Category: Speeches

Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the report produced by Ernst and Young for his Department in February 2012 on development options and safety standards at RAF Northolt recommended that an Engineered Material Arresting System be installed at RAF Northolt; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28 January 2016 to Question 24027. The Mott MacDonald report referenced in that previous answer was an Appendix to the Ernst and Young study of February 2012.

01/01/2023
Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of her Departments (a) Senior Civil Servants and (b) core policy civil servants are based in London.

Nick Gibb

As at 29 February 2016, 73% of the Department’s senior civil servants and 65% of the Department’s core policy civil servants were based in London.

01/01/2023
Lord Judd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Judd on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that developmental play services, including Portage, are a statutory service for disabled children under the age of two.

Lord Nash

The Government recognises that play has an important role in supporting all young children to develop and prepare for later learning and a child’s experiences in their first five years have a major impact on their future life chances. This is covered in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework for children from birth to five years of age.

The commissioning of support services for disabled children, such as Portage, is a decision for local authorities. Each local authority should consider the needs of its population, in collaboration with parent carers and early years providers, to ensure that support services in the area reflect local circumstances and need. The Children and Families Act requires all local authorities to publish a ‘local offer’, setting out in one place information about provision they expect to be available in their area across education, health and social care for children in their area who are disabled or have SEN, including those who do not have EHC plans. This should include details of any Portage services that are available for children aged 0 to 5 years.

The Department recognises the importance of Portage and has provided £150,000 to the National Portage Association through the voluntary and community sector (VCS) grants for 2015-16. The National Portage Association has been using their funding to build on existing grant-funded work to support and develop Portage services.

01/01/2023
Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the London Power Tunnels Project is (a) on schedule for completion in 2018 and (b) within budget.

Andrea Leadsom

National Grid has said that:
1. The London Power Tunnels Project is on schedule for completion in 2018 with all significant work completed in 2017 a year ahead of the original programme.
2. The London Power Tunnels Project is currently within budget.
01/01/2023
Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with cancer as a result of exposure to acetaldehyde in the (a) North East and (b) UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison

Information concerning the number of people diagnosed with cancer as a result of exposure to acetaldehyde is not available.

01/01/2023
Tim Farron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September to Question 45236, to which destinations (a) ministers and (b) officials have taken flights as part of their official duties since his Department was established.

Greg Hands

Since the inception of the department, as part of their official duties Ministers and accompanying officials have visited:

Rt. Hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade (Liam Fox) – USA, India, Switzerland, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Northern Ireland, Scotland.

Rt. Hon Friend the Minister of State (Greg Hands) – USA, Germany, Taiwan, Korea.

Hon Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mark Garnier) – Burma, Thailand, Israel, France.

Noble Friend the Minister of State (Lord Price CVO) – China, South Korea, USA, Germany, Brazil, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia.

01/01/2023
Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-11-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with representatives from the Icelandic government on debt owed to (a) UK taxpayers and (b) the public purse by Icelandic banks.

Harriett Baldwin

HM Government officials continue to engage with the Icelandic authorities in order to complete the recovery process from the failed Icelandic banks. In total, £8.64 billion was paid out by HM Treasury to compensate UK depositors of the Icelandic banks Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander Ltd (KSF), Heritable Bank plc and Landsbanki (Icesave).

All eligible UK retail depositors were fully compensated. To date, the Treasury has recovered £7.71 billion from the three estates. The Government expects to make a full recovery of the outstanding funds from the estates.

01/01/2023
David Hanson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people of what age and sex have died as a result of volatile substance abuse in each region of England and Wales in each year since 2013.

Mr Rob Wilson

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

01/01/2023
Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy to take steps towards repeal of the death penalty in states which hold the death penalty.

Mr David Lidington

The Government’s approach to all states which retain the death penalty is to focus first on suspension of its use as the key step towards permanent abolition. We take a pragmatic approach to achieving that goal. We welcome reforms which improve legal procedures, reduce the number of capital crimes or mitigate some of the cruelties inherent to the death penalty. We fund projects which educate the judiciary, promote reform, mount legal challenges to death penalty systems and stimulate public debate. We engage diplomatically with retentionist states to ensure they are aware of the compelling arguments against the death penalty and of the UK Government’s opposition to any execution. Our assessment is that these approaches are stimulating a long-term movement by states towards abolition.

01/01/2023

Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many full-time equivalent personnel were employed by the (a) Royal Military Police, (b) Royal Naval Police and (c) Royal Air Force Police in each of the last six years.

Penny Mordaunt

The requested information, as at 1 April of each year, is provided in the following table:

Strength of Trained UK Regular personnel in the Royal Military Police (RMP), Royal Naval Police (RNP) and Royal Air Force Police (RAFP)

	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
RMP	1,700	1,710	1,720	1,740	1,720	1,620
RNP	340	320	320	300	290	300
RAFP	1,480	1,450	1,360	1,200	1,110	1,140

Notes:

1. UK Regular Forces comprises Full-time personnel but does not include Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel and Reservists.

2. RMP figures do not include approximately 2,900 Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) personnel and a small number of "staff" (Colonel and above) who have a late arm/corps of Provost. Recent MPGS personnel numbers are available in Table 1 of the Service Personnel Statistics report:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/499082/Monthly_Service_Personnel_Statistics_January_2016.xlsx

3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias. Totals and sub-totals have been rounded separately and so may not equal the sums of their rounded parts.

01/01/2023