Category: Speeches

Mary Glindon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of child maintenance cases transitioned from the legacy child maintenance schemes to collection and payment under the 2012 scheme in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.

Priti Patel

Child Support Agency (CSA) cases from the 1993 and 2003 schemes are not automatically transferred / migrated to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) 2012 Scheme. All existing CSA cases are being closed gradually as part of the CSA Case Closure process.

Before an application can be made to the CMS, they must speak with the Child Maintenance Options Service where they are encouraged to make their own family based arrangement. Where this is not possible, or appropriate, they are able to apply to the CMS.

01/01/2023
Anne Main – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that people under the age of 16 are paid for employment; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of legal protection of children under the age of 16 who are employed.

Edward Timpson

There are legal safeguards for children of compulsory school age who are employed. These safeguards include the nature of the work that they may be asked to do, the maximum hours they may work, and the safety of their working environment. Local authorities and the Health and Safety Executive are responsible for ensuring compliance with the relevant legislation.

Minimum wage legislation does not apply to children under 16.

01/01/2023
Melanie Onn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Melanie Onn on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of housing association residents have access to the internet at home.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The Government is on target to deliver access to superfast broadband for 95% of UK premises by December 2017, and to extend coverage beyond that as far as possible. As the Prime Minister announced last autumn, the government proposes that by the end of this parliament people should have a legal right to request access to a good level of broadband speed, no matter where they live.

The honourable member will be pleased to hear that in her Great Grimsby constituency, 96 per cent of homes and businesses can already access superfast broadband – and it is estimated that coverage will rise to98 per cent by the end of 2017. Additional funding sources, including the £129 million of gainshare funding that BT will return in response to the high levels of take-up being achieved, will allow coverage to be extended further in Great Grimsby and the rest of the area covered by the North Lincolnshire broadband project.

01/01/2023
Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many staff from Crown Post Offices that were franchised in 2014 and 2015 (a) transferred to employment with a franchise partner and (b) reached settlement agreements with the Post Office to leave its employment.

George Freeman

Post Office Limited runs and manages its directly managed Crown post offices. Arrangements for employees of these offices and changes to the Crown network are the operational responsibility of the Post Office.

I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to you on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.

01/01/2023

Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Government has invested into research and development of future car technologies in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry

The Government is fully committed to the continuing success of the automotive sector and supports the development of future car technologies through a variety of mechanisms depending on the technology and stage of development. The most significant sources of funding are set out in the following table:

	13/14	14/15	15/16
BIS (incl. Innovate UK & Advanced Propulsion Centre)	10	40.5	27.7
Office for Low Emission Vehicles	17.5	8.9	10.5
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (BIS, DfT & HMT)		15.75	23.75
Total (£M)	27.5	65.15	61.95

In addition the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has invested £127M in research relevant to the automotive sector since FY 13/14.

In the last Spending Review my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed Government funding for the Advanced Propulsion Centre out to 2023 and announced additional support for automotive R&D of £225m from 2023 to 2026.

01/01/2023

Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on the proposal to the International Maritime Organisation to develop a work plan to define shipping’s fair share in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the meeting on 18 to 22 April 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We welcome the paper submitted to the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee proposing the development of a work plan to define international shipping’s fair share in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Negotiations on how the global shipping sector can contribute to the goal in the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts towards 1.5°C, are at an early, technical stage.

Department for Transport officials have been working closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other departments to ensure that the UK is well placed to play a leading role in the upcoming discussions regarding this “fair share” and will continue to do so as progress is made towards a global solution to tackling emissions from international shipping.

01/01/2023
Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the trial of Active Movement in schools in Newbury; and if she will roll out Active Movement to other parts of the country.

Edward Timpson

We want all pupils to be healthy and active. We welcome schemes such as Active Movement which encourage pupils to participate more in physical activity. This Government gives schools the freedom to choose how to use the primary PE and sport premium to improve their PE and sport provision. PE remains a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum. The national curriculum sets out the expectation that pupils should be physically active for sustained periods of time.

Through the primary PE and sport premium, the Government has provided over £450 million of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport[1]. As announced in the 2016 Budget, revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the primary PE and sport premium to £320 million a year from September 2017, enabling them to further improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer.

This is part of a wider government commitment to cut obesity rates, together with DCMS’ recent Sports Strategy and DH’s forthcoming Childhood Obesity Strategy, which is expected to be launched in summer 2016.

[1] Across the academic years 2013/14 to 2015/16.

01/01/2023
Michael Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what national targets for housebuilding are expected to be reflected in Local Plans.

Brandon Lewis

This Government does not set national housing targets. The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that Local Plans should meet the full, objectively assessed needs for housing in the housing market area, as far as is consistent with the policies set out in the Framework. As part of this, local authorities should identify, and update annually, a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years of housing against their housing requirements. Local authorities also have a duty to cooperate on strategic planning priorities such as providing the homes that are needed.

01/01/2023
Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the potential for a mass civilian evacuation from Mosul.

Rory Stewart

DFID is working closely with officials across Government, and with the Government of Iraq, the Kurdistan Regional Government, the United Nations, and the international community to support an effective Iraqi–led humanitarian response in Mosul. My officials are in contact with Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence colleagues on a regular basis.

DFID recently announced an extra £50 million of humanitarian funding to Iraq, taking our total humanitarian commitment to £129.5 million since June 2014. This will address existing humanitarian needs and support preparations for the humanitarian response in and around Mosul. The UK has also committed £20 million to help stabilise areas in Iraq liberated from Daesh.

01/01/2023
Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of women detained in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre in the last year have (a) attempted to or (b) inflicted harm upon themselves.

James Brokenshire

Published statistics for the period July 2014 to June 2015 show that 1,501 women entered Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre as the first place of detention. Provisional management information for the same time period shows that there were 54 incidents of self-harm requiring medical treatment at Yarl’s Wood that involved women.

These numbers do not necessarily equate to the number of detainees requiring medical treatment. An individual may have received medical treatment on more than one occasion, therefore a maximum of 54 women could have received medical treatment for self harm, the equivalent of 3.6% of the total female population that entered Yarl’s Wood for the specified period.

01/01/2023