Stephen Phillips

Conservative - Former Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham

First elected: 6th May 2010


Stephen Phillips is not a member of any APPGs
Public Accounts Committee
7th Jul 2015 - 4th Nov 2016
Public Accounts Committee
8th Sep 2014 - 30th Mar 2015
European Scrutiny Committee
26th Jul 2010 - 30th Mar 2015
Draft Defamation Bill (Joint Committee)
24th Mar 2011 - 12th Oct 2011


Division Voting information

Stephen Phillips has voted in 1387 divisions, and 16 times against the majority of their Party.

25 Apr 2016 - Immigration Bill - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 5 Conservative No votes vs 288 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 294 Noes - 276
23 Feb 2015 - Serious Crime Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 78 Conservative No votes vs 151 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 201 Noes - 292
24 Nov 2014 - Recall of MPs Bill - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 47 Conservative Aye votes vs 117 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 204 Noes - 125
27 Oct 2014 - Recall of MPs Bill - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 110 Conservative Aye votes vs 135 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 166 Noes - 340
16 Jul 2014 - Political Party Policy Costings (Office for Budget Responsibility) - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 7 Conservative Aye votes vs 15 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 203 Noes - 16
13 May 2014 - Prohibition of Unpaid Internships - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 16 Conservative Aye votes vs 18 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 181 Noes - 19
30 Jan 2014 - Immigration Bill - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 4 Conservative No votes vs 85 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 97 Noes - 241
5 Jun 2013 - Badger Cull - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 7 Conservative Aye votes vs 260 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 250 Noes - 299
21 May 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 124 Conservative Aye votes vs 134 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 366 Noes - 161
20 May 2013 - Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 92 Conservative No votes vs 126 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 163 Noes - 321
25 Oct 2012 - Badger Cull - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 15 Conservative Aye votes vs 24 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 147 Noes - 28
18 Oct 2012 - 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Conservative No votes vs 31 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 57 Noes - 3
13 Jul 2011 - Youth Employment - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 24 Conservative Aye votes vs 32 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 241 Noes - 35
22 Jun 2011 - Smoking in Private Vehicles - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 13 Conservative Aye votes vs 53 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 78 Noes - 66
13 Oct 2010 - Public Houses and Private Members’ Clubs (Smoking) Bill - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 37 Conservative No votes vs 74 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 86 Noes - 141
13 Oct 2010 - London Local Authorities Bill [Lords] (By Order) - View Vote Context
Stephen Phillips voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 17 Conservative No votes vs 227 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 293 Noes - 21
View All Stephen Phillips Division Votes

All Debates

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Conservative)
Foreign Secretary
(24 debate interactions)
Theresa May (Conservative)
(18 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Home Office
(81 debate contributions)
Ministry of Justice
(64 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Stephen Phillips has not made any spoken contributions to legislative debate
View all Stephen Phillips's debates

Sleaford and North Hykeham Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Stephen Phillips has not participated in any petition debates

Latest EDMs signed by Stephen Phillips

Stephen Phillips has not signed any Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Stephen Phillips, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


2 Urgent Questions tabled by Stephen Phillips

Tuesday 19th January 2016
Thursday 28th May 2015

6 Adjournment Debates led by Stephen Phillips

Monday 16th November 2015
Wednesday 5th November 2014
Wednesday 26th February 2014
Wednesday 9th January 2013

1 Bill introduced by Stephen Phillips


The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Wednesday 12th January 2011

Stephen Phillips has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
5 Other Department Questions
20th Jul 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the non-diversion of controlled goods to Nigeria.

All export licence applications are rigorously assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, including the risk of diversion to undesirable end-users or undesirable end-use. A licence will not be granted unless the tests in the criteria are met. The risk of diversion is an important factor in deciding whether or not to grant an export licence and the assessment takes full account of the conditions prevailing in the destination and region.

18th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 June 2015, HC WS40, whether her Department plans to offer support under the Renewables Obligation to the proposed Temple Hill wind farm.

