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Tag: Parliamentary Question

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in which instances embassies and high commissions in the UK have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity in each of the last five years.

    James Duddridge

    Under Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a diplomatic agent shall enjoy immunity from the criminal jurisdiction of the receiving State. He shall also enjoy immunity from its civil and administrative jurisdiction, except in limited circumstances specified in the Convention. Full statistics and details about instances when Embassies and High Commissions have invoked the principle of diplomatic immunity for the period specified are not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Such requests would cover instances where a member of the mission’s diplomatic or consular staff (or a member of their family forming part of their household) was the alleged offender, the alleged victim of a crime, or had witnessed a crime and police had sought a witness statement; or where police had sought witness statements from staff in relation to their official functions.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to review the Financial Conduct Authority authorisation exemption for insolvency practitioners.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government consulted extensively on its reforms to the consumer credit market prior to the transfer of regulation from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in April 2014. The result of that consultation included the exclusion for insolvency practitioners when acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an insolvency practitioner (IP).

    It remains the government’s view that when an insolvency practitioner is no longer acting in reasonable contemplation of being appointed as an IP, they must be authorised by the FCA if they wish to continue providing debt advice. There are no immediate plans to review this exclusion. However, the government does maintain an interest in the impact of regulation on the debt advice market.

    The FCA is thoroughly assessing every debt management firm’s fitness to trade as part of the authorisation process. The size of the debt advice market will not be known until this process is complete. The government will stay in contact with the FCA throughout the authorisation process to monitor the impact on customer journeys and capacity.

    For IPs concerned about the potential burden of FCA authorisation, the FCA has been clear that it takes a proportionate approach to setting fees. This includes imposing tiered fees based on the income a firm generates from its credit activities, ensuring that the smallest firms pay the lowest fees. There also remain other options for smaller firms to consider, including the appointed representative regime.

  • Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Zac Goldsmith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Zac Goldsmith on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) ratify the Cape Town agreement and (b) otherwise tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the High Seas.

    George Eustice

    The UK supports ratification of the Cape Town agreement and will ratify when legal priorities allow, which is a matter for the Department of Transport. The UK already applies the 1993 Torremolinos Protocol relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels through the Fishing Vessels (EC Directive on Harmonised Safety Regime) Regulations 1999.

    The UK Government, through the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), has been at the forefront of international measures to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, which remains a major threat, not just to the world’s fish stocks, but to its marine biodiversity and the livelihoods and security of coastal communities. The UK acts, alongside other European Union nations, to deny market access to products from IUU fishing, and to support third countries in developing their capability to detect and deter IUU fishing. Ground breaking work has also recently taken place between the MMO and UK based insurance companies to promote and encourage compliance with IUU regulations.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-09-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the (a) Prime Minister, (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (c) Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on potential additional funding for the NHS after the UK has left the EU.

    David Mowat

    The Secretary of State for Health has regular discussions with Ministerial and Cabinet colleagues to discuss National Health Service finances.

    The Department and the Government as a whole are determined to make a success of leaving the European Union. And we are fully committed to the NHS, demonstrated by the Government commitment to increase funding for the NHS by an additional £10 billion a year in real terms by 2020-21, to ensure the NHS delivers world class care to all who need it.

  • Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Tyrie on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what recent discussions he has had with the Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee on the progress of its inquiry into the role of the Government and intelligence and security agencies in the alleged rendition and torture of detainees.

    Mr David Cameron

    I meet the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament on a regular basis to discussthe Committee’s priorities for the period ahead. The Committee announced on 29 October that these priorities would include their follow-up examination of the themes and issues identified by the Detainee Inquiry.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-12-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effect of recent increases in household debt on economic growth.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Household debt as a proportion of income has fallen to 144 per cent in Q2 2015, from a peak of 168 per cent in Q1 2008. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. Alongside this, the UK was the fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2014.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-01-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has made to the Financial Conduct Authority on Symphony interbank communications software.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The FCA does not directly regulate the activities of Symphony Communication Services LLC or any other electronic messaging platform. However, firms that are authorised by the FCA who use messaging services such as Symphony are subject to a range of applicable requirements, including the recording and storage of such tapes and electronic communications. The FCA is monitoring developments in relation to the use of Symphony by FCA-regulated firms.

    The FCA is also in touch with regulated firms to monitor how they are using new technology in this area, and any risks that may exist.

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss relevant regulatory issues.

    As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) meetings, (b) hospitality, (c) gifts and (d) overseas travel officials at Grade 7 or above in HM Revenue and Customs have received or undertaken in (i) 2014-15 and (ii) 2015-16 to date.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information requested for points (a), (b) and (c) is not available. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not have a central register of all internal and external meetings. Moreover, the details of gifts and hospitality is not broken down by grade.

    On point (d), HMRC officials at Grade 7 and above undertook 1,557 overseas journeys by air or rail to 88 different destinations in 2014-15, and 709 journeys to 65 destinations in the first half of 2015-16.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the change in the debt to gross domestic product ratio in 2014-15 and 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

    Greg Hands

    Public sector net debt is forecast to fall from 2016-17 to the end of the Parliament, reaching 77.2% of GDP by the end of 2019-20. The OBR’s latest forecast is that the level of cash debt at the end of 2015-16 will be £1591 billion, down from £1599 billion in its November forecast. Debt as a share of GDP is forecast to rise from 83.3% in 2014-15 to 83.7% of GDP at the end of 2015-16 because the economy is smaller in nominal terms in 2015-16 than forecast in November, largely due to lower inflation. The government has also delayed the sale of the remaining shares in Lloyds Banking Group as a result of market conditions.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2016 to Question 31489, what the date was of the most recent meeting at which the use of cluster munitions was raised with the Saudi Arabian government since the Convention on Cluster Munitions came into force on 30 May 2008.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The issue of Cluster Munitions was raised with the Saudis by Sir Alan Duncan, the Government’s Envoy on Yemen during his visit to Riyadh on 6 April 2016. In line with our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, we continue to encourage Saudi Arabia, as a non-party to the Convention, to accede to it.