Category: Speeches

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) mathematics and (b) physics teacher training places have been allocated in each available teacher training route for the 2016-17 school year; and how many of those places allocated have been filled.

    Nick Gibb

    There are no caps on the number of mathematics and physics trainees that universities, School Direct lead schools and school-centred initial teacher training providers can recruit. We changed the approach to ITT allocations for 2016/17 by not allocating places to individual organisations for postgraduate ITT courses.

    We will publish the number of trainees starting courses in the 2016/17 academic year when we publish the ITT Census in November 2016.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2016 to Question 41992, what the reasons are for the time taken to publish the childhood obesity strategy; and if he will make a statement.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Obesity is a complex problem with many factors having an impact. For this reason, it is important to ensure that the Childhood Obesity Strategy is as comprehensive as possible. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet will be working over the coming days and weeks to establish their priorities and how we deliver on these commitments.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the company annual turnover threshold is for government intervention to block any sale or transfer of the ownership of critical infrastructure; on what occasions that threshold has been crossed; and if he will make a statement.

    Margot James

    My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is able to intervene on public interest grounds in transactions which are subject to merger control either within the UK or at the EU level. The turnover thresholds for such public interest interventions depend upon which of the two relevant competition bodies has jurisdiction.

    The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has jurisdiction to review mergers and takeovers when:

    – the annual UK turnover of the target business exceeds £70 million, or

    – the merger creates a 25%, or greater, share in a market in the UK.

    The European Commission has jurisdiction to review mergers and takeovers when:

    – the combined aggregate worldwide turnover (in the preceding financial year) of all the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR5,000 million; and

    – the aggregate EU-wide turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings concerned exceeds EUR 250 million; or

    – the aggregate worldwide turnover of all the undertakings concerned is more than EUR 2,500 million; and

    – the aggregate turnover of all the undertakings in each of at least three member states is more than EUR 100 million;

    – in each of the same three member states, the aggregate turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings involved is more than EUR 25 million; and

    – the aggregate EU-wide turnover of each of at least two of the undertakings involved is more than EUR 100 million.

    Unless each of the undertakings concerned achieves more than two-thirds of its aggregate EU-wide turnover within a single Member State (then the Commission does not have jurisdiction).

    If none of these jurisdictional thresholds is met, the Secretary of State can still intervene in defence industry mergers, if at least one of the enterprises concerned is a relevant government contractor; or where the merger involves a supplier or suppliers of at least 25% of any description of newspapers or broadcasting in the UK.

    In all cases, public interest interventions can only be made on the grounds of national security, financial stability (or prudential rules in an EU case) or media plurality.

    The number of times the CMA’s jurisdiction thresholds are met is not recorded. The European Commission does not record merger notifications by country of transaction.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total cost was to his Department of training student midwives in each of the last 10 years.

    Ben Gummer

    Information prior to 2013/14 is not held centrally by the Department.

    Detailed below is an estimate of planned expenditure costs to Health Education England of providing training to student midwives since 2013/14.

    Year

    New Students Commissioned

    Planned Students in training

    Estimate Cost (million)

    2013/14

    2,563

    6,874

    £102.2m

    2014/15

    2,603

    6,624

    £120.8m

    2015/16

    2,617

    7,058

    £130.6m

    Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on utilising existing airport capacity in the UK to 2030 in the last month.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I have regular meetings with airports, their industry bodies and other aviation partners.

    The Government set out in the 2013 Aviation Policy Framework that we would be supportive of airports making best use of their existing capacity, provided economic and environmental impacts are taken into account.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many movements of nuclear material there have been on roads in Scotland in each of the last five years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    It is Ministry of Defence policy not to comment upon the frequency or routes used by nuclear material convoys, as to do so would, or would be likely to, prejudice national security. Nuclear material convoy movements are kept to the minimum necessary to maintain the operational effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the early release of Stormont House legacy funding to support legacy inquests.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Reform is essential if the legacy inquest system is to deliver effective outcomes for families. The current system was never designed to cope with a large number of highly complex and sometimes linked cases involving very sensitive information. I welcome the efforts of the Lord Chief Justice to review legacy inquests. If workable inquest reform plans come forward, serious consideration would be given to their potential merits.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to setting a limit to how long individuals can be held at immigration removal centres.

    Lord Bates

    The Government does not believe that a time limit on immigration detention would be appropriate. Home Office published policy is centred on a presumption in favour of liberty. Depriving someone of their liberty is subject to careful consideration and scrutiny, with appropriate account taken of individual circumstances. The introduction of an arbitrary time limit could lead to the release of foreign criminals and illegal immigrants even when their removal is imminent. Home Office guidance is clear that detention must be used sparingly and for the shortest period reasonably necessary to achieve its purpose. Published statistics show that, in the year to December 2015, over 90 per cent of individuals leaving detention had been detained for no longer than four months.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether public consultation was undertaken prior to the formation of Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints.

    George Freeman

    The NHS Shared Planning Guidance (December 2015) asked each area to develop a proposed Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) footprint, engaging with local authorities and other partners on what this should look like.

    The footprints were reviewed by the national bodies with regard to: geography (including patient flow); scale; fit with footprints of existing change programmes; financial sustainability; and leadership capacity.

    STPs are not statutory entities but collective discussion fora which aim to bring together health and care leaders to support the delivery of improved health and care based on the needs of local populations.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 10 May 2016 to Question 36136, what additional financial contributions his Department has made to projects in support of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in each of the last six years.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    In addition to the financial contribution the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has made directly to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, set out in answer to Question 36136, the FCO has supported a range of projects relating to the objectives of the treaty, these include conferences on issues related to the treaty, work in support of making progress towards a Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone, and support for the universal ratification and implementation of International Atomic Energy Agency verification standards in nuclear non-proliferation. These projects total:

    FY 10/11 = £139,084

    FY 11/12 = £416,884.08

    FY 12/13 = £580,895.57

    FY 13/14 = £313,106.97

    FY 14/15 = £325,297.80

    FY 15/16 = £222,158.92