Category: Speeches

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost has been of provision of free school meals by region in each of the last three years.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Schools in England fund free school meals out of the overall resources available to them. Since September 2014, all infant pupils in maintained schools in England have been entitled to free school meals, regardless of parental income. The government does provide specific funding to schools to pay for meals for infant pupils who are not eligible for benefits-related FSM. The breakdown of this funding is available at school level for financial year 2014-15 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-provisional-funding-allocations-2014-to-2015; and for financial year 2015-16 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-infant-free-school-meals-uifsm-funding-allocations-2015-to-2016.

    “

  • David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Nuttall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Nuttall on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) Government’s net contribution to EU institutions and (b) UK’s current account balance with those institutions in 2014; and what estimate the European Commission has made of that contribution and that account balance.

    Mr David Gauke

    Both Government and European Commission outturn figures for the UK’s net contribution to the EU Budget in 2014 can be found in European Union Finances 2015 (Cm 9167), Tables 3A and 3C respectively. Since outturn figures are available there is no estimate. The difference between the two figuresis primarily due to the fact that Government figures include only receipts administered by UK Government Departments. The European Commission figures include both these receipts and also those which are paid directly to UK private sector beneficiaries such as universities and small and medium sized enterprises.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on claimants of the time which elapses between a claim for universal credit and the first payment of that benefit.

    Priti Patel

    Many people who claim Universal Credit have come from the world of employment and have final earnings or other income to support themselves until their first benefit payment. With Universal Credit all claimants can get help with budgeting and those in financial need can ask for a Universal Credit advance.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the imprisonment of Ingabire Umuhoza Victoire in Rwanda; and if he will make a statement.

    James Duddridge

    We have been clear in our public and private dialogue with the government of Rwanda that the social and economic progress it has delivered must be mirrored by gains in civil and political rights for its people. This means cultivating a society where a strong opposition and vibrant civil society can flourish. Opposition parties, and their leaders, must be able to operate freely holding the government to account and pushing for change.

    We have been monitoring the case of Opposition Coalition Leader Victoire Ingabire closely through our High Commission in Kigali since her arrest in 2010. We will continue to stress our grave concern regarding all cases of arbitrary detention and arrest, including that of Mrs Ingabire, to the government of Rwanda.

  • 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 2016-07-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are considering requiring the providers of pension annuities to increase the rate at which they calculate benefits.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Annuity rates are set by individual providers and can vary in line with market conditions. The amount of income an individual gets each year from an annuity depends on a variety of factors including how much they had in their pension pot when they bought the annuity, whether they are seeking a joint annuity, and their age, health and lifestyle.

    As a result of this government’s pensions reforms, individuals aged 55 and over with a defined contribution pension are now able to make their own choice about how to use their pension savings. The Government’s Pension Wise service provides free, impartial guidance to help people understand their options.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the mental health crisis care concordat in improving cooperation between mental health services, non-mental health NHS services and other government services.

    Nicola Blackwood

    MIND, which has been supporting implementation of the national Mental Health Crisis Care Concordat, commissioned an evaluation of the work being undertaken to implement the national statement. This included an assessment of how local partners were working together to improve the experience of people in mental health crisis.

    The evaluation report, which was published in January 2016, can be found at the following link:

    http://www.crisiscareconcordat.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CCC-Evaluation_Report.pdf

    “

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what involvement her Department has had in the grant originally made available to the Pioneer Communities Project that was administered through her Department.

    Edward Timpson

    No grant funding was made available by the Department for Education to support the Pioneer Communities Project.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legally owned .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles have been used in criminal offences in each of the last 10 years in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland.

    Mike Penning

    I can confirm that the information requested on the number of .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles held by certificate holders in England and Wales is available. However, as it takes time to extract this information from our systems, I will write separately with our response and place a copy of the reply in the House Library.

    The licensing of firearms in Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Scotland and the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland. Information in respect of firearms in those jurisdictions is not held centrally by the Home Office.

    I am unable to provide the information requested on the number of legally owned .22 calibre semi-automatic rifles used in criminal offences as it is not collected centrally.

  • 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 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many seafarer (a) cadets and (b) ratings were trained by shipping companies operating in the UK in each year since 2000-01.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) does not collate figures for seafarer cadets and ratings who have been trained by shipping companies operating in the UK.

    However, the MCA does collate the number of new cadets, the number of cadets in training and the number of trainee watch ratings who start training each year and these can be found in the tables below.

    The figures in Table 1 show the number of cadets supported by the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme who started training in each year since 2000-01.

    Year

    Officer cadets currently in training

    Number of which are SMarT1 new entrants

    2000/01

    1020

    470

    2001/02

    1010

    450

    2002/03

    1000

    560

    2003/04

    1030

    660

    2004/05

    1050

    560

    2005/06

    1110

    570

    2006/07

    1430

    690

    2007/08

    1700

    850

    2008/09

    1800

    930

    2009/10

    1830

    750

    2010/11

    1840

    850

    2011/12

    1900

    900

    2012/13

    1990

    780

    2013/14

    1940

    790

    2014/15

    1920

    820

    Table 1: UK officer cadets under SMarT1 scheme (1999-2015)

    These figures are derived from SMarT returns for SMarT1 training and may include a small number of EU trainees resident in the UK. Numbers are rounded to nearest 10.

    The figures in Table 2 below show the number of watch rating trainees who have been supported by SMarT each year since 2011-12. The data held by the MCA for ratings training prior to 2011-12 includes concessionaire training and does not provide an accurate reflection of watch rating training.

    Year

    Watch Rating Trainees

    2011/12

    32

    2012/13

    13

    2013/14

    12

    2014/15

    4
  • Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the application of the rule of law in the Maldives.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 3 February 2016 (PQ 24568) regarding the UK Government’s concern about the erosion of judicial independence in the Maldives.