Category: Speeches

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department last audited the management of Northumbria Probation Service by Sodexo.

    Andrew Selous

    We regularly review the operations of each Community Rehabilitation Company to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending, protect the public and deliver value for money to the taxpayer. An operational assurance audit of Northumbria Community Rehabilitation Company was completed in June 2015.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the Government’s timetable is for introducing measures to implement a gender pay gap reporting among (a) public sector, (b) private sector and (c) voluntary sector employees.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Eliminating the gender pay gap is a key priority for this government. We will shortly seek views on the draft regulations requiring large private and voluntary sector employers in Great Britain to publish information about differences in the pay and bonuses paid to male and female employees. The government wants to commence these regulations at the earliest opportunity. We have also pledged to extend these requirements to the public sector. Public bodies will be covered by different regulations, following a further consultation that we will issue soon.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25153, on which Type 45 Destroyers all 16 recommendations of the Independent Power and Propulsion System Performance Review have been implemented in full; when he expects the implementation of all 16 recommendations to be completed across the class; and if he will publish the recommendations made by the review.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Fourteen of the recommendations involved a modification to the Power and Propulsion system and all fourteen have been completed across all six ships in the class.

    The remaining two recommendations, involving changes to existing training procedures and documentation, have also been adopted. As these two recommendations are administrative in nature, they do not require physical modification of the ships.

    With regard to the request to publish the recommendations made by the Independent Power and Propulsion System Performance Review, dated March 2011, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman) to question 25234 on 8 February 2016.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons applicants for the fifth round of the SMART scheme will not be able to apply for a sixth round as initially advised.

    Joseph Johnson

    Innovate UK is currently in the process of simplifying its support to innovative businesses to make its funding programmes more visible and easier to access. Innovate UK expects to publish its Delivery Plan for 2016/17 in the spring.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual budget was for food and drink procured for his departmental offices in Whitehall in each of the last three years; and what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on food and drink solely for the Department’s building in Whitehall. The Department has spent the following on food and drink procured for Departmental offices in each of the last three financial years:

    Financial year £

    2013-14 193,591.20

    2014-15 159,460.39

    2015-16 118,364.32

    These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department’s buildings. Departmental policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings.

    52% of all food procured for the Department was sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016.

    This figure is skewed by the considerable spend on non-indigenous products purchased including large volumes of coffee as well as rice, pasta, tea, bananas, citrus, and exotic fruits. In terms of primary products we can confirm that:

    ― 100% of Beef is sourced from the United Kingdom

    ― 100% of Chicken is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Lamb is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Pork is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Free Range Eggs are sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Milk is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Yoghurt is sourced from the UK

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The table below sets out the proportion of payroll and non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010/10 to 2014/15. Data for 2015/16 will be available in due course.

    YEAR

    Proportion on Payroll

    Proportion off payroll

    2010-11

    98.64%

    1.36%

    2011-12

    98.74%

    1.26%

    2012-13

    98.28%

    1.72%

    2013-14

    97.22%

    2.78%

    2014-15

    96.43%

    3.57%

    Non-payroll covers staff categorised as consultants and contingent labour i.e. interim managers, specialist contractors and agency staff.

    The increase in off-payroll engagements can be attributed to factors such as:

    • The merger of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and Driving Standards Agency into a single organisation (Driver & Vehicle Standards
      Agency). This required certain roles to be temporarily filled by non-permanent employees.
    • Increased activity reflecting the Government’s investment in roads, rail and HS2, which has required the Department to bring in skills which were not available within the Department.
  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of no longer being eligible to receive employment and support allowance payments at the assessment rate when undergoing a mandatory reconsideration of a work capability assessment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period – and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include in the proposed Education for All Bill a contractual obligation on schools to provide sex and relationships education.

    Edward Timpson

    We want schools to provide all young people with a curriculum that equips them for success in adult life. High-quality sex and relationship education (SRE) and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education have a vital role to play in this.

    SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies and free schools do not have to teach SRE, but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

    When teaching SRE, all schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance. The existing SRE guidance was last updated in 2000. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

    Schools and teachers have the freedom to design lessons that meet their pupils’ needs, taking account of pupil and parent views. Teachers are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals. Many of these specialist organisations have produced resources that can be used and adapted by schools.

    We hold regular meetings with Ofsted about a range of matters. As the Secretary of State said at the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, we need to look again at how schools deliver high-quality PSHE, including SRE. We are considering all the options, including the need for any statutory powers, and will come to a view soon.

  • Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the quality of the evidence presented by the Association of British Insurers on the continuing increases to motor insurance premiums being a result of fraudulent personal injury claims; and if he will make a statement.

    Dominic Raab

    The Government is concerned about the incidence of fraudulent personal injury claims and the costs that they cause. The Insurance Fraud Taskforce is considering the evidence from a range of stakeholders, including the ABI, as part of its remit to make recommendations to tackle insurance fraud more generally.

  • Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harry Harpham on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many days of gas supply are available from the gas storage facilities.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK has a high level of gas security, provided through our diverse range of gas supplies, including domestic production, pipeline imports from Norway and mainland EU, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from global markets and storage. It is therefore misleading to talk about gas storage in terms of ‘days available’ because of this mix. Both physical system constraints and market processes mean storage could only be one part of the overall gas mix on any winter’s day.

    Total gas infrastructure in GB can currently deliver around 700 million cubic meters a day, which is more than double average winter daily demand. Average winter demand is 290 million cubic meters a day and while storage amounts fluctuate, it is currently around 3500 million cubic meters.