We have proposed that onshore wind projects wishing to access the grace period allowing them entry to the Renewables Obligation beyond our propose closure date of 1 April 2016 will, by 18 June 2015, have to have planning consent, a grid connection offer and acceptance, and evidence of land rights for the site on which their project will be built. The precise grace period eligibility requirements will be determined through the legislative process and are subject to approval by Parliament. It will be for the developer of each individual project to determine whether they meet those eligibility requirements.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 June 2015, HC WS40, whether her Department plans to offer support under the Renewables Obligation to the proposed Sewstern Lane wind farm.

We have proposed that onshore wind projects wishing to access the grace period allowing them entry to the Renewables Obligation beyond our propose closure date of 1 April 2016 will, by 18 June 2015, have to have planning consent, a grid connection offer and acceptance, and evidence of land rights for the site on which their project will be built. The precise grace period eligibility requirements will be determined through the legislative process and are subject to approval by Parliament. It will be for the developer of each individual project to determine whether they meet those eligibility requirements.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 June 2015, HC WS40, whether her Department plans to offer support under the Renewables Obligation to the proposed Nocton Fen wind farm.

We have proposed that onshore wind projects wishing to access the grace period allowing them entry to the Renewables Obligation beyond our propose closure date of 1 April 2016 will, by 18 June 2015, have to have planning consent, a grid connection offer and acceptance, and evidence of land rights for the site on which their project will be built. The precise grace period eligibility requirements will be determined through the legislative process and are subject to approval by Parliament. It will be for the developer of each individual project to determine whether they meet those eligibility requirements.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Written Statement of 18 June 2015, HC WS40, whether her Department plans to offer support under the Renewables Obligation to the proposed Fulbeck Airfield wind farm.

We have proposed that onshore wind projects wishing to access the grace period allowing them entry to the Renewables Obligation beyond our propose closure date of 1 April 2016 will, by 18 June 2015, have to have planning consent, a grid connection offer and acceptance, and evidence of land rights for the site on which their project will be built. The precise grace period eligibility requirements will be determined through the legislative process and are subject to approval by Parliament. It will be for the developer of each individual project to determine whether they meet those eligibility requirements.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
10th Jun 2015
To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of the budget of the Crown Prosecution Service was spent on (a) premises, (b) administration, (c) staff, (d) external suppliers, other than external Counsel, (e) external Counsel and (f) other costs in each of the years 2010 to 2015.

The proportion of the budget that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spent on (a) premises, (b) administration, (c) staff, (d) external suppliers other than external Counsel, (e) external Counsel and (f) other costs in each of the years 2010 to 2015 is given below.

Financial year

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

Premises

7%

7%

7%

7%

7%

Administration

3%

3%

2%

2%

1%

Staff

53%

56%

57%

57%

55%

External suppliers

13%

14%

13%

13%

14%

Counsel

19%

16%

17%

19%

21%

Other

1%

2%

2%

2%

2%

Note: The figures for the years 2010/11, 2011/12 and 2012/13 do not sum to 100% because in each of these years the CPS reported a small underspend against its budget.

10th Jun 2015
To ask the Attorney General, how many full-time equivalent staff who are qualified (a) barristers and (b) solicitors were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year from 2010 to 2015.

The number of full-time equivalent staff who are qualified (a) barristers and (b) solicitors who were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each year from 2010 to 2015 is shown in the table below

Barristers

Solicitors

2010-11

740.3

2085.0

2011-12

741.3

1845.5

2012-13

646.8

1705.4

2013-14

612.2

1617.9

2014-15

627.7

1627.7

Notes: Data extracted from the CPS HR Database iTrent as at the 31st March in each year Data may be subject to change due to retrospective changes in the HR database Data may differ from previously published data due to differing specifications

10th Jun 2015
To ask the Attorney General, how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the years from 2010 to 2015.

