Category: Speeches

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the devolved administrations are permitted to re-allocate funds provided by HM Treasury for capital expenditure purposes for resource expenditure purposes.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Devolved administrations may not switch provision from Capital to Resource, except where bespoke arrangements have been agreed with Treasury ministers.

    The annual ‘Consolidated Budgeting Guidance’, published by the Treasury, sets out the budgeting framework for expenditure control for devolved administrations.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 3 August (HL1132 and HL1135), whether they consider that they are showing no sense of urgency in negotiating the UK’s departure from the EU and whether they consider that delay in doing so will result in uncertainty and harm to the economy.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government is working thoroughly, systematically and rapidly through the full range of issues. The Prime Minister has been clear we will not be triggering Article 50 before the end of 2016, and the detailed work underway to prepare for our negotiation over exit is complete.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-10-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 21876, what progress her Department has made on its review of the effect of the introduction of tribunal fees; and if she will issue a fixed date for the publication of that review.

    Sir Oliver Heald

    The review is making good progress and I expect to announce its conclusions in due course.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of how many taxi drivers have undergone disability awareness training since the Law Commission’s recommendation on that subject published in its report, Taxi and Private Hire Services, on 23 May 2014.

    Andrew Jones

    The results of the Department’s taxi survey in 2015 showed that 103 licensing authorities in England and Wales out of 313 responding authorities require taxi drivers to undergo disability awareness training. This compares to 67 licensing authorities in 2009 from 276 responses.

    We do not keep statistics on the number of drivers who have undergone disability awareness training since May 2014.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance the Government is providing to Israel to help prevent knife attacks by Palestinians on Israeli citizens.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    Since the start of the current violence we have spoken regularly to both the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority on the urgent need to de-escalate the tensions. I discussed the recent violence with the Israeli Charge D’Affaires and officials from the Israeli Ministry of Defence on 24 November. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have also discussed the issue of the current violence with the Israeli Head of the Civil Department of the Office for the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories on 24 November. However the Government is not providing any assistance to Israel specifically to help prevent knife attacks.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged 65 and over have continued to work in each of the last two years.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rebuck on 2016-02-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the UK economy of poor literacy skills on the part of 16–24 year-olds.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There are a number of ways in which the Government assesses the impact of poor literacy on the economy.

    On 28 January 2016, the OECD published its report ‘Building skills for all – a review of England’. The report was commissioned by BIS following the publication of the OECD’s Survey of Adult Skills in 2013. Key findings from Building Skills for All are:

    • Nine million adults in England have poor basic skills.
    • Overall, in terms of proportion, this is average for OECD countries, but England’s young people lag behind other countries.
    • A third of 16-19 year olds in England have poor basic skills – three times the proportion than in high performing countries.
    • Eliminating the tail of low achievement could increase long term productivity growth by around 0.5%.

    The BIS Research Paper 195 ‘Estimation of the labour market returns to qualifications gained in English Further Education’, published in December 2014, shows that there are higher returns to qualifications achieved at younger ages and that English (and maths) Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications provide an additional wage uplift for achievers of higher learning aims. Increased earnings and employment rates following training provide an indication of the positive impact on the economy of improving skills.

    In 2012, when the PIAAC carried out the survey fieldwork for both reports, only 70% of 16-19 year olds were participating in education and training that leads to a formal qualification; compared to almost universal participation in some other OECD countries. Since then the participation age in England has been increased to age 18 and action has been taken to improve GCSE qualifications and raise standards in post-16 education. These reforms have been welcomed by the OECD in its latest report. .

    Since changing the requirement for all learners who did not achieve a Level 2 in English and maths by the age of 16 to continue to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 study programme, we have seen a positive effect on participation and attainment. In 2014/15, 97% of 16 to 19 year olds without GCSE A*-C English and/or maths attending an FE institution continued their study of these subjects. In 2015, for 17-year-olds and over, entries for English rose by 23% (30% for maths). As a result, last year there were over 4,000 more GCSE passes at grades A*-C in English by students aged 17 and over (7,500 more maths passes).

    On 5 February 2016 we published a new report on the impact of poor English and maths from the perspective of employers. Some key findings are:

    • The vast majority of employers surveyed reported no issues with the literacy of their employees.
    • Employers that do offer basic skills training reported positive impacts on aspects of work such as the number of errors (63%), better capacity to meet statutory requirements (58%), being able to introduce new processes (52%) and being able to produce higher quality products (51%).

    The full report can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poor-basic-literacy-and-numeracy-effect-on-employers

    “

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make representations to the Indian government on the incidence of attacks on Christian property and families in parts of that country.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. The Indian government has a range of policies and programmes to support religious minorities. However, incidents of discrimination against minority communities in India, including Christians, do still occur.

    Officials at the British High Commission continue to discuss minority issues, including religious tolerance of Christians, with civil society, the Indian National Commission for Minorities, with Indian ministers and ministries, and with relevant State-level authorities.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Attorney General, what recent steps the Government has taken to promote human rights in the UK and abroad.

    Jeremy Wright

    The Government has a strong record on human rights here and abroad. As examples, it brought forward the Modern Slavery Act seeking to protect some of the most vulnerable and exploited people in our society. It is one of the leading members of the UN Human Rights Council, tackling in particular sexual violence in conflict and we will support £10.6 million worth of human rights projects globally this financial year.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to restrict the amount that mobile telephone companies and other communication providers can charge for the provision of a Porting Authorisation Code to customers; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Industry rules require mobile telephone companies to provide mobile number portability (the ability to transfer a mobile phone number) to customers within the shortest possible time, and the Porting Authorisation Code (PAC) must be issued over the phone, or by text message, within two hours of a customer’s request. Companies are permitted to make reasonable charges for providing number portability, but those charges should be based on the costs of providing the PAC and should not disincentivise customers from switching. In general, mobile telephone companies do not charge customers for requesting or issuing a PAC, nor for the process of switching a customer to another provider. However, some service providers may make a termination charge, if for example a customer terminates a contract before the expiry of the minimum contract term, or if the customer changes provider before they have served out any required minimum notice period for termination (usually 30 days). The Government is committed to making it easier and quicker for consumers to switch services enabling more customers to obtain better value from their mobile service provider and fully supports Ofcom’s interim findings in the recent digital communications review. This includes Government efforts encouraging industry on a voluntary basis to remove/reduce charges for handset unlocking for consumers at the end of their contracts.