Category: Speeches

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on the Help to Work scheme in the 2014-15 financial year; and how much of the budget for that scheme for the 2015-16 financial year has been spent to date.

    Priti Patel

    The Help to Work scheme contains a number of initiatives and programmes, delivered through Jobcentre Plus and Contracted Employment Provision.

    It is not possible to identify the costs of Help to Work activities separately from the total expenditure in Jobcentre Plus. The relevant data is not held in a form which allows it to be clearly identified and separated from other Jobcentre Plus activities.

    The two elements delivered through Contracted Employment Programmes are Community Work Placements and the Supervised Jobsearch Pilot. Expenditure on Community Work Placements was £1.8m in 2014-15. Expenditure on Supervised Jobsearch Pilot in 2014-15 was £6.3m. This is funded by income from the European Social Fund

  • David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    David Davis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2015 to Question 9748, on counter-terrorism, on what date the meeting of the most senior members of the National Security Council referred to in that Answer took place.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    Senior members of the National Security Council meet frequently to discuss matters of national security but we do not disclose information about the detail of these internal proceedings and discussions.

  • Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Barker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Barker on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much Kids Company received in gift aid payments from 2005–6 to 2015–16.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has a statutory duty to maintain taxpayer confidentiality and cannot comment on the affairs of individual organisations.

    HMRC publishes national statistics showing the total cost of Gift Aid and other charitable tax reliefs.

  • Chris Bryant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Chris Bryant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Bryant on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Prime Minister, how many special advisers have notified the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary that they are supporting ministers who are campaigning against the Government’s position on the EU referendum.

    Mr David Cameron

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Leicester South (Mr Ashworth) on 29 February 2016, UIN 28380.

  • Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Hywel Williams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hywel Williams on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what meetings (a) he and (b) his predecessor had with Ministers of the Welsh Government (i) wholly and (ii) primarily about Tata Steel’s intentions for the Welsh steel industry.

    Alun Cairns

    My predecessor, the Rt hon Stephen Crabb MP, and I have, and continue to conduct regular meetings to discuss Tata Steel, and the Welsh Steel Industry with Cabinet colleagues, UK Government Ministers and Welsh Government Ministers.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average hourly earnings were of his Department’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.

    Andrew Selous

    There are multiple Terms and Conditions and multiple working patterns in operation at the MoJ. Providing an accurate and meaningful answer for both BME and non-BME employees would incur disproportionate costs.

    The Civil Service is changing, and our recruitment seeks to reflect the make-up and composition of our nation as a whole. Historically, BME staff were under-represented: both in terms of previous recruitment patterns and the number and proportion in higher grades, both of these factors have contributed to the differences in average salaries.

    We are making progress the proportion of BME staff in the Civil Service has risen from 9.2% in 2010 to 10.6% in 2015, but we recognise that there is still more to do.

    In March, the Government published its 2016 Talent Action Plan for the Civil Service. It provides a progress update on initiatives to increase diversity in the Civil Service, including cross-Government talent programmes aimed at under-represented groups.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success

    “

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many full-time equivalent staff of his Department (a) have moved and (b) are planned to move into the EU Unit.

    Joseph Johnson

    The new Department for Exiting the European Union will be made up of staff from various departments across Government. The overall size and scope of the new department, including staffing and budget, are under consideration.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU citizens resident in the UK are eligible to apply for permanent residency.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    EEA nationals who have exercised a Treaty right in the UK, for a continuous period of 5 years, acquire an EU right to reside here permanently. Exercising a Treaty right in the context means that the EEA national must have been a worker, a self employed person, a self sufficient person or a student.

    Once they have fulfilled the relevant criteria, an EEA national automatically acquires this EU right to reside here permanently. They do not need to apply for documentation confirming this right.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Fiona Bruce – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Attorney General, what steps he has taken to promote pro bono work amongst members of the legal profession in the last 12 months.

    Robert Buckland

    The Attorney General and I chair two co-ordinating committees that bring together leading organisations dedicated to promoting the delivery of pro bono legal services by members of the legal profession, in conjunction with the voluntary sector in England and Wales and internationally.

    Earlier this month, we took part in a range of events during National Pro Bono week, which is now regarded as an important annual national event and is supported by the legal professions, voluntary sector and law schools.

    Over the past 12 months, we have supported a number of projects borne out of the co-ordinating committees, that we believe reinforce how important the pro bono movement is – not just domestically, but internationally as well.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 1.123 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what assessment he has made of the effect of uprating the individual threshold in the minimum income floor for self-employed people on the household income of a tax credit claimant family with two children and one self-employed earner under the age of 25 earning £12,194 over the course of a year.

    Priti Patel

    There is no Minimum Income Floor (MIF) in the tax credit system.

    In Universal Credit the MIF is designed to address issues in the current system which enable self-employed claimants to receive full State support while declaring low or zero earnings indefinitely.