The number of full-time equivalent people employed on the Crown Prosecution Service’s staff in each of the years from 2010 to 2015 is shown below.

Financial Year

FTE Staff

2010-11

8,094

2011-12

7,464

2012-13

7,046

2013-14

6,611

2014-15

6,135

10th Jun 2015
To ask the Attorney General, how many criminal prosecutions were undertaken by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the years 2010 to 2015.

The Crown Prosecution Service publishes its casework statistics on a financial year basis. The number of criminal prosecutions finalised between April 2010 and March 2015 are as follows:

2010-2011

2011-2012

2012-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

Finalised Prosecutions

958,834

896,505

806,458

738,064

664,493

20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, on how many occasions in each of the last two calendar years her Department has been notified by outside consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials.

No notifications have been received.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on how many occasions in each of the last two calendar years his Department has been notified by outside consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials.

The Department for Business Innovation & Skills was notified of 16 breaches by employees of companies processing data on behalf of the Department in 2014 and 4 breaches in 2015. The last breach reported by an employee of a company processing our data was in April 2015.

15th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage environmentally sustainable tourism in rural area.

My department is encouraging sustainable tourism in England through its Arms length body, VisitEngland. VisitEngland champions the independent Green Tourism Business Scheme and provides a range of toolkits and guidance notes to support tourism businesses, including their Good Practice Sustainability Guides, which provide businesses with easy and practical tips on how to reduce waste, save energy and engage customers.

4th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to work with counterparts in other EU Member States to encourage tourism to the UK from Europe.

VisitEngland works closely with a network of National Tourism Organisations through the National Tourism Board Forum. Members include Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Malta, Denmark, Austria, Montenegro and Belgium. Activities of the forum include: regular meetings, sharing insights and best practice and marketing development.

20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions in each of the last two calendar years her Department has been notified by outside consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials.

The Department was notified by a third party of a breach of document retention or security policy relating to confidential or secure materials on two occasions during 2014.

No other notifications were received during the period.

19th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to assist schools in Lincolnshire to resolve recent issues relating to the provision of financial services by SERCO on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council.

We've been in correspondence on this issue and theHon. Memberis aware that the management of financial services to schools is the devolved responsibility of the local authority.


The local authority has confirmed they are aware of the problem. They have put in place an emergency project board, and are processing payments manually where necessary. Schools concerned about urgent payments should contact the local authority who will intervene and make an emergency payment.

8th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department provides to Lincolnshire County Council to fund an hour's care for each child in pre-school nursery care.

The Department for Education funds local authorities through the Dedicated Schools Grant for delivering the early years entitlement. In consultation with their Schools Forum, local authorities are then responsible for deciding how best to distribute this funding across their locality and they set their own local rates of funding for early years providers. The DSG allocations for three- and four-year-olds for each local authority are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2015-to-2016

The allocations table includes the Early Years Block Unit of Funding that local authorities receive from the DfE for each child. Local authorities are then responsible for funding early years providers to secure the Government-funded hours.

The Department collects funding information from all local authorities through section 251 financial returns, including information on funding for early years. To aid transparency, the early years data is published in the form of a benchmarking tool, on the rates that each local authority pays to its providers. The funding benchmarking tool is published here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-benchmarking-tool

8th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many design and technology departments in (a) academies and (b) local authority maintained schools have closed in the last five years.

The Department for Education does not collect information on the closure of departments within schools.

8th Jun 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the teaching of design and technology in (a) academies and (b) local authority maintained schools.

Design and technology is compulsory in the national curriculum at key stages 1 to 3. The new national curriculum, which came into force from September 2014, is more challenging, with a focus on the process of design and strengthened technical knowledge. GCSEs and A levels in design and technology are being developed, for first teaching from 2017, to be more rigorous and build on the new curriculum. Academies are not required to deliver the national curriculum, however, they must offer a broad and balanced curriculum and publish their curriculum provision and content online.

