Category: Speeches

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-06-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hospitality industry employees in the UK were from other EU member states in each of the last five years, and which countries they were from.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    In 2011, 2.8 per cent of employment in all UK tourism industries came from the pre-accession EU 15 member states. An additional 3.9 per cent of employment in all UK tourism industries came from the newer EU states: Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Malta, Estonia, Cyprus, and Slovenia. This data is the most up to date that we hold.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of higher stamp duty costs on activity in London’s housing market throughout 2016.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The housing market is affected by a wide variety of factors including exchange rates and the economic outlook. The Government continually monitors the housing market as part of the ordinary process of policy development.

    At Autumn Statement 2014 the Government announced a radical reform of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on residential properties, cutting the tax for 98% of homebuyers who pay it.

    The Government believes it is fair that those who can afford to buy the most expensive properties contribute the most. Whilst the reform does increase the SDLT paid on the top 2% of transactions, this increase is small relative to the price of the property.

  • 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 2016-10-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Age UK report on self-funders in care homes published on 20 October showing that self-funded care home patients are in effect subsidising local authority funded patients.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Care and support is arranged on an open market where prices and fee rates are negotiated locally by commissioners for state funded clients, whilst individuals and their families do so for those who self-fund. The Government has no say in these individual negotiations.

    Under the Care Act, councils are under a duty to promote their overall local provider market to ensure it remains sustainable and delivers high-quality services for all local people. Prices and fee rates paid by commissioners to provider organisations must reflect these new duties.

    The Department published the Care and Support statutory guidance setting out how councils should meet these new duties when commissioning, including the consideration of the actual costs of care and support when negotiating fee levels. This guidance is an online-only resource, subject to updates.

    The Department is aware of the Age UK report Behind the headlines: ‘stuck in the middle’ – self-funders in care homes. There are many reasons why individuals who self-fund may pay more than local authorities, including premium accommodation and services, and discounts that may be available to authorities for bulk purchasing and lower transaction costs.

    The Government has no plans to ask the competition authorities or the Care Quality Commission to review the Age UK report, though we maintain a continuing dialogue across government and with the sector to encourage good practice and fairness to consumers.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homelessness applications were made to local authorities as a result of an applicant losing their home to repossession in each of the last 10 years; and in what proportion of such applications the people were accepted as unintentionally homeless and in priority need.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Statistics on the reasons for loss of last home are only held for those households who are accepted as unintentionally homeless and in priority need. The numbers of acceptances who lost their last home as a result of mortgage arrears in the last 10 years are shown in the attached table.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what Government property is located in Salford and Eccles constituency.

    Matthew Hancock

    A list of properties located in the Salford and Eccles constituency drawn from the central database of Government properties and land across the UK, e-PIMS™ is attached. A copy of this will be placed in the Library of the House. Government owned property can be found at:www.gov.uk/find-government-property.

    Information is only held centrally on the Central Civil Estate. Any information outside of this is held locally by departments.

    “

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of what the proportion of London residential property is owned by foreign nationals of which countries.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Bank of England estimates that foreign buyers represent 3% of total residential property transactions in London (Page 24 of November 2013 Financial Stabilty Report – http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/fsr/2013/fsrfull1311.pdf ).

    “

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-02-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of social enterprises in delivering high quality healthcare services.

    Ben Gummer

    It is a statutory obligation that decisions on healthcare provision should be taken independently by local commissioners. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) must decide how to use their resources in a way which is evidence based, clinically-led and cost-effective in order to provide high-quality healthcare for people in their area. CCGs must also balance both short-term need and long-term transformation in line with the NHS Five Year Forward View’s (5YFV) objectives.

    Where a social enterprise provides a regulated activity, under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, it will have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall. Following inspection of individual social enterprise providers, the CQC will publish a report on its website.

    The Government firmly believes that providers from all sectors, including social enterprises, play an important role in providing high quality, safe and efficient care to patients, as well as helping to realise the ambitions set out in the NHS 5YFV. That is why, working in partnership with Public Health England, NHS England and representatives from the voluntary sector, the Department is in the final stages of a review looking at partnerships and investment in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. The final report of the review is expected to be published in the spring.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for consent determined by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have required environmental impact assessment since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Since 2010, when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has determined applications for consent, three Oil Transfer Licence applications have required environmental impact assessments.

  • Paul Beresford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Beresford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Beresford on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with officials of the Home Office and the police on proposals to allow members of the public to take their own ID photos for official documents on their own digital devices and the potential effect of this on ID fraud and quality of images.

    Matthew Hancock

    Government departments are fully committed to ensuring that the risks of identity fraud are minimised in transactions requiring photographs to be submitted. Currently applicants send paper photographs through the postal service. Technology now enables digital photographs to be submitted in online applications. In whichever channel is used the applicant must attest that the picture is a true likeness and departments put processes in place to assess the end-to-end risks of identity fraud. New technology has the potential to reduce fraud in this process, and we are investigating how technology can be used in a way that is both safe and cost effective.

  • Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Fabian Hamilton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fabian Hamilton on 2016-05-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the government of Bangladesh on the increase in and alleged official toleration of extra-judicial killings in that country; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Allegations of extra-judicial killings in Bangladesh are deeply concerning. We follow progress closely and raise concerns where there are credible allegations. We take human rights in Bangladesh seriously, naming it as one of 30 Human Rights Priority Countries in this year’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights and Democracy report. In my speech during a House of Commons debate on the future of Bangladesh in June 2015 I reiterated our call for the Bangladesh Government to hold the perpetrators to account through impartial, transparent investigations.