Category: Speeches

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the case of Abdullah al-Zaher.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The British Government is very concerned about the case of Abdullah al-Zaher. We have raised this case at a senior level in the Government of Saudi Arabia. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which isn’t deemed “the most serious”. We take every opportunity to make the Saudi authorities aware of our views.

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

    Lord Lingfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lingfield on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they are taking to ensure that local offers published under the statutory duty on local authorities in the Children and Families Act 2014 meet the two key purposes set out in Chapter 4 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015.

    Lord Nash

    The Department is monitoring the implementation of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms and securing a wide range of feedback. This feedback is collected through statutory data collection; regular surveys of local authorities, parents and carers; regular inputs for the Special Educational Consortium (which represents more than 30 organisations); and reports from contractors such as the Council for Disabled Children, which provides Independent Support services in all local authority areas, and Contact a Family, which runs a national helpline for parents of children with SEND.

    The Department provides support to local areas in a range of ways, such as voluntary and community sector experts and a team of specialist SEND Advisers.

    Local authorities must include information about Personal Budgets in their Local Offers, including information on how to request one. Parents and young people have the right to request a Personal Budget for elements of an Educational Health and Care (EHC) plan; local authorities are under a duty to prepare a budget when requested. Our termly surveys collect responses on the number of EHC plans which carry a Personal Budget.

    Since April 2013, the Government has provided nearly £1.5 million in funding to a number of projects with voluntary sector organisations to develop materials to support local areas to introduce Personal Budgets. We regularly promote these projects in our communications to families and to organisations in the sector. For example, KIDS produced guidance in 2015, through the Making it Personal 2 project. The Department is currently funding KIDS to build on this project, to develop further guidance and training resources, including some specifically aimed at young people with SEND, in a range of accessible formats. The SEND Gateway, which is run by the National Association for Special Educational Needs, also offers practical resources on Personal Budgets to assist both users and professionals.

    Through our regional support networks, we have funded a number of workshops aimed at local authorities, parents and others about Personal Budgets and we will continue to offer support for of this kind.

    Following publication of the Children and Families Act 2014, the Government set out the statutory duties to which local authorities and those working with children and young people must adhere, in the SEND Code of Practice: 0-25 years[1]. The Code of Practice includes clear information on the processes of EHC plan assessment and production. The Department’s team of specialist SEND Advisers are working with local areas to improve the quality of EHC plans, and are currently leading workshops on this across England.

    The SEND Code of Practice includes clear requirements that all local authorities must meet when developing, publishing and reviewing their Local Offer. All local areas have Local Offers in place, but we recognise that the quality varies. This is another area we are monitoring through our termly surveys, our voluntary and community sector experts and specialist SEND Advisers. We have provided regular advice to local areas about how to improve the quality of Local Offers. We are confident that local authorities are working with their partner bodies and with families and young people to continue to improve their Local Offers to ensure they respond to local needs.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398815/SEND_Code_of_Practice_January_2015.pdf

    “

  • Caroline Flint – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Flint – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time; and what proportion of the (i) number and (ii) value of contracts between his Department and private companies are held by SMEs.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP does not hold the information to answer ‘what proportion of his Department’s invoices for goods and services supplied by (a) private companies and (b) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are completed on time.’

    However, the figures below are published monthly and quarterly on Gov.UK and confirm DWP’s commitment to paying invoices within 30 days (contractual) and 5 days. We cannot disaggregate the invoices into SMEs and other private companies.

    2015-16 (Financial Year)

    Percentage of invoices paid within 5 days

    Percentage of invoices paid within 30 days

    Quarter 1

    97.3%

    99.8%

    Quarter 2

    95.5%

    99.7%

    Quarter 3

    97.5%

    99.8%

    At December 2015, 2534 (9.3%) of the Department’s suppliers were SMEs.

    At December 2015, SMEs accounted for 2.5% of the Department’s direct commercial spend. However, there is a substantially greater proportion of commercial spend with SMEs via prime contractors. The Department relies upon Cabinet Office survey information in order to estimate the combined total spend with SMEs. The most recent combined total estimate we have (2014/15), is 16.2% of the total or some £483 million.

  • 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 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to Question 30768, what the expected date was for finishing the transition to universal credit after completion of the reset in May 2013.

    Priti Patel

    The Department reset the Universal Credit Programme and set a new timetable. This was developed for the Strategic Outline Business Case and was then finalised as part of the Outline Business Case and Spending Review 15 process in late 2015. Parliament was kept regularly informed throughout the development of the timetable.

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost of moving Bedford County Court from Shire Hall, St Paul’s Square, Bedford, to the Employment Tribunal building in Howard Street, Bedford.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The enabling works of moving Bedford County Court to the Employment Tribunal building will be subject to a tendering process. The disclosure of any estimate of costs is therefore commercially confidential.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department exceeded its expenditure limit in 2015-16.

    Alistair Burt

    Confirmation of the spending outturn against all expenditure limits will be provided in the Department of Health’s Annual Report and Accounts 2015-16, due to be published in July 2016.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Attorney General, on how many occasions the Law Officers referred a criminal sentence to the Court for Appeal for review on the grounds that it was unduly harsh in the last 12 months.

    Robert Buckland

    Whilst the Attorney General’s Office can ask the Court of Appeal to review a sentence which is considered to be unduly lenient, the Law Officers have no power to intervene when a sentence is too harsh. Therefore there have been no referrals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that a sentence was unduly harsh.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will assess the balance of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme surplus-sharing arrangements.

    Jesse Norman

    The existing surplus-sharing arrangements have worked well to date. The presence of the Guarantee has given the Trustees, who are responsible for managing the Scheme and are independent of Government, the freedom to invest in a way that has generated surpluses and, as a consequence, bonuses to members.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what data his Department collects on the (a) demographics, (b) pension pot size and (c) decisions taken after the consultation of people accessing the Pension Wise service.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government committed to providing free, impartial guidance through Pension Wise, to help people make informed and confident decisions about how they use their defined contribution pension savings in retirement. It is available online, via the telephone and face to face. As of 29 October 2015, there were over 20,000 completed appointments for face to face guidance and 9,000 completed appointments for telephone guidance as well as over 1.7 million visits to the website.

    Pension Wise runs exit surveys of those who have completed an appointment It is not mandatory for a user to complete an exit survey. The government is committed to being open and transparent with Pension Wise data and will be making core data readily available by placing it on the government performance platform this autumn. The data will be in the public domain and updated regularly. HM Treasury is working with Pension Wise delivery partners to provide the level of detail that we require for reporting purposes.

    The Financial Conduct Authority, in line with its remit to protect consumers and ensure markets function in consumers’ interests, is monitoring developments in the retirement income market closely and has committed to take action where consumers are coming to harm or where the market is not operating competitively.

    The government recognises that people may wish to consult different sources of information before reaching a decision about their retirement income. In addition to Pension Wise, The Pension Advisory Service (TPAS) provides independent, impartial information and guidance about pensions, free of charge, to members of the public. The Money Advice Service also provides free and unbiased information and guidance on all money matters.

    A number of pension providers offer financial guidance. Individuals can also access regulated advice from an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority are jointly considering how financial advice could be made more accessible and affordable for consumers through the Financial Advice Market Review.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners undergoing a transition from male to female gender have been placed in the female estate prior to receiving legal recognition of that change of gender.

    Caroline Dinenage

    This information is not held centrally and as my Honourable Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation, committed to the House on 20 November, my Department will publish data on the number of trans people in prison in due course.