Category: Speeches

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 3.22 of English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the planned 30,000 transport-related apprenticeships which will be taken up by apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities.

    Nick Boles

    Apprenticeships are full time jobs with training. We do not interfere in employers’ recruitment decisions or set specific quotas for the number of apprenticeships to be taken up by people with special educational needs or disabilities.

    All employers must fulfil their duties as set out in the Equality Act 2010 for apprentices as they would for other employees. We believe that the overwhelming majority of young people with special educational needs and disabilities are capable of sustainable, paid employment with the right preparation and support. For many, apprenticeships are the best route into paid employment. To support this, people aged 16 and over can apply for Access to Work funding for adjustments to the workplace. In addition, reasonable adjustments are available for any qualifications within apprenticeships to ensure the apprentice has every opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many persons are now officially held in detention without charge in Iraq, and their affiliations, and what steps they are taking to collect accurate data about such detainees.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We do not have accurate figures on the numbers being held without charge or their affiliations. During my visit to Iraq in November, I met the Iraqi Minister of Justice, Haider Al Zamili, and raised a number of issues relating to the justice system, prison system and rehabilitation processes. Our Ambassador in Baghdad has raised detention without charge with the Minister of Justice on several occasions.

    Last year, the Iraqi Minister of Justice visited London to gain a better understanding of how the prison system operates in the UK. The Minister has committed to ensuring that the issue of detention without charge is addressed and is investigating how the process of charge and trial can be speeded up, as part of the Government of Iraq’s strategy to combat overcrowding in prisons. We will continue to encourage the Ministry to improve the prison system and offer assistance where we can.

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many penalties have been issued to ticket sellers under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and how many of those penalties were issued to secondary ticket sellers.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The provisions of Part 3, Chapter 5 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) concern the online secondary ticketing market. The duty in section 90 CRA to provide information about tickets applies to persons re-selling tickets and internet-based secondary ticketing facilities.

    Trading Standards is the enforcement authority in Great Britain for the purposes of the secondary ticketing provisions in the CRA. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is the relevant enforcement authority for Northern Ireland. Where an enforcement authority is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that a person has breached a duty or prohibition imposed by Chapter 5, the authority may impose a financial penalty on the person in respect of each breach.

    HMG does not hold information on the number of penalties issued under the secondary ticketing provisions of the CRA.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people who claim employment and support allowance in (a) England and (b) Wales have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.

    Priti Patel

    The number of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants with Inflammatory Bowel Disease as their main disabling condition, in England is 9,130 and the number for Wales is 730.

    Source: DWP 100% data.

    Notes:

    1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
    2. The data is at August 2015 which is the latest available information.
  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 25 April (HL7484), whether they still stand by the commitment, made by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Defence during the launch of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, to increase the number of ships in the Royal Navy.

    Earl Howe

    The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced our intention to launch a concept study and then design and build a new class of lighter, flexible general purpose frigate so that by the 2030s we can further increase the total numbers of frigates and destroyers. We stand by this commitment and work has begun.

  • Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Deidre Brock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Deidre Brock on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which coastguard stations cover the Firth of Forth.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The operational concepts and procedures that underpin HM Coastguards National Network mean that the Coastguard Centres within it no longer have fixed geographic boundaries. The network enables the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) and 9 Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident anywhere around the UK coast. Workload managed on a national basis enabling national capability and resource to be available to any incident, for example in the Firth of Forth, on the basis of the nature of the incident.

  • Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lisa Nandy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Nandy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the Government plans to set out its own nationally-determined contribution to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    For now the UK remains a Member State and part of the EU’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). It is not appropriate at this point to speculate about arrangements for after the UK ceases to be a Member State. The UK’s commitment to tackling global climate change remains firm.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many applications his Department has received for modifications and adapted housing in each year from 2000 to date; and whether data on such applications is available before 2000 and to what date.

    Mark Lancaster

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 15 September 2016 to Questions 45414 and 45461.

  • 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 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will review the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations to make audio-visual announcement systems a requirement on all new buses.

    Andrew Jones

    I understand the benefits that audio visual systems on buses can bring to passengers. There are a number of different potential solutions for achieving better audio visual information, not all of which will necessarily require on-bus equipment. Making on-board systems a requirement on all new buses would be a significant cost to the industry and I have no current plans to mandate such systems through Regulation.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether LGBTI people who are at risk are included in the vulnerability criteria of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation Scheme; and if so, what steps they are taking to identify vulnerable LGBTI people in refugee camps or places of displacement, and what resources and services will be provided to LGBTI refugees resettled to the UK in order to address their specific needs.

    Lord Bates

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR’s) vulnerability criteria for identifying refugees under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme include persons at risk due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and LGBTI refugees are identified through their normal screening procedures.

    Local authorities are provided with full case details of all referrals so they can make an assessment of the needs of refugees, before deciding whether to accept them for resettlement. Whilst the Government provides funding to ensure these needs can be met, it is up to individual local authorities to decide how this should be achieved.