Category: Speeches

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received from civil society organisations on the admissions criteria of faith schools; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb

It is the role of the Schools Adjudicator, not the Secretary of State, to consider concerns about school admission arrangements. Where a person or body has concerns that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the School Admissions Code, they may refer an objection to the Adjudicator. The Adjudicator must consider whether the arrangements comply with the Code and the law relating to admissions.

It has been possible for groups such as civil society organisations to refer objections since 2012. Since then, the Adjudicator has received objections from a range of groups or organisations about the admission arrangements of faith schools.

01/01/2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many organisations have withdrawn from the Responsibility Deal since May 2015.

Jane Ellison

Two organisations have withdrawn from the Responsibility Deal since May 2015.

Information about the Deal and the partners that have signed up to it can be found at:

https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/

“

01/01/2023
Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-04-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the smallest amount of unpaid tax that has led to a criminal prosecution in the UK in the last 10 years.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The information is not held in the form requested.

The smallest amount of revenue loss prevented in respect of individuals prosecuted between 2011/12 and 2014/15 is £162. The person prosecuted was a member of aircrew who attempted to bring 600 cigarettes into the UK without declaring them, thus attempting to evade the correct excise duty on them. Aircrew are deemed to hold privileged positions due to their unrestricted airport access and HM Revenue and Customs has a zero tolerance approach to prosecution should they not declare dutiable goods when entering the UK.

01/01/2023
Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent reports he has received on the detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Hammond

We have repeatedly raised this matter with Iran. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and as such does not grant us consular access in these cases. We have therefore not been given any details about Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s detention. We understand that she has now been released from solitary confinement. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) raised our concerns this week with the Iranian Chargé d’affaires.

01/01/2023
Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish any research it holds on attendance allowance claimants and how such claimants use that funding.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department publishes its research and statistics on Gov.uk, with links to research available on https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/research. There are no current plans to publish any further research on Attendance Allowance claimants outside the regular statistical publications it produces.

“

01/01/2023
Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-09-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safety of users of the M4 motorway following the removal of the hard shoulders, and what arrangements will be made for the emergency services to have urgent and easy access to the motorway in the event of accidents and other incidents.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The M4 Junctions 3 to 12 smart motorway scheme incorporates the following features to ensure safety is maintained:
- 100% CCTV coverage to monitor traffic conditions including during incidents
- Enforcement cameras to improve speed limit compliance which contributes to reducing the risk and severity of incidents
- Emergency Refuge Areas at an average spacing of 1¼ miles as it is likely that the majority of all breakdowns will be able to reach one
- Overhead variable message signs for instructions and information to drivers
This allows Highways England to create an emergency lane or lanes on any lane on the motorway, with signs and signals to provide access for the emergency services or traffic officers.
01/01/2023
Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department’s priorities are for the Clean Growth Committee; what role she will have on that committee; and whether that committee will consider her Department’s air quality consultation.

Rory Stewart

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster chairs an inter-Ministerial group on Clean Growth, which considers issues relating to air quality and decarbonisation where these have a cross-Departmental aspect. Its members include Ministers and officials from the relevant Departments, including Defra, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Transport and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with Four Seasons Health Care on the financial sustainability of that provider.

Alistair Burt

Up to September 2015, officials from the Department met with representatives from the five largest residential care providers on a quarterly basis to understand their financial position. This included Four Seasons Health Care.

From September 2015, responsibility for overseeing the finances of these providers passed on to the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Market Oversight team. CQC can confirm that it is operating the Market Oversight Regime in line with the published guidance ‘Market Oversight of difficult to replace providers of adult social care’ that can be found on CQC’s website at:

http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/market-oversight-adult-social-care

“

01/01/2023

Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of applications for Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks (a) nationally, (b) in London and (c) in Dulwich and West Norwood constituency met each of the service’s published service standards for waiting times in each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley

The following tables show (a) the proportion of applications for enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks that met the Published Service Standards for waiting times nationally and (b) for applications received from people residing in London postcodes in each Financial Year from April 2010 to November 2015.

Table A

Period	Total Apps Despatched	21 Calendar Day Target	21 Day Achievement	56 Calendar Day Target	56 Day Achievement
Apr-10 to Mar-11	4,124,609	85%	65.8%	95%	86.6%
Apr-11 to Mar-12	3,813,114	85%	88.4%	95%	96.7%
Apr-12 to Mar-13	3,801,064	85%	86.5%	95%	98.6%
Apr-13 to Mar-14	3,715,222	85%	84.3%	95%	97.3%
Apr-14 to Mar-15	3,833,149	85%	84.3%	95%	94.8%
Apr-15 to Nov-15	2,704,993	85%	85.5%	95%	94.6%

Table B

Period	Total Apps Despatched	21 Calendar Day Target	21 Day Achievement	56 Calendar Day Target	56 Day Achievement
Apr-10 to Mar-11	395,164	85%	28.5%	95%	55.0%
Apr-11 to Mar-12	363,887	85%	76.6%	95%	88.8%
Apr-12 to Mar-13	358,900	85%	78.7%	95%	97.9%
Apr-13 to Mar-14	356,883	85%	78.0%	95%	95.4%
Apr-14 to Mar-15	371,608	85%	79.5%	95%	87.6%
Apr-15 to Nov-15	257,410	85%	81.9%	95%	85.0%

The DBS is working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to improve its performance. An MPS Gold Group is overseeing the recovery plan and exploring all opportunities to process cases quickly, including the recruitment of additional staff. It is not possible to provide the figure for applications from Dulwich and West Norwood as this information is not collected.

01/01/2023

David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of her Department were in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom

The average hourly earnings of (a) female, (b) male, (c) full-time and (d) part-time employees of DECC for each of the last five years are set out in the table below:

Year	Average hourly earnings (£)
Female	Male	Full-time	Part-time
2011	23.80	25.80	24.70	25.70
2012	23.80	25.80	24.70	26.00
2013	22.80	25.80	24.30	25.40
2014	23.30	25.50	24.40	25.40
2015	23.20	25.70	24.30	26.80

“

01/01/2023