Category: Speeches

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year An Unholy Mess that a number of religiously selective schools have been breaking the Equality Act 2010 by directly discriminating on the basis of race or gender.

    Lord Nash

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

    We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel are expected to be deployed in support of the UN and African Union missions to Somalia.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK is preparing to deploy approximately 300 troops to the UN mission in South Sudan, focussed on providing vital engineering support. Up to 70 troops will also deploy to Somalia, as part of UN support for the African Union force building stability in the country and countering the threat posed by the terrorist group al-Shabaab.

  • Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Karl Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many directors of companies were disqualified as a result of a criminal investigation by the Serious Fraud Office in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15.

    Jeremy Wright

    In 2014-15, seven individuals were disqualified from acting as company directors following investigations by the Serious Fraud Office; and one was disqualified in 2013-14.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce (a) microbeads entering and (b) rubbish in marine environments.

    George Eustice

    The UK Marine Strategy Part Three, published in December 2015, sets out the actions we are taking to improve the marine environment. It includes measures that contribute to reducing sources of marine litter, including plastics. Given the trans-boundary nature of marine litter, we are working with other countries in the Oslo and Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North East Atlantic (OSPAR) to address marine litter.

    On microbeads in particular, Defra is working with other OSPAR countries and industry to secure the voluntary phasing-out of microplastics in personal care products. Defra is also supporting other EU Member States in calling for the European Commission to come up with proposals to ban microbeads in cosmetics and detergents.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many winter fuel payments were delayed by administrative problems in the last year for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information is not available.

    Where a customer holds an active relationship with DWP either through claiming a Winter Fuel Payment previously or being in receipt of a benefit, such as a state pension, their Winter Fuel Payment is made automatically.

    Claims are required from those where DWP does not hold the data necessary to generate an automatic payment.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rehman Chishti – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking with Police and Crime Commissioners to improve diversity in police forces.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is clear; increasing diversity in our police forces is not an optional extra. It goes right to the heart of this country’s historic principle of policing by consent. We must ensure that the public have trust and confidence in the police, and that the police reflect the communities they serve.

    The Government has reformed policing to ensure that there is a sector-led approach to making improvements, including in the area of recruitment and representation.

    The College of Policing as the professional body for policing is delivering a major piece of work -black, Asian and minority ethnic Progression 2018 – to address under-representation in policing. The Government looks forward to working with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and individual Police and Crime Commissioners as democratically elected local leaders of policing, to place a greater emphasis on this agenda and urges PCCs to consider the opportunities provided through the Police Transformation Fund.

    While the Government would expect senior commitment in all forces it is for local leaders to decide how they will deliver improvements.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-10-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Freud on 15 September (HL1460, HL1461 and HL1462), what assessment they have made of (1) the proportion of addresses held by the Department for Work and Pensions that are incorrect, and (2) the number of people who will not have received a letter informing them of the change in their state pension age.

    Lord Freud

    This information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Karl McCartney – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government support for the tourism sector in Wales.

    Alun Cairns

    In July, the Government published its 5-point plan to ensure the benefits of tourism extend beyond London and across the UK. The Welsh economy continues to benefit from a thriving tourist industry, with recent figures showing the amount spent by overseas visitors increased by £34 million over the last year.

  • Baroness Benjamin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Benjamin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Benjamin on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to address the market failure identified by Ofcom in the provision of UK children’s media content.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government recognises the important contribution children’s television makes to promoting British culture and the UK economy. In April, the Government introduced a new tax relief for children’s ‘live action’ television productions to attract inward investment and support our domestic market. We have noted the issues identified by Ofcom and will continue to monitor the sector and consider whether further measures are needed.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many defibrillators are provided in each building his Department manages.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are 15 defibrillators provided in the buildings managed by the Department for Transport.