Category: Speeches

  • John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    John Pugh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, approximately how many (a) British and (b) non-British nationals are employed cleaning the Westminster estate of his Department.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Department does not directly employ any cleaning staff on its Westminster estate. All cleaning staff are employed and managed under outsourced estates and facilities contracts. Information on nationality in such situations is not held by the Department.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2015 to Question 14680, on state retirement pensions, how many non-live cases there have been in each of the last three years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The requested information as of September 2012, 2013 and 2014 is within the table below.

    Number of non live cases for SP claimants aged 100 and over

    Number of non-live cases…

    Sep-12

    Sep-13

    Sep-14

    …of which number not suspended

    10,500

    10,500

    11,100

    …of which number suspended

    900

    1,000

    1,000

    Source:

    DWP 5% data

    Notes:

    1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what account they will take of the representations by the Wound Care Alliance UK regarding the NHS Supply Chain generic project plans for a national formulary for wound care.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The NHS Supply Chain is co-ordinating the production of clinical specifications by a Clinical Specifications Working Group, who are representing their customers in capacity of experts in wound care. This group, the Clinical Specifications Working Group, is independent of the NHS Supply Chain set up by the Clinical Reference Board.

    The Clinical Specification Working Group has engaged with various stakeholders, including the Tissue Viability Society, in the process and will ultimately approve the resultant specifications.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the blog item on his Department’s website, entitled FCO – Abolition of the death penalty remains a high priority, published on 4 August 2015, which countries have caused concern by their increased use of the death penalty.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The long-term trend is for the number of executions carried out and the number of states continuing to execute, to reduce each year. The Government’s hope and expectation is that this trend will continue. It is therefore a matter of concern when states which have refrained from executing for some years revert to use of the death penalty. One such country is Pakistan, which lifted its seven year moratorium on executions in 2014 following the attack on a school in Peshawar. Since then, Pakistan has executed an estimated 340 people. Our comprehensive list of countries of concern can be found in the 2014 Annual Human Rights Report, which includes our concerns with countries such as Saudi Arabia and their use of the death penalty. We continue to oppose its use in all forms, in all countries.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what meetings (a) she and (b) Ministers of her Department have had with (i) arms manufacturers, (ii) tobacco manufacturers and (iii) representatives of the Israeli embassy since the period covered in the Cabinet Office’s most recent ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings data release.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her by my rt. hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 26th February 2016 to Question 27634:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-02-22/27634/.

    “

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training modules are provided to armed forces personnel in international humanitarian law.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK Government acts in accordance with domestic and international law at all times and Ministry of Defence policy is assessed to ensure compliance with it.

    All Service personnel are provided with training on the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), including during initial basic training phases, staff and promotion courses. Personnel are required to undertake periodic LOAC training to agreed standards.

    Single Service LOAC training is as follows:

    Naval Service

    Royal Navy Core Maritime Skill (CMS) 7 (annually). Personnel must also be familiar with Operational Detention and Use of Force in accordance with the latest published guidance.

    Army

    Army Military Annual Training Test (MATT) 7. This test provides training and assessment in LOAC, investigations and accountability, captured persons (CPERS), and the use of force. All Army personnel conduct MATT 7 training Module 1 (LOAC), Module 2 (Investigations and Accountability), and Module 3 (CPERS) on an annual basis and are required to pass tests. Those who are completing initial training, and personnel that are deployable, also conduct MATT 7 training Module 4 (Use of Force) and pass a test. Deployable Service personnel must complete Module 4 on an annual basis.

    Royal Air Force (RAF)

    RAF Individual Reinforcement Training (IRT). All RAF personnel are provided with periodic LOAC training on a modular basis as determined by readiness posture. This training is complemented by other Phase 3 and Individual Pre-Deployment LOAC training provision.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time was for a Disclosure and Barring Service check to be completed in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The Disclosure and Barring Service is a non-departmental public body which provides access to appropriate criminal record information for employers through its disclosure service for England and Wales. It also makes independent barring decisions about people who have harmed, or where there is considered to be a risk of harm to, a child or vulnerable person within the workplace. Given the sensitive nature of this work and the reliance on police forces to provide locally held intelligence, it would not be appropriate to introduce competition.

    Whilst no assessment has been made of the affect of timeliness on the number of job opportunities which may have been lost, the impact which delays may have on applicants is recognised. The DBS is reliant on police forces completing their checks in a timely manner and is working closely with those forces whose performance does not meet turnaround time targets. In very exceptional cases, where it is apparent that a delay is likely to cause undue hardship to an applicant, the DBS will do all it can to expedite the process by raising an escalation with the relevant police force.

    The average end to end time taken to complete a DBS check, including the time taken by police forces, is listed in following table.

    Financial Year

    Average calendar days for a disclosure to be processed

    13/14

    11.5

    14/15

    14.4

    15/16

    14.5

    The proportion of checks which took longer than (a) eight weeks (b) 12 weeks and (c) six months is listed in the following table.

    Financial Year

    Disclosures which took longer than 8 weeks

    Disclosures which took longer than 12 weeks

    Disclosures which took longer than 6 Months

    % of Disclosures

    % of Disclosures

    % of Disclosures

    13/14

    2.6%

    0.8%

    0.0%

    14/15

    4.9%

    2.1%

    0.1%

    15/16

    5.2%

    3.5%

    0.3%

    “

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) households and (b) businesses unable to access broadband speeds of (i) 10 Mbit/s and (ii) two Mbit/s in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2015 report – based on the state of the market in May 2015 – 8% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 10Mbp/s and 2% of premises were unable to access broadband speeds of 2Mbp/s. These figures are likely to have reduced due to continued commercial and BDUK broadband deployment across the UK – superfast broadband access has increased from 45% in 2010 to 90%, and by the end of next year, 95% of homes and businesses will have access to superfast broadband. In addition, all premises with speeds below 2Mbp/s now have access to speeds greater than this through the Government’s Basic Broadband Scheme, and the Prime Minister has announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation, with a minimum speed of 10Mbps, to help ensure no-one is left behind.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 June 2016 to Question 40374, what the estimated values are of Network Rail’s costs referred to in that Answer by (a) costs incurred with the supplier, (b) installation and (c) operational costs for the (i) Cardiff and (ii) Romford Rail Operating Centre.

    Paul Maynard

    The Department for Transport does not hold this level of detail on Network Rail’s costs.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Wales of the proposal to transfer responsibility for attendance allowance to local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

    Alun Cairns

    The Government is committed to working closely with the Welsh Government to ensure the implications of any reforms for devolved administration services or budgets are properly understood.