Category: Speeches

  • Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Christopher Chope – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2015 to Question 12248, what the gross cost to the Planning Inspectorate was of the examination into the planning consent application for the Navitus Bay Wind Park; and how much of that cost was paid by Navitus Bay Development Ltd.

    James Wharton

    The gross cost to the Planning Inspectorate of the examination into the planning consent application for the Navitus Bay Wind Park was £995,660. Navitus Bay Development Ltd paid £565,660 of those costs.

  • Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Maria Eagle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 49 of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, in which countries he plans to locate British defence staffs in 2016.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The decision as to where locations of where British Defence Staffs (BDS) will be based has yet to be finalised. The intention of establishing BDS is to build on our existing overseas networks (including Defence Attaches, Liaison and Exchange Officers and Training Teams) in order to provide a cross-regional focus, and improved coordination and coherence, to Defence Engagement activity. We review our overseas footprint regularly to match the requirement and this work is in conjunction with the development of a Defence Engagement Career Field within the UK Armed Forces, improved training, preparation and development for our overseas cohort and greater alignment with other Government Departments with deployed networks.

    Once decisions have been made on the future of BDS I will write to the hon. Member to update her.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the Government measures the number of incidents of harassment, threatening and abusive behaviour which occur online.

    Mike Penning

    As part of the arrangements for the collection of police recorded crime data the Home Office has introduced an ‘online flag’ allowing police forces to record online instances of crimes such as stalking and harassment. These data are still being developed but will be published once the data are considered to be of sufficient quality. In October 2015, the Office for National Statistics introduced new fraud and cyber questions to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. These new questions mean that we will be able to identify those crimes that had an online component and hence be able to provide estimates of cyber crime. This data will be published in due course.

    Legislation is in place to deal with internet trolls, cyber-stalking and harassment, and perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour. Through the Criminal Justice Act 2015, we improved two communications offences which can be used to prosecute misuse of social media: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, giving the police longer to investigate either offence, and increasing the maximum penalty for the former to two years imprisonment.

    Engagement with the industry is essential, and the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities, parenting groups, and government departments (Home Office, Department for Culture, Media & Sport, and Department for Education), to work in partnership to help to keep children and young people safe online. As part of this work, the UK’s Communications regulator, Ofcom, recently led a working group to develop good practice guidance for providers of social media and interactive services. Its purpose is to encourage businesses to think about “safety by design” to help make their platforms safer for children and young people under 18. This guidance was published in December 2015. A wide range of partners contributed to this project, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Ask.FM, MindCandy and Microsoft.

  • Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for Social Fund funerals were made in each year between 2010 and 2015; how many such applications were refused; and what the (a) budget and (b) lowest payment made was.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Table 1 shows the number of applications for Funeral Expenses Payments which were made and the number refused in the financial years 2010/11 to 2014/15.

    Table 1

    Applications (000)

    Initial Refusals (000)

    2010/11

    69

    34

    2011/12

    69

    36

    2012/13

    66

    34

    2013/14

    59

    27

    2014/15

    51

    24

    Data sourced from the DWP policy, Budget and Management Information System and is published in the Annual Report by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Social Fund for the relevant year.

    The budget for the Social Fund, Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) expenditure is demand-led. Legislation prescribes that payments are made to all eligible applicants. That is people responsible for arranging a funeral who meet the rules on relationships with the deceased and receive a qualifying benefit. Provision for FEPs is made by central Government through the supply estimate process, but these figures are not translated into an operational budget and do not impact eligibility or award amounts.

    In a minority of cases funeral expense payments are subsequently recovered from the deceased’s estate and in these cases the net amount can be very small. Given the small numbers involved it is not appropriate to release figures as there is a risk of identifying individuals.

  • 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 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Chinooks, (b) Sea King and (c) Lynx helicopters HMS Ocean carried on her most recent deployment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 3 February 2016 to Question 24276.

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=24276

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of the three million apprenticeships planned by 2020 are expected to be at (a) degree and (b) masters level.

    Nick Boles

    The Department does not currently publish forecasts for Apprenticeship starts by level. Information on the actual number of Apprenticeship starts reported to date, by individual level, is published as a supplementary table (first link) to a Statistical First Release (second link).

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/509999/apprenticeships-starts-by-framework-type-and-level.xls

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

    “

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the next set of National Diet and Nutrition Service data will be published.

    Jane Ellison

    The next report of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, covering data collected over two years from 2012-13 to 2013-14 for the United Kingdom as a whole, is in preparation and is expected to be published in late 2016. The report is an Official Statistic and the publication date will be pre-announced in advance in accordance with the Official Statistics Code of Practice.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether other government departments are required to provide evidence to her Department that official development assistance disbursed by that department tackling global challenges is in the national interest.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    The UK Aid Strategy set out how the government’s aid budget will be restructured to ensure that it is spent on tackling the great global challenges from the root cause of migration and disease to the threat of terrorism and climate change, all of which impact the world’s poor and directly threaten Britain’s interests. The UK Aid Strategy sets out spending and reporting requirements.

    All departments spending ODA will be required to put in place a clear plan to ensure that their programme design, quality assurance, approval, contracting and procurement, monitoring, reporting and evaluation processes represent international best practice. All UK ODA is administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective, in line with the internationally agreed rules on ODA.

    ODA-spending departments and funds must provide accurate and timely information on their ODA spending to DFID to meet OECD reporting requirements.

  • 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 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to improve the affordability of existing pension schemes for companies.

    Richard Harrington

    The Government is aware of the fact that some parts of the Defined Benefit (DB) pension sector are concerned about the current economic climate, but the situation is very mixed, and the experiences of schemes differ. We do not believe there is a systemic problem but we continually look at ways to improve the affordability of schemes.

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to update the List of Ministerial Responsibilities.

    Ben Gummer

    An updated version of the list of Ministerial Responsibilities will be published shortly.