Category: Speeches

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer given by the then Prime Minister, on 29 June 2016, Official Report, column 1294, when his Department will confirm details of the additional compensation to be offered to Southern Rail passengers following the recent strikes and disruption to the regular timetable.

    Paul Maynard

    The Department is currently reviewing compensation options and a decision will be made in due course. Govia Thameslink Railway already offers passengers Delay Repay, one of the most generous compensation schemes in Europe, and customers can claim for disruption against Southern’s permanent timetable.

    Looking forward, we have just confirmed that the provisions of the Consumer Rights Act will apply to the rail industry in full from October 2016.

    We will set out further plans shortly.

  • Baroness Goudie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Baroness Goudie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Goudie on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Department for Exiting the EU plans to remain within the Cabinet Office premises or to relocate; and if it plans to relocate, whether it will move to its own building, or move, in its entirety or in part, to premises of another government department.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The department is permanently headquartered at 9 Downing Street. This will not change and Ministers will continue to operate from this building. Staff are also accommodated in 70 Whitehall.

    We are working with the Government Property Unit as where to locate further staff on a more permanent basis.

    DExEU staff will continue to be employed on the basis of being ‘on loan’ from a wide variety of departments and will not permanently transfer departments. No staff have been formally moved from DExEU to the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Cabinet Office, or other government departments.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have carried out to determine whether the police facial recognition database complies with the Data Protection Act 1998; and what were the findings of that review.

    Lord Bates

    There is no facial recognition database as such. The Police National Database (PND) includes photographs of persons taken on their arrest. These images can be uploaded onto the PND by police forces. Full face images of a suitable size and quality are then enrolled in the facial image recognition gallery within the PND, which can be searched using automated facial recognition software. As set out by the Code of Practice on the Operation and Use of the PND, chief police officers are responsible for the development and implementation of appropriate procedures and systems so that personal data is processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 and other relevant legislation and guidance.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process was used to assess the value-for-money that would be achieved from the additional Department for Transport funding provided to Norfolk County Council in relation to the Norwich Northern Distributor Road project.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    A value for money assessment was undertaken on the full revised cost of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road which showed that it remained very high value for money under the Department’s value for money assessment with an adjusted Benefit Cost Ratio of 6.07.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-01-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have calculated the additional investment necessary to speed up the implementation of their clean air plan, and if so, where those figures will be published.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The air quality plan for reducing nitrogen dioxide emissions published on 17 December last year sets out the investment we have made to date to improve air quality and our future commitments. For example, we have committed over £2bn to greener transport measures since 2011 including, over the next five years, £600m to support the development and take up of ultra-low emission vehicles and £580m for a new access fund for sustainable travel.

    The plan confirms that we will be providing funding to help five Local Authorities in England outside London to implement clean air zones and support the implementation of additional measures where necessary. We will be discussing the details of this with the relevant Local Authorities. In London, the 2015 Spending Review and Autumn Statement set out the financial settlement for Transport for London which is supporting a number of measures in the capital as set out in the air quality plan.

  • Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Owen Thompson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the decision to cease displaying radioactive material hazard signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials was made.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Defence Equipment and Support organisation decided to cease displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs on vehicles carrying special nuclear materials in July 2011. Before implementing this decision we sought legal advice and notified the regulator. The change was implemented in 2012 in anticipation of the transition to a single type of vehicle for the transport of both nuclear weapons and special nuclear materials and was needed in order to maintain the policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons. No changes were required to operating arrangements as a result of this decision. The Ministry of Defence’s arrangements for the safe transport of defence nuclear materials include the provision of information to the emergency services in the event of an incident; this does not rely on displaying radioactive material hazard warning signs.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost to the NHS of (a) furniture, (b) crutches and (c) other equipment given to people with short-term need was in each of the last three years.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not collected centrally. It is for National Health Service trusts to ensure they make the best use of the resources available to them.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the influence of ISIS in Gaza.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned about the rise in the number of small Salafi groups in Gaza that sympathise or self-identify with Daesh. This highlights the urgent need for all the parties to reach an agreement that addresses the underlying causes of conflict in Gaza to restore security under the Palestinian Authority, and reduce the risk of radicalisation inside Gaza. We are monitoring the situation closely.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he expects to publish equality impact assessments relating to area reviews of post-16 education and training.

    Nick Boles

    The Government will produce an evaluation of the area review programme and its potential to impact on groups protected by the Equality Act 2010.

    The Joint Area Review Delivery Unit, which supports the individual reviews, will work with the local steering groups overseeing the reviews to make sure that equality issues are considered in each review.

    The reviews do not, however, mandate action. Colleges are independent corporations and it will be for each college’s governing body to assess the potential impact on groups protected by the Act, as part of its decision to accept or reject any recommendation requiring a change to their provision. This does not therefore require a modification of the outcomes of a review.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to increase war pensions for veterans to correspond with the state pension triple lock.

    Mark Lancaster

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 November 2015 to Question 16781 to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Mr Jarvis).

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-11-18/16781/