Category: Speeches

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37487, whether the Education Funding Agency has directed academies to admit pupils 10 or 12 times since 2012; and how many directions sought by local authorities and referred on to the Schools Adjudicator were upheld in each year from 2005 to 2010.

    Nick Gibb

    Pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2016 to Question 37487, the Education Funding Agency has directed academies to admit pupils 12 times between April 2012 and April 2016.

    The Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) does not issue directions in relation to maintained schools but will determine the case if a school which a local authority is seeking to direct refers the case on to the adjudicator.

    Prior to 2007, directions under section 96 and 97 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (SSFA) were determined by the Secretary of State. The Education and Inspections Act 2006 amended the SSFA to bring powers to the OSA to determine appeals.

    The table below shows the number of directions upheld in each year from 2007 to 2010.

    Year

    LA directions upheld by OSA

    2007

    6

    2008

    20

    2009

    9

    2010

    7
  • Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Neil Gray – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Gray on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken is for a decision to be made for a personal independence payment claim in (a) Airdrie and Shotts constituency, (b) Scotland and (c) England.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The table below shows the average (median) actual clearance times (AACT), in weeks, for normal rules new claims and DLA reassessments to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for Airdie and Shotts, Scotland and England in April 2016.

    April 2016

    Normal Rules, New Claims AACT (weeks)

    Normal Rules, DLA Reassessments AACT (weeks)

    Airdie and Shotts parliamentary constituency

    11

    13

    Scotland

    10

    13

    England

    9

    12

    Source – PIP Computer Systems management information.

    Notes to table:

    1) The figures are for normal rules only, and do not include special rules for the terminally ill, as these claims have a separate and faster route through the claims process.

    2) ‘Time take for a decision’ has been interpreted as the average time between the date of referral to the assessment provider and the date of the DWP decision to either award or disallow the claim. It does not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant or claims that were disallowed by DWP pre-referral to the Assessment Providers (e.g. for failure to meet basic eligibility criteria or failure to return the Part 2 form within the time limit).

    3) Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.

    Further information on AACTs is published and available at;

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-independence-payment-statistics

    “

  • Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect on the cost of housing benefit to the public purse of requiring local authorities to sell their housing stock.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Everyone needs to live within their means. People on benefits should have to make the same decisions and choices about where they can afford to live as people who are not on benefits, and should not expect to be housed in properties that most working households are unable to afford.

    The Housing and Planning Bill will require local authorities to make a payment to Government based on the estimated value of their high value housing that is expected to become vacant.

    This policy is about councils making best use of their housing stock – selling vacant high value housing to fund the building of new homes which reflect housing need and increase overall housing supply, and to increase home ownership, as set out in the Government’s manifesto.

    At the heart of this legislation is the building of more homes. A portion of receipts generated from sales of vacant high value local authority housing will be used to build homes that better meet housing need and increase overall housing supply. In addition to this, housing associations will retain the sales receipt from each home sold through Right to Buy to enable them to re-invest in the delivery of new homes.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average ratio of prison officers to prisoners is in (a) male and (b) female prisons.

    Andrew Selous

    Staff to prisoner ratios in public sector Prison Service establishments are reported as the number of prisoners held in an establishment divided by the number of prison officers (including specialists) employed. The figure does not reflect the number of officers on duty at any particular moment.

    The ratio of staff to prisoners varies by category of prison and according to specific local circumstances related to the design and operation of the particular establishment. Differences in the profile of the male and female populations mean that the ratios are not directly comparable.

    The ratio of prisoner to prison officers (including specialist) as at 30 September 2015 was 4.8 at male establishments and 3.5 at female establishments.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis will be made available on the NHS to men who have sex with men.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is working with local authorities, clinicians, patient representatives and Public Health England to consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of providing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to at-risk groups to prevent them acquiring HIV. The PrEP clinical policy proposition is one of many going through NHS England’s 2016/17 prioritisation round.

    In July 2015 NHS England approved a significant new investment in a ‘Treatment as Prevention’ programme to help reduce transmissions from persons known to be HIV positive.

    We have made no estimates of the number of people accessing PrEP through private provision.

  • 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 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many operational defects (a) HMS Daring, (b) HMS Dauntless, (c) HMS Diamond, (d) HMS Dragon, (e) HMS Defender and (f) HMS Duncan have reported in each of the last six years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    All complex systems suffer defects and require maintenance throughout their life, and warships are no exception. Operational Defects (OPDEFS) can vary in their categorisation and severity, covering minor ancillary components to major defects. The OPDEF process only applies to Ships in operational service, and I have therefore supplied the numbers for full years for Type 45 ships since their Commissioning.

    TOTAL OPDEFS ON TYPE 45 SHIPS IN THE LAST SIX YEARS

    2010

    2011

    2012

    2013

    2014

    2015

    HMS Daring

    NA

    186

    184

    278

    163

    156

    HMS Dauntless

    NA

    NA

    239

    244

    262

    150

    HMS Diamond

    NA

    NA

    251

    220

    182

    165

    HMS Defender

    NA

    NA

    209

    224

    202

    209

    HMS Dragon

    NA

    NA

    260

    268

    235

    124

    HMS Duncan

    NA

    NA

    NA

    168

    181

    241

    We would not release more detailed information related to these figures as this would allow deductions to be made about a ship’s capability and may affect operational security.

    “

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what restrictions are in place on Dr Nicole Mather in her role as Director of the Office for Life Sciences in relation to her role as Director of Deloitte’s Healthcare and Life Sciences practice.

    George Freeman

    It is a condition of Nicole’s secondment to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) that she ensures that in the course of carrying out the work she is asked to do, there will be no conflict of interest that will cause either embarrassment to, or difficulties for, Nicole, Deloitte or BIS.

    As part of her secondment agreement to BIS, Nicole has signed up to the Civil Service Code including its values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality. The secondment agreement sets out specific requirements around shareholdings, use of information gained in the course of her work in BIS, directorships, being a partner in a partnership, and the application of the Business Appointment Rules if Nicole wishes to take up another role within 2 years of the end of her secondment to BIS.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-03-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to consult with local businesses in Cumbernauld on the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs Cumbernauld office.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to create two new Regional Centres in Scotland, in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2019-20, accommodating between 5,700 and 6,300 employees. HMRC’s new Regional Centres will give its staff all they need including a modern office environment, close to good travel and transport links. They will provide stable, high quality jobs and offer a wide range of opportunities for training and promotion and allow its staff to follow more varied career paths than have previously been possible.

    HMRC will help all its staff work through their options. It will give everyone the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances with their manager ahead of any office closures or moves, so they know about any issues that need to be taken into account when making decisions.

  • Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Clive Betts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what further steps he plans to take to ensure that local government pension scheme members are consulted on proposed guidance on the ability of local government to account for non-financial factors in pension scheme investment decisions; and what steps he plans to take to ensure that that proposed guidance will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government’s response to the consultation, which will set out our next steps in relation to these issues, will be published shortly.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what plans the Government has to move the design and manufacture of specialised steel casks used to store nuclear fuels during transport to China.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government has no plans to move to China the design and manufacture of specialised steel casks used in the transport of nuclear fuels in relation to the sites for which it is responsible.