witnesses such as children and people with learning disabilities are well supported through the Criminal Justice System.

    Special measures such as the use of intermediaries, using screens at court and video live links help vulnerable witnesses, including children and people with learning difficulties, to give their best evidence. Recently, the CPS assisted the MoJ in recruiting an additional 105 intermediaries, who play a vital role in facilitating coherent conversations during police interviews and at court. The use of pre-recorded cross-examination has also been successfully piloted and the Lord Chancellor has committed publically to a national roll-out.

    In September, following public consultation, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced the launch of new guidance for prosecutors entitled ‘Speaking to Witnesses at Court’. The aim of this guidance is to set out the role played by prosecutors at or before court in ensuring that witnesses give their best evidence. This will benefit all prosecution witnesses and will help them understand what to expect. These enhanced arrangements will be piloted over the coming months and will be rolled out nationally during 2016.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what plans the Church of England has to mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The Church of England will mark the 90th birthday of Her Majesty with a large number of events and activities at national and local levels, including a national service of celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral. Alongside these events, the Bible Society and HOPE have released a companion book titled “The Servant Queen”, with a foreword written by Her Majesty that discusses how her faith has influenced her service of this nation over the last 90 years.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the recent proposals published by the Competition and Markets Authority on competition in the energy market on 22 April 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Competition and Markets Authority has produced a strong package of provisional remedies which will help deliver a fair deal to all consumers. They build on action already taken by the Government to improve competition.

    The Government will take forward appropriate implementation of the remedies once the Competition and Markets Authority has finalised its recommendations which are due by June.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will consider taking steps to ban the sale of foie gras in the UK.

    George Eustice

    The EU has introduced controls on the production of foie gras. These controls do not ban the sale of foie gras and while the UK is a member of the EU we are subject to EU Treaty obligations in relation to the free movement of goods. Foie gras is not produced in the UK and this Government has made its views very clear that the production of foie gras using force feeding (or ‘gavage’ as it’s known in France) gives rise to serious welfare concerns. If any production were to occur, the Animal and Plant Health Agency would be asked to investigate and advise on any contravention of UK animal welfare laws.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average saving to passengers of capping regulated rail fare rises to RPI+0 until 2020; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    This Government is investing record amounts in transforming the UK rail network, improving journeys for everyone. At the same time, we are committed to ensuring the economic security of hard-working families. Fares continue to play a role in this, and we recognise that no one likes to see the cost of their rail travel rise.

    That is why the Government has put a stop to above inflation (RPI) fare increases on regulated rail fares until 2020. This extends the cap on regulated rail fares put in place for 2014 and 2015. This means people’s earnings will, on average, rise more quickly than regulated rail fares for the first time since 2003 and an average saving of £425 to annual season ticket holders over the next five years.

    This is a vital part of our long-term economic plan for Britain’s railways: delivering a bigger, better network with improved services – all while getting more out of every taxpayer’s pound we spend.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The government wants all young people to be confident and positive about their body image. My department has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on teaching about body image using accredited resources.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to bring forward legislative proposals for the labelling of ritually slaughtered meat products.

    George Eustice

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 22 June 2015, PQ UIN 2954.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations the Government has made to the US Department of Transportation on progress made on authorising Norwegian Air UK Ltd services from Gatwick and other British airports to the US, as permitted by the EU-US Air Transport Agreement in December 2015.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Government made a formal representation on this issue to the US Department of Transportation on 11 February 2016, which is recorded in the US DoT docket DOT-OST-2015-0261. Ministers and officials continue to make representations on this matter as and when opportunities arise.

  • Henry Smith – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the British Indian Ocean Territory

    Henry Smith – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the British Indian Ocean Territory

    The parliamentary question asked by Henry Smith, the Conservative MP for Crawley, in the House of Commons on 13 December 2022.

    Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)

    What recent progress he has made on negotiations on the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

    The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (James Cleverly)

    I can confirm that negotiations have begun. Officials from the UK and Mauritius met at the end of last month and had constructive discussions. The UK and Mauritius have reiterated that any agreement will ensure the continued effective operation of the joint UK-US defence facility on Diego Garcia, and we will be meeting again to continue negotiations shortly.

    Henry Smith

    What consultations are being held with members of the Chagossian community in my constituency and around the UK ahead of any proposed changes to the British Indian Ocean Territory?

    James Cleverly

    I recognise my hon. Friend’s championing of the Chagossian community in his constituency. He will recognise that there is a diversity of views in the various Chagossian communities in Mauritius, the UK and the Seychelles. We will of course take those views seriously, but the negotiations are between the UK and Mauritius. We will ensure that we continue to engage with those communities through this negotiating process.

    Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (Ind)

    Do the UK Government now accept the finding of the International Court of Justice that the process of the decolonisation of Mauritius was not lawfully completed in 1968 and that the UK’s continued administration of the Chagos archipelago constitutes a wrongful act?

    James Cleverly

    The UK has expressed regret about the manner in which the Chagossians were removed in the late 1960s and the 1970s, but we are working constructively with the Mauritius Government and, as I say, one of the strong principles that underpins the negotiation is the reiteration that the UK and US defence facility on Diego Garcia will continue.

  • Henry Smith – 2022 Speech on the Sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory

    Henry Smith – 2022 Speech on the Sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory

    The speech made by Henry Smith, the Conservative MP for Crawley, in Westminster Hall, the House of Commons, on 7 December 2022.

    Thank you, Mrs Cummins, for calling me in this important debate on the future of the British Indian Ocean Territory. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) and thank him for securing the debate and for the very powerful comments that he made in his introduction.

    Injustice has been visited on the Chagos islanders for well over half a century. It was the Harold Wilson Administration that forcibly removed them from their homeland in the late 1960s, exiling them mainly to Mauritius, but also to some other locations such as the Seychelles. That was not a decision made by this democratic Parliament, but by Orders in Council. The way the Chagos islanders have been treated in Mauritius is really quite appalling: they have been treated as second-class citizens in that country, and the injustice upon injustice that they have suffered is intolerable.

    I believe that the Chagos islanders should have a right of return to their homeland. I am pleased that as a result of the Nationality and Borders Act passed earlier this year, they and further generations have a right to settle here in this country: they are British citizens, and should be so by right. I am pleased that that has been recognised. However, the future of the Chagos islanders should be determined by them. The prospect of their future being decided by London, Port Louis, the UN in New York, the International Court of Justice in The Hague or wherever else—as has happened throughout the past half century or more—is fundamentally wrong. The Chagos islanders must be able to determine their own future.

    Mention has been made by my hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham of the strategic importance of the Chagos archipelago. Those islands were very strategically important during the cold war and during the actions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and they are very strategic again with a new cold war now seemingly having started as a result of Russian aggression. The point about the threat from China has already been made: the Chinese belt and road initiative has already resulted in Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean and the Pacific ocean coming under Chinese coercion and influence. There is a very real danger that if the British Indian Ocean Territory is ceded to Mauritius, there will be significant pressure to put Chinese military installations on those extremely strategic islands. That would be a major military and strategic error for the global community, and I wonder what discussions have been had with Washington regarding its views on defence and foreign policy should those islands be ceded to Mauritius. Perhaps the Minister could address that point.

    I will conclude my remarks by saying that as my constituent Frankie Bontemps of Chagossian Voices, who has already been referenced, has said, the vast majority of the Chagos community that I represent—I probably represent the largest Chagos community anywhere in the world—want to remain British, despite the appalling history that this country has visited on them. They must be consulted.