16th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent illegal trade in ivory products.

The UK has played a leading role in galvanising international action to combat the illegal wildlife trade, including the illegal trade in ivory. We hosted the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014 and actively supported the Government of Botswana in its hosting of a follow-up Conference in Kasane in March 2015. The UK has also supported the Elephant Protection Initiative, of which nine African elephant range states are now members and which is designed to help them to secure and maintain healthy elephant populations.

The UK is committed to maintaining the current global ban on any new international trade in ivory, established under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In addition, the UK does not permit trade in raw ivory tusks of any age and we are pressing for this approach to be taken across the whole of the European Union.

We have committed £13 million to support projects around the world to tackle the illegal wildlife trade. These projects seek to reduce demand, strengthen law enforcement and develop sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by illegal wildlife trade, principally through Defra’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund. A second round of the Challenge Fund was launched on 5 August.

15th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to encourage international cooperation on the enforcement of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The UK has taken a lead in establishing a compliance mechanism, and is attending the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture’s sixth Governing Body in October 2015 which will consider further work to support implementation of, and compliance with, the Plant Treaty. This includes the development of online reporting tools. The UK is prepared to nominate an expert for the Plant Treaty’s Compliance Committee for the 2016-19 term.

The UK’s Darwin initiative is aimed at funding projects to help developing countries implement biodiversity conventions. Supporting the implementation of the Plant Treaty by developing countries is identified as a priority area for Darwin funding and we are now funding such projects, including one on the “Mutually supportive implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and Plant Treaty”.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the threat to the UK's environment from invasive alien plant species.

The Non-Native Species Framework Strategy for Great Britain sets out our mechanism for addressing non-native species, including plants. The strategy includes a comprehensive risk assessment mechanism to assess the potential negative impacts of non-native species, including threats to the environment. To date 126 risk assessments have been completed or are in progress. Of these, 58 are plant species.

4th Feb 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24173 between 2015-16 and 2019-20, to which other government departments and cross-government funds her Department plans to transfer, the amounts referred to in table 2.7 on page 85 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

As set out in DFID’s settlement letter from HM Treasury, over the Spending Review period, DFID plans to transfer the amounts referred to in table 2.7 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015 to the following government departments and cross-government funds:

Conflict, Stability & Security Fund

Department for Business, Innovation & Skills

Department for Culture, Media & Sport

Department of Energy & Climate Change

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Department of Health

Foreign & Commonwealth Office

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs

Home Office

Office for National Statistics

Prosperity Fund

20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, on how many occasions her Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials in each of the last two years.

DFID is not aware of any notifications from external consultants, or other third parties, of breaches to its Information Security Management Controls in the past two years.

12th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure the economic empowerment of women in the developing world.

The economic empowerment of women is a top priority for my Department. In September 2015 at the UN General Assembly and Post-2015 Summit, the UK and UNWomen hosted the event Transforming Economies: Empowering Women and Girls. The Call to Action launched at this event secured over 150 commitments to action from governments, development institutions, civil society and the private sector. These will all help deliver the Global Goal targets for women’s economic empowerment.

We support a wide range of programmes to increase women’s opportunities for employment, ownership and control over economic assets and ability to start and run businesses. Since 2011, DFID have helped 2.5m women to improve their land and property rights and 35m women to access financial services.

9th Nov 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much Ministry of Defence expenditure her Department considered to be spending on international development in each year from 2006 to 2014.

The Ministry of Defence did not spend any Official Development Assistance during the years 2006-2010. Figures for 2011-2014 are shown in the table below.


MoD Spend on ODA (£m)

2011

2012

2013

2014

5

5

3

3*





*2014 data is provisional. Final figures for 2014 will be published on the DFID website on Thursday 3rd December 2015.

Grant Shapps
Secretary of State for Defence
9th Nov 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to improve the resilience of healthcare provision in West Africa.

