Category: Speeches

  • Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Beecham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Beecham on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they have made to promote diversity in the composition of the lay magistracy, by reference to (1) socio-economic status, (2) ethnicity, (3) gender, and (4) age.

    Lord Faulks

    The government is committed to promoting the diversity of all members of the judiciary, including a diverse magistracy which reflects the society it serves. The local advisory committees who are responsible for recruiting and selecting magistrates, target recruitment activity to ensure that while we appoint on merit, local benches are representative of the communities they serve. This includes seeking applications from previously underrepresented groups.

    As of April 2015, 53% of serving magistrates were female and 9% from a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME) background. Data on recent appointments has continued to show encouraging signs and suggests diversity will continue to improve in the future.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the contract payment for each of the principal Work Programme providers is for each six month period or quarter.

    Priti Patel

    Due to its commercial sensitivity, the information is not available.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 28 January (HL Deb, col 1405), what is the estimated cost of the next two years’ work by Network Rail that has now been cancelled on (1) the stabilisation of the cliff between Parsons and Teignmouth, and (2) breakwaters, groynes and revetments in the Dawlish area; and what are the new estimated completion dates for those works.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    No work on this study has been cancelled. Network Rail is currently progressing the Exeter to Newton Abbot geo-environmental study on the existing route via Dawlish to explore options which will reduce the chances of future route failure. The work will produce a short-list of options for further strengthening of the existing railway from Control Period 6 (CP6) (2019 to 2024) and beyond. It is due to be fully complete in May 2016 and will feed into the funding deliberations for CP6 and beyond.

    Plans for Control Period 6 will be defined through the standard industry planning processes. These will take into account the recommendations of the Bowe and Shaw reviews and the re-profiling carried out by Sir Peter Hendy, along with the views of both PRTF and Network Rail .This process is led by Network Rail, with input from a wide range of stakeholders and funders, and covers the needs of each 5-year Rail Investment Strategy (RIS) with consideration of longer term requirements up to 2043.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to respond to the European Parliament’s call for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia, and if so, how.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    It is up to individual member states, not the European Parliament, to make national arms export licensing decisions.

    The Government takes its arms export responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust arms export control regimes in the world. All export licence applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking account of all relevant factors at the time of the application.

    We are able to review licences and suspend or revoke as necessary when circumstances require.

    The Government is satisfied that extant licences for Saudi Arabia are compliant with the UK’s export licensing criteria.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which bus operators his Department has had discussions with on the Buses Bill; and how many meetings his Department has had with each of those bus operators.

    Andrew Jones

    Bus operators attended a series of workshops in the Autumn of last year, and since then officials have engaged, on a regular basis, with both large and small bus operators via the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the Association of Local Bus Company Managers.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their programme for the development of the Type 26 Frigate.

    Earl Howe

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Philip Dunne), in the House of Commons on 11 April 2016 to Question 32497.

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-03-24/32497/

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Chief Electoral Officer on proposed industrial action by electoral office staff in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    I have regular discussions with the Chief Electoral Officer, including regarding the recent industrial action.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the Skills Funding Agency proposals to reduce 16-18 apprenticeship funding on the number of 16-18 apprenticeships delivered.

    Robert Halfon

    The introduction of the levy will mean that many more employers will offer many more apprenticeships opportunities to people of all ages and backgrounds than they would have otherwise done. Our funding proposals will introduce a simpler pricing system with a maximum cost for each type of apprenticeship, regardless of age or location.

    Our proposals for how apprenticeships will be paid for in England in the future include incentives for taking on 16-18 year old apprentices – funding 100 per cent of apprenticeship training costs for small employers (with fewer than 50 staff) that don’t pay the levy when they employ 16-18 year old apprentices; and providing a £1,000 cash payment to both the employer and training provider to help with the extra costs of supporting apprentices in this age group.

    As a result of the levy we will be investing £2.5 billion in apprenticeships; that’s double what was spent on apprenticeships in 2010-11.

    Employers will have an incentive to employ apprentices to maximise the use of their levy funds and they will have control over funding for apprenticeships training. The generous co-investment rate will help them if they want to take on more apprentices than covered by their levy funds.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the qualification for investors in the start-up sector in order to grant lower net worth individuals more freedom to invest.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government agrees that it is important for consumers to have access to a diverse range of investment choices and for start-ups and SMEs to have access to a wide range of funding sources.

    To this end, the Government has implemented a proportionate regime for peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding that gives retail investors the opportunity to invest in start-ups and SMEs. Retail investors can also benefit from other initiatives, including Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferrable Securities, where the fund can allocate up to 10% of assets to venture capital.

    The Government has no plans to review the definition of sophisticated investors as set out in the Financial Promotions Order 2005.

  • George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    George Howarth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by George Howarth on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has held with the Senet Group on gambling addiction; and if he will make a statement.

    Tracey Crouch

    I have had several meetings with groups and individuals concerned about the negative effects of gambling, and have made clear to the industry that it must continue to demonstrate it is taking action to mitigate the risk ofgambling related harm.

    Last year, the Governmentannounced a range of player protection measures including a £2 million programme funded by industry to promote responsible gambling, and the Senet group formed in 2014 promote responsible gambling standards, have overseen a range of measures, including a commitment from its members who cover around 80% of Britishlicensedbetting offices – todedicate 20% of shop window advertising to responsible gambling messages, and a TV campaign earlier the year to educate people about the risks of problem gambling.