Category: Speeches

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) that all Government services are available through the gov.uk website and (b) that that website remains operational at all times.

    Matthew Hancock

    Since its launch in October 2012, GOV.UK has handled over 2.6 billion visits. The site needs to continue operating during major events such as the annual Self Assessment peak and a national emergency. The GOV.UK website has been designed to handle issues and failures in a way which would not impact the public. We have robust incident management processes in place and regularly run disaster recovery simulations to test our response to any outages.

    “

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2016 to Question 43759, how the Propriety and Ethics Team performed on handling correspondence from hon. Members and Peers in 2015.

    Ben Gummer

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer to him of 5 September 2016 to UIN: 43759.

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Russian airstrikes on (a) ISIL/Daesh targets on (b) non-ISIL/Daesh targets in Syria to date.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The vast majority of Russian air strikes have been against Syrian opposition forces, not the terrorist organisation ISIL. Despite Russian government claims to the contrary, only a small minority of strikes have targeted locations where ISIL forces are present. Overwhelmingly, Russian air strikes have targeted Homs, Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Aleppo – areas where moderate opposition are concentrated. A map of Russian strikes is available on Twitter – @UKAgainstISIL. This is on the basis of reporting from international NGOs and actors on the ground.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Environment Agency’s 2014 Long Term Investment Scenarios recommended optimum overall investment in flood defences of £750m to £800m each year to 2019-20; and whether she expects that level of overall investment to be achieved.

    Rory Stewart

    The Environment Agency’s Long Term Investment Scenarios report represents the best currently available projections of potential long term costs to manage flood and coastal risk under a range of scenarios reflecting future uncertainties. It will be kept under review as any further evidence emerges.

    The report confirms that current Government investment plans to 2020, together with forecast local contributions, are in line with the level the Environment Agency’s assessment indicates is necessary to reduce overall flood risk by 5%.

    “

  • Mrs Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mrs Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Louise Ellman on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) budget for and (b) expenditure on in-service emissions testing was for the (i) Vehicle Certification Agency and (ii) Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in each of the last 10 years.

    Andrew Jones

    The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) in-service emissions budget is in the table below:

    Budget

    Expenditure

    2006 / 2007

    Not available

    Not available

    2007 / 2008

    Not available

    £170k

    2008 / 2009

    Not available

    £205k

    2009 / 2010

    £200K

    £200K

    2010 / 2011

    £200K

    £200K

    2011 /2012*

    £0

    £0

    2012 /2013

    £40K

    £40K

    2013 /2014

    £50K

    £29.5K

    2014 / 2015

    £150K

    £42.3K

    2015 / 2016

    £123.2K

    **

    * Following the work in 2010-2011, the focus of emissions testing changed to consider aftermarket alteration of vehicles, both light and heavy duty.

    ** Ongoing £96K anticipated.

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency does not hold a budget for in-service emissions testing and it does not have expenditure for in service emissions testing.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been paid in compensation to prisoners in the last 12 months.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. We robustly defend all cases and over the last three years have successfully defended two thirds of claims from prisoners.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of NHS consultant psychiatrist posts were vacant in each year since 2010.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will introduce safeguards to prevent local authorities whose offices are used for HM Passport Office remote interviews from increasing the charge for using their accommodation.

    James Brokenshire

    The relationship of Her Majesty’s Passport Office with the local provider of the accommodation for remote interviews is managed through a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) which sets out the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Any changes to this MOU are discussed and agreed by both parties. Her Majesty’s Passport Office is not limited to working with Local Authorities.

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support workplace incentives to promote employee health and reduce sickness-related unemployment.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We plan to publish a Green Paper later this year, which will set out reforms to improve support for people with health conditions and disabilities, including exploring the roles of employers.

    Employers are key partners in our ambition to halve the disability employment gap, reduce sick absence and promote employee health.

    Support is offered to employers through initiatives such as Access to Work and Disability Confident which help employers to recruit and retain people with a disability.

    Public Health England supports local authorities in the provision of a range of resources and services for employers in the area of preventing ill health, including the Workplace Wellbeing Charter.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission research into improving pedestrian safety on pavements and to determine whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has no current plans to commission research into the issue of pedestrian’s safety on footways or to ascertain whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces.

    Guidance is already available to highway authorities in respect to providing good and safe surfaces for pedestrians. The Department for Transport Manual for Streets – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341513/pdfmanforstreets.pdf – also provides advice on footways and advises that surfaces used by pedestrians need to be smooth and free from trip hazards.

    It is ultimately for each highway authority to decide on what materials they use for ensuring the best footway surface for the area for which they are responsible.

    “