In countries affected by the Ebola virus, DFID is committed to building resilient health systems and to ensuring we learn the lessons from the crisis.

The World Health Organisation declared Sierra Leone ‘Ebola free’ on 7 November 2015. The UK’s objective is to maintain the vigilance necessary to prevent any future outbreaks from growing into epidemics. The UK has announced a two-year £240 million package of support to Sierra Leone’s long term recovery, which includes boosting capability to respond to future Ebola outbreaks, and improving basic services including, vitally, healthcare. DFID will also support Liberia’s Health Pooled fund with £6 million to help ensure that health system is resilient to future shocks.

Beyond Sierra Leone and Liberia, DFID is providing £17 million through its Regional Preparedness Programme, which aims to prevent the transmission and spread of the Ebola in at-risk countries in West Africa; and to strengthen national capacities to accelerate preparedness measures and improve readiness to detect and act to contain disease outbreaks.

In doing this, as well as through wider health programmes across West Africa, we are helping countries to have better health systems for normal times – as well as in case of emergency.

Grant Shapps
Secretary of State for Defence
27th Jun 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to dual the A17 between Newark and Sleaford.

The A17 forms part of the local road network and is the responsibility of Lincolnshire County Council and Nottinghamshire County Council. Responsibility for maintenance of the road rests with the relevant Local Highway Authority. Plans for future improvement and requests for funding are matters for the relevant Local Highway Authorities to put forward to their relevant Local Enterprise Partnerships.
28th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23487, of the eight breaches there identified, how many concerned documents within each of the following categories applicable prior to April 2014, namely (a) top secret, (b) secret, (c) confidential, (d) restricted, (e) protected and (f) unclassified; and how many breaches concerned documents within each of the following categories applicable from April 2014, namely (i) top secret, (ii) secret and (iii) official-sensitive or official.

Of the eight breaches reported pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23487 none of them concerned documents prior to April 2014

Since April 2014;

  • 6 cases concerned OFFICIAL or OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE documents
  • 2 cases did not involve documents
28th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23487, which external consultants or other third parties were responsible for the eight breaches there identified.

2 cases were reported by Shared Services Arvato

2 cases were reported by GBGroup plc

2 cases were reported by Pearson

1 case was reported by Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)

1 case was reported by Civil Service Resourcing who reported non-receipt of documents from the sender.

20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions his Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials in each of the last two years.

The Department does not hold a comprehensive central record of the information requested. From records in the central Department and each of its executive agencies, the following number of breaches were notified by external consultants or other third parties:

  • 2014 – 3
  • 2015 – 5
20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is aware of any occasion since 2010 on which the government of the People's Republic of China has sought to limit or exclude civilian aircraft registered in the UK from exercising freedom of navigation or passage rights over disputed areas of the South China Sea by that government.

The Department for Transport is not aware of any occasion since 2010 on which the government of the People's Republic of China has sought to limit or exclude civilian aircraft registered in the UK from flying over any area of the South China Sea.

13th Jul 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the contribution of 14 January 1994 by the then Minister for Public Transport, Official Report, column 432, on Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Compensation), what conclusion the Government drew from its consideration of legal advice commissioned by local authorities.

Following the House of Commons Select Committee on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) Bill, an interdepartmental working group on blight (IDWGB) was established to review the impact of blight during major infrastructure projects. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions published the final report of the IDWGB in 1997. This report is in the public domain. The report recommended, amongst other things, the creation of a Property Purchase Guarantee and Compensation Scheme, although this was not adopted by the government of the day.

18th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to encourage the reduction of fuel consumption by heavy-duty vehicles across the EU.

We are committed to reducing the fuel consumption of heavy duty vehicles. We continue to work closely with both the UK industry and our European counterparts to ensure that the recently published EU Strategy for improving heavy duty vehicle fuel consumption and reducing CO2 emissions reflects UK interests, and is ambitious but deliverable, proportionate and cost effective.

4th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems into UK civil airspace.

