Category: Speeches

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the revenue raised by Southern Rail in the last five years was passed back to GTR by his Department.

    Claire Perry

    Under the terms of its Franchise Agreement, Southern Railway Limited retained all of its revenue. The services operated by Southern Railway Limited were combined into a new franchise, the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise, on 26 July 2015 when the previous franchise ended.

    No Southern Railway revenue has been passed back to GTR by the Department for Transport.

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many and what proportion of trade union members in (a) Great Britain and (b) Northern Ireland pay the political levy.

    Nick Boles

    The latest Annual Report of the Certification Officer shows that 4,954,606 union members in Great Britain paid the political levy in the period 2013-2014. This represents 70.67% of the total number of individuals who were union members in the same period.[1]

    Employment law is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and I am not able to respond to the questions relating to Northern Ireland.

    [1] Political Funds of Trade Unions, 2013-2014, Annual Report 2015/2016 of the Certification Officer, page 68-69, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449387/CO_Annual_Report__2014-2015_.pdf

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  • William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    William Cash – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Cash on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will provide an estimate of (a) the total level of immigration from other EU member states and (b) the annual number of people coming to settle in the UK from other EU member states which would trigger the activation of the proposed alert and safeguard emergency brake mechanism; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in other EU member states and the European Commission on the appropriate thresholds for the emergency brake mechanism to be activated.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Alongside the conclusions of the February European Council, the European Commission made a separate Declaration on the emergency brake (the ‘Commission Declaration on the Safeguard Mechanism’). This Declaration set out the Commission’s view that the exceptional situation that the brake is intended to cover exists in the UK today.

    Additional details are a matter for the implementation of the proposal, and further announcements will be made in due course.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the contribution of the Minister of State of 10 March 2016, Official Report, column 419, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of implementing temporary measures to ensure public safety when drones are used while his Department considers the best action to take.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are existing regulations in place that require users of drones to maintain direct, unaided visual contact with their vehicle and to not recklessly or negligently cause or permit an aircraft to endanger any person or property. There are severe penalties in place for misuse of drones, such as up to five years imprisonment for endangering an aircraft.

    The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work with a wide range of industry partners across the aviation sector, (including manufacturers, airports, and airlines), to ensure our understanding of potential hazards to aircraft remains up-to-date and mitigations effective. Further work is underway to better understand the risk posed by flying drones close to commercial planes to ensure that regulations remain fit for purpose.

    The DfT is also currently working with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to develop consistent, EU-wide safety rules for drones, including potential technical solutions, such as geo-fencing and frequency jammers around airports.

    Communication and education of users on current safety restrictions will be key. Officials from my Department are actively considering with the CAA the development of an expanded and diversified communication and education campaign, to include more mediums and supporting products, such as smart phone applications. The CAA is running ‘small UAS’ (Unmanned Aerial Systems) Risk and Hazard workshops with industry as part of the Mid Air Collision Programme.

    Guidance on tackling the risks of criminal drone use has been provided to constabularies across the UK. The Secretary of State has written to Police to request their assistance in raising awareness of drone risks and restrictions.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last reviewed the risks posed to financial stability by central clearing houses; and whether such a review took account of the increasing practice of cross-margining linking two or more clearing houses.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Under European Regulation No 648/2012 (EMIR) CCPs in the UK are regulated by the Bank of England. For other information I refer the noble Lord to my written answers of 1 April (HL7153) and 26 April (HL7583, HL7584, HL7585, and HL7586).

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place a copy of the grant application for funding for 2016-17 from Action on Smoking and Health in the Library.

    Nicola Blackwood

    A grant of £160,000 has been awarded to Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) for financial year 2016/17 and a copy of the signed award letter, including the detailed deliverables of the grant, is attached.

    Grants made under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 can be made in a number of ways. The grant awarded to ASH has been assessed as most appropriate for the non-competed route.

    The Department received a complaint about the deliverables of the 2015/16 grant awarded to ASH in June this year. The Department responded to the complainant, confirming it was satisfied that none of the deliverables were in breach of the provisions of Section 64.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government plans to give people with dyslexia in the armed forces protection under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

    Mark Lancaster

    There are no plans to extend the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 to cover Service personnel who have dyslexia. The Defence Direction for Specific Learning Difficulties (contained within Joint Service Publication 898 ‘Defence Direction and Guidance on Training, Education and Skills’) provides direction to all Service personnel who have dyslexia, and line managers, trainers and commanders who are required to manage Service personnel with dyslexia. It provides a learning support framework for those identified with dyslexia, ensuring that the Ministry of Defence meets its obligations as a responsible employer.

  • Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated cost to answer a media query to the Government and whether they impose a limit on the number of questions a member of the media can ask in a week.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government receives a large number of media queries each day, which are received and managed by the relevant department.

    The amount of time each media query takes depends on many factors and variables, so it is not possible to estimate an average cost or time. No restriction is placed on the number of queries a journalist can make.

  • Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Gould of Potternewton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2015-11-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the £200 million reduction in the Public Health Grant to local authorities for 2015–16 on (1) teenage pregnancy rates, and (2) rates of unintended pregnancy.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    The under-18 conception rate is an indicator within the Public Health Outcomes Framework and we continue to see a sustained reduction in teenage pregnancy, improved detection of sexually transmitted infections, and increasing access to the more effective long acting contraception.

  • Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Hepburn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Hepburn on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average hospital waiting time was for NHS patients in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 2005.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is not available in the format requested. Information has been published since August 2007 on the numbers of patients still waiting within 18 weeks and more than 18 weeks to start consultant-led elective treatment at the end of each month. Information has also been published about average median waiting times to start consultant-led elective treatment nationally since August 2007 and locally since April 2009. This is provided in the attached table for National Health Service commissioning organisations and regions which most closely match those requested. Health is a devolved matter in the rest of the United Kingdom.