Category: Speeches

  • Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to his oral Answer of 22 October 2015, Official Report, column 445WH, what steps he has since taken to try and persuade the parties to the conflict to adopt an immediate ceasefire in Yemen.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The UK is actively supporting the UN’s efforts to achieve a lasting ceasefire and return to the political transition in Yemen, and I welcome the recent announcement by the UN Special Envoy of the Secretary General for Yemen on upcoming talks. All Yemeni parties should engage without preconditions and in good faith in these talks to allow Yemen to move towards a sustainable peace. I therefore welcome President Hadi’s announcement confirming the readiness of the Government of Yemen to participate in the consultations. I discussed the need to accelerate the political process in Yemen, as well as humanitarian issues, with President Hadi in September; with King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir of Saudi Arabia during a visit to Riyadh in October; and with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed also in October.

  • Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Henry Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average saving to passengers of capping regulated rail fare rises to RPI+0 until 2020; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    This Government is investing record amounts in transforming the UK rail network, improving journeys for everyone. At the same time, we are committed to ensuring the economic security of hard-working families. Fares continue to play a role in this, and we recognise that no one likes to see the cost of their rail travel rise.

    That is why the Government has put a stop to above inflation (RPI) fare increases on regulated rail fares until 2020. This extends the cap on regulated rail fares put in place for 2014 and 2015. This means people’s earnings will, on average, rise more quickly than regulated rail fares for the first time since 2003 and an average saving of £425 to annual season ticket holders over the next five years.

    This is a vital part of our long-term economic plan for Britain’s railways: delivering a bigger, better network with improved services – all while getting more out of every taxpayer’s pound we spend.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many apprentices with special educational needs or disabilities have not completed their NHS apprenticeship placements.

    Nick Boles

    The table below shows this information for apprenticeship frameworks that are related to the transport Industry.

    Table 1: Apprenticeship success rates for learners with a learning difficulty or disability on frameworks related to the transport industry (2013/14)

    Frameworks

    Overall Success Rate

    Aviation Operations on the Ground

    85.7%

    Driving Goods Vehicles

    70.7%

    Rail Transport Engineering

    81.0%

    Road Passenger Transport – Bus and Coach

    81.0%

    Transport Engineering and Maintenance

    96.2%

    Vehicle Body and Paint Operations

    58.3%

    Vehicle Fitting

    68.8%

    Vehicle Maintenance and Repair

    67.0%

    Vehicle Parts Operations

    72.2%

    Notes

    1) Frameworks with fewer than 20 leavers are excluded.

    2) Figures for learning difficulties or disabilities are based on self-declaration by the learner

    The Department does not collect the information required to estimate 5 per cent club or NHS apprenticeship success rates.

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

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they intend to respond to the report by 4Children Britain’s Families Thriving or Striving?, and in particular the surveyed views of young people aged 16–24 that they wanted more political education in schools.

    Lord Nash

    The new national curriculum includes an improved programme of study for citizenship education at key stages 3 and 4. The programme of study is designed to prepare pupils to play a full and active part in society and fosters political awareness. In citizenship lessons, pupils learn about democracy, government, and how laws are made and upheld. These lessons should equip pupils to explore political and social issues critically, to weigh evidence, to debate, and to make reasoned arguments.

    In partnership with youth organisations, the Cabinet