The Department for Transport leads on policy for the operation of civil remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) in the UK. We are working with international Governments, regulators and the industry – including the European Commission and International Civil Aviation Organization – on the development of regulation for the safe integration of RPAS into UK and European airspace.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Safety Agency have a statutory responsibility to deal with the detailed Regulation.

In addition, the Department for Transport currently chairs the cross-Government Working Group on RPAS and sits on the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment Steering Board, which both seek to enable the safe and routine use of RPAS in all classes of airspace without the need for restrictive or specialised conditions of operation. This will be achieved through the coordinated development and demonstration of key technologies and operating procedures.

20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions his Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials in each of the last two years.

The Department’s Security and Business Continuity team does not collect this information centrally and therefore does not hold this information.

The Department includes terms and conditions in its contracts that require suppliers to inform us of any such breaches that may have taken place. Any occurrences would have to be reported directly to all local contract owners and to identify these would require trawling across all the Department’s branches that would incur a disproportionate cost.

17th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that hospitals balance their budgets.

We are investing the additional £8 billion the National Health Service has said it needs to implement its own future plan, on top of the extra £2 billion we have given the service. However, additional spending is not the only answer to these financial challenges. The NHS must now put in place cost-control measures we have introduced, like clamping down on rip-off staffing agencies, while we continue to work with hospitals on ways to improve productivity and reduce waste.

18th Jun 2014
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to work with international counterparts to ensure the sharing of best practice to increase organ donation.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) - the United Kingdom organ donation organisation responsible for matching and allocating donated organs - actively participates and is involved in European Union initiatives to increase organ donation. This includes two current major European organ donation projects: the ACCORD (Achieving Comprehensive Coordination in Organ Donation) and FOEDUS (Facilitating the Exchange of Organs Donated in EU Member States) projects. NHSBT was also a collaborating partner for the completed ODEQUS (European Organ Donation Quality System) project.

The UK drew heavily on evidence of world-wide success, such as Spain, for the development and implementation of the Organ Donation Taskforce recommendations published in 2008, which saw donor rates rise by 50% in five years. A number of international experts from the Unites States of America, Germany and The Netherlands also contributed to the development of the UK's new strategy published in 2013 Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020. A number of measures will be used to track improvements in performance in organ donation and transplantation to compare with international benchmarks, in order to try and match the best performing programmes in the world.

28th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23481, which commercial third party suppliers were responsible for the 57 breaches in handling secure materials there identified.

The third party suppliers responsible were BAE Systems, Daisy, Computacenter, Vodafone and Capgemini.

28th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2016 to Question 23481, of the 57 breaches in handling secure materials there identified, how many breaches concerned documents within each of the following categories applicable prior to April 2014, namely (a) top secret, (b) secret, (c) confidential, (d) restricted, (e) protected and (f) unclassified; and how many breaches concerned documents within each of the following categories applicable from April 2014, namely (i) top secret, (ii) secret and (iii) official-sensitive or official.

The figures quoted in my answer of 28 January to written question 23481 referred only to the period since April 2014. The information on breaches prior to April 2014 are not held centrally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost. The number of breaches from April 2014 onwards are as follows:

Classification:
Top Secret

Number:
1

Comment:
There was no loss of data related to this breach.

Classification:
Secret

Number:
0

Classification:
Confidential

Number:
12

Comment:
The Confidential classification pre-dates the introduction of the Government Security Classifications (GSCs).


Classification:
Official-Sensitive

Number:
43

Comment:
Official - Sensitive is not a classification under GSC and is a caveat. Materials designated Official or Official-Sensitive does have a level of protection; however loss of its control does not warrant a breach as per existing Cabinet Office guidelines.


Classification:
Official

Number:
1

20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on how many occasions his Department has been notified by external consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials in each of the last two years.

