Suella Braverman: Today I am updating Parliament on Home Office delivery since the previous Written Ministerial Statement of 5th September 2022. In the face of an increasingly complex operational context, the Home Office continues to make a significant positive impact. We have faced substantial external pressures which have continued over the last three months, including the ongoing arrival of small boats and...
Thomas Tugendhat: We do not routinely comment on operational or intelligence matters, however the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign nations. As we set out in the Integrated Review in 2021, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states. The UK Government has long been clear about its concerns over the continued destabilising activity of the Islamic Revolutionary...
Thomas Tugendhat: We do not routinely comment on operational or intelligence matters, however the UK will always stand up to threats from foreign nations. As we set out in the Integrated Review in 2021, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states. The UK Government has long been clear about its concerns over the continued destabilising activity of the Islamic Revolutionary...
Lord Storey: .... In the 1970s, Prescot, a small town on Merseyside, saw huge job losses at the Pilkington glass manufacturer and British Insulated Callender’s Cables. Both major industries closed down and moved overseas. Over the years, Prescot has slowly declined. Now, it is the theatre that is coming to the rescue of the community, with the Shakespeare North Playhouse, the Prescot Shakespeare theatre...
Viscount Younger of Leckie: ...solutions that protect and restore nature. I hope that helps. Let me set out how we will use ODA, a subject which was certainly raised by the noble Lord, Lord McConnell. In a world where global co-operation, including on trade, technology and regulations, is under threat, more than ever we need to remember to prioritise ODA. This means protecting ODA for those in the poorest countries,...
Bob Blackman: I commend my right hon. Friend for updating the House on this inquiry. Obviously, the overseas operations Act helped to break the cycle of investigating soldiers for historic claims, but it maintained the position that, where there is compelling evidence against individuals, action can be taken. Will he therefore update the House on what will be taken forward from this inquiry and what the...
Lord Sharpe of Epsom: ...in this group. I turn first to Amendment 126, which would require the College of Policing to publish guidance consolidating the public order authorised professional practice and NPCC and college operational advice for public order policing. The Government would be required to lay the consolidated guidance before Parliament and the guidance would need to be reviewed annually and updated...
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: ...timeframe. It said that the introduction of voter ID needs to be “accessible, secure and workable” and that those important considerations “may not be fully met” when this new principle is operated. If we think about very cautious bureaucratic language, the official regulator saying that it is concerned that the rules it has set may not be met should be of very grave concern. Many...
Mike Freer: ...to the merchants ‘ELIZABETH BEACH RESORT’, ‘LA PLAYA HOTEL’, ‘LA VUE’ and ‘SIMPSON BAY RESORT’ were accommodation costs for two staff members in His Majesty Prisons and Probation Operational Response and Resilience Unit (ORRU) during a deployment to Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. The work was commissioned through the Foreign, Commonwealth and...
Sarah Green: ...Chambers of Commerce. I welcome the inclusion of a chapter dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises in both deals, but this is a challenging time to run a small business. Increased bills and operating costs combined with reductions in consumer demand have left business owners struggling to pay suppliers and forced to reduce staff numbers and hours. When I surveyed small business...
Claire Coutinho: Like all similar bodies, Confucius Institutes should operate transparently and with a full commitment to the department’s values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately and that the right due diligence is in place. We encourage any providers with concerns to contact the...
John Healey: ...in other Departments that too often they use our armed forces to bail out their Departments’ failings, especially when he is making further deep cuts to the Army? In addition to those deployed on overseas operations, whom he has mentioned, how many of our forces will be deployed or on standby over Christmas in response to requests for military assistance to which he has already agreed?
Jeremy Hunt: ...to explore the potential of faster settlement of financial trades in the UK. Reducing settlement times from the current industry standard of two days could reduce counterparty risk and increase operational efficiency. The taskforce will bring together industry stakeholders to recommend an approach that works for the UK. Unlocking investment to drive growth across the whole economy The...
Jeremy Corbyn: .... I have mentioned the wars, but we also need to think about the huge volume of arms sales that we are promoting and the way in which our embassies around the world have been turned into commercial operations for British companies in order to improve British exports. I can understand the need for that, but not at the expense of taking away the human rights advisers or, indeed, of no longer...
Baroness Penn: The UK operates its sanctions regime and will continue to have conversations with all Crown dependencies, overseas territories and others.
Robert Jenrick: I am grateful to the hon. Lady for those points. The scheme is broadly operating as it is designed to, which is shown by the fact that about 1,400 certificates are unused as of today’s date. So the overall quota of 40,000 places a year is approximately the right number. We are, as ever, discussing with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether that quota should remain...
Baroness Barran: ...independence of the role. I turn to the proposed additional reporting requirements to Parliament in Amendment 29. There are already several provisions in the Bill that provide for scrutiny of the operation of the Bill once enacted. Under Clause 5, the Secretary of State can ask the Office for Students to report on freedom of speech and academic freedom matters in its annual report or in a...
Anne-Marie Trevelyan: ...the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 in the usual way. Let me be clear that both the UK and Mauritius have reiterated that any agreement between us will ensure the continued effective operation of the joint UK-United States defence facility on Diego Garcia. For more than 40 years, this joint base has contributed significantly to regional and global security. It is the result...
Vicky Ford: ...also problems in just getting the day-to-day work done. The Bill Committee heard evidence from industry about how the FCA is sometimes taking nine months to authorise a chief executive coming from overseas to operate in the UK. That is just not good enough. I have also been told that not a single new insurance company has been set up in the UK in the last 15 years. Surely that is a clear...
Thomas Tugendhat: The overarching aim of the UK’s comprehensive counter terrorism strategy, CONTEST, is to reduce the risk to the UK and its citizens and interests overseas from terrorism, so that our people can go about their lives freely and with confidence. CONTEST is threat agnostic, and government’s powers and capabilities are both applicable and effective in tackling various ideologies, including...