Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40727, if his Department will increase the number of its employees based in Coventry in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    In the answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40727 the reference to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in the answer was specifically to BIS HQ and not any of its agencies.

    BIS has no plans to increase the number of HQ employees in Coventry, given the decision to move to a single HQ and policy centre based in London.

    The Skills Funding Agency has a significant presence in Coventry and our estate plans include a further education funding centre whose final location is yet to be decided but will initially be in Coventry.

  • Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Jones of Whitchurch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 2016-09-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will pay the outstanding payments to farmers affected by storms Eva and Desmond last December.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    More than 1,000 applications for funding under the Farming Recovery Fund have been approved by the Rural Payments Agency (RPA).

    Farmers have until the end of December 2016 to carry out the restoration work and then submit a claim for payment to us. RPA aims to process and made payments within a month of receiving a fully completed claim.

    To date the RPA has received 358 claims for payment and 268 of these have been paid.

    RPA is waiting for the remaining 750 claims to be submitted, the majority of which are expected in October and November.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he or his Ministers have had with their Egyptian counterparts on (a) the reconstruction and repair of churches and other Christian property and (b) the granting of licences for new churches in Egypt.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There have been no recent discussions between ministers and the Egyptian government on these issues. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have discussed these issues with church representatives in Egypt. The UK remains clear that the freedom of religious belief needs to be protected and that the ability to worship in peace is a vital component of a democratic society. We look to the Egyptian government to implement the rights contained in Egypt’s constitution, which includes protections for freedom of religious belief.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to respond to Question 12142, tabled by the hon. Member for Coventry South on 15 October 2015.

    Tracey Crouch

    The Government believes that all-seater stadiums are the best means to ensure the safety and security of fans at football in England and Wales. All-seater stadiums have helped improve crowd management, crowd behaviour and policing. They also provide more comfortable facilities to enjoy football matches.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, on 13 January (HC Deb, col 845) in which he states that the Northern Powerhouse stretches from north Wales to Newcastle”

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Northern Powerhouse is part of the Government’s long-term economic plan to rebalance growth across the regions of the UK and enable the north to be greater than the sum of its parts. The exact extent of the North in the context of the Northern Powerhouse is not prescribed by the Government. The Northern Powerhouse and devolution are locally-led and it is for the local areas of the North to decide on the extent of their involvement.

  • Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with which other Government departments her officials have held discussions on their role in the delivery and monitoring of spending under the Government’s aid strategy; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UK Aid Strategy, Tackling Global Challenges in the National Interest, notes that the government will sharpen oversight and monitoring of all Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend. This will apply to all government ODA spend including through cross-government funds. HM Treasury and DFID will co-chair a working group, reporting to ministers, in order to ensure value for money. DFID officials are working with HM Treasury to agree the remit of this working group. All government departments and funds spending ODA will be invited to attend the group. The group will meet for the first time in spring 2016. In addition, DFID reports UK ODA to the OECD and is responsible for reporting to Parliament on whether the 0.7 per cent GNI/ODA target is met. As part of this, DFID engages with all ODA-spending departments to: collate and quality assure UK ODA spend data for the previous calendar year for reporting to the OECD; monitor ODA spend within each current calendar year to meet the 0.7 per cent GNI/ODA target; and make arrangements for the independent evaluation of the extent to which all ODA provided by the UK represents value for money.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many patrols of UK waters have been conducted by Border Force Cutters in each year since 2010.

    James Brokenshire

    Border Force does not record individual vessel patrols as a measure of productivity, as this does not represent the full activity of a Border Force vessel. The Border Force vessels operate 365 days per year and in accordance with the vessel capability in force at the time. Deployments include:

    – being at sea;

    – being at 30 minutes notice for sea;.

    – law enforcement work whilst in port, e.g. rummage of moored vessels; road deployments to remote wharfs and marinas

    It is not in the public interest for Border Force to disclose vessel working patterns further, as this is likely to compromise border security.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to caseworkers on handling applications from international students to study at UK colleges and universities in a way that ensures the applicants are not disadvantaged by accusation of fraud in English language tests made by ETS.

    James Brokenshire

    UK Visas and Immigration caseworkers were issued with guidance on how to handle applications made by international students who had taken ETS English language tests in February 2014. This guidance has been updated as required. This is part of the reasonable and proportionate action we have taken in response to the clear evidence provided by ETS to identify those who had sought to profit from abuse of the English language testing system. The guidance does not disadvantage students who obtained an ETS test certificate properly, but ensures that due scrutiny is being applied by caseworkers where individuals have been identified as having obtained invalid test certificates.

    We received the determination in the case of Qadir and SM from the Upper Tribunal on 8 April, providing full reasons for the summary decision handed down on 23 March. Although the Upper Tribunal found that the Home Office did discharge the evidential burden on it in establishing fraud at ETS test centres and that each appellant would need to establish an innocent explanation, it went on to allow the appeals. We are disappointed by the decision and we are currently reviewing it with a view to challenging before the Court of Appeal. Given this, there are no current plans to issue further updated guidance to caseworkers following the recent Upper Tribunal determination.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many students currently receive the NHS bursary in (a) England and (b) Manchester, Withington constituency.

    Ben Gummer

    The latest available figures provided by the NHS Business Services Authority show that there were 99,549 students attending a university in England who received an NHS Bursary payment in the financial year 2014/15. Of the students receiving an NHS Bursary payment, 48 provided their current address with a postcode in the Withington constituency of Greater Manchester.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will place in the Library a copy of his recent request to local authorities for information about those bodies’ housing stock to help determine the sale of higher value council homes.

    Brandon Lewis

    I have today placed a copy of the request to local authorities about their housing stock in the Library of the House.