Our records show 57 breaches by commercial third party suppliers in handling secure materials for the years in question. This is broken down by year as follows:

2014/15 - 47

2015/16 - 10

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has rigorous formal procedures for reporting, investigating and monitoring any incidents involving the loss or compromise of sensitive data for which it is responsible. Our policies and procedures are designed to ensure that we are compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998 and HMG’s Security Policy Framework. Responsibility for this compliance is shared with Suppliers through appropriate contract terms and conditions.

20th Jan 2016
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made a formal request for the Government of the People's Republic of China to state the legal basis for its territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The UK has consistently called on all parties to clarify the legal basis for their claims in the South China Sea. We continue to urge all parties to pursue their claims peacefully in accordance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), raised the situation in the South China Sea with China during his recent visit to Beijing on 5 January.

3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK plans to be represented before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Philippines v. China.

The UK is not party to the case of Philippines v China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and is therefore not entitled to be formally represented before the PCA in this case.

3rd Dec 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK is entitled to be represented before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Philippines v. China.

The UK is not party to the case of Philippines v China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and is therefore not entitled to be formally represented before the PCA in this case.

16th Nov 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the establishment of an independent international body to investigate violations of international law in Yemen.

We remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation and alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law in Yemen. The UK fully and actively supports the UN’s efforts to achieve a political solution to bring an end to the conflict. This will help create the conditions for the legitimate Government to improve its capacity to protect human rights. The UK has previously engaged the Yemeni Government - both bilaterally and through the UN Human Rights Council - on a wide range of human rights issues. We continue to raise the importance of compliance international human rights law with all sides to the conflict.

We welcome the September UN Human Rights Council resolution which contains mechanisms for monitoring the human rights situation in Yemen. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has been tasked to help Yemen investigate human rights abuses and violations, but it will be up to Yemen to decide on how it sets up its own domestic mechanism. We welcome Yemen's commitment to cooperate with the UN on protection of human rights.

16th Nov 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Saudi Arabia on the ending the restrictions on imports of fuel, food and medical supplies to Yemen.

During a visit to Saudi Arabia on 28 October, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) met his counterpart, Minister Al Jubeir. They discussed humanitarian issues, including humanitarian access to Yemeni ports, as well as the need for accelerating the political process in Yemen. We welcome the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister’s and President Hadi’s statements that all of Yemen’s ports are open and the initial indications of progress on maritime access, but more needs to be done.

To have real impact, commercial and humanitarian access must be sustained and systematic. The UN verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) is the best way to ensure this. We are working closely with the UN to establish it as soon as possible. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) has also expressed the UK’s readiness to support to the UNVIM and DfID has just committed £1.4 million to the UN to support its establishment.

9th Nov 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the Nigerian government on returning displaced people to areas previously in the control of Boko Haram.

We welcome the recent progress made by the Nigerian armed forces in the fight against Boko Haram and the UK continues to support their efforts. The security situation in North East Nigeria however remains extremely fragile and it is not yet appropriate for many displaced people to return to their homes. The UK is supporting the Government of Nigeria and the UN to help those affected by the conflict and we have provided £5.5 million this year for the humanitarian response in North East Nigeria. Tackling Boko Haram will require a comprehensive approach that addresses the political, economic and development problems in North East Nigeria, in addition to a security response. We are supporting the Nigerian authorities to improve security and put the conditions in place to enable the safe return of internally displaced people to their homes.

9th Nov 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the resolution of discussions on the sovereignty of oil reserves in the Golan Heights.

The Government believes that Israel must continue to fulfil its obligations under the Oslo Accords, including through the exploration of shared natural resources. We continue to follow the situation of the oil exploration licences in the Golan Heights closely. We have been clear that Israel must comply with its obligations under international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.

15th Sep 2015
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of antiquities and historic sites in Yemen.

Both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yemen are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with the Saudi Arabian government and have received assurances. A political solution is the best way to achieve long-term stability in Yemen, and we remain fully and actively supportive of the UN’s efforts to bring an end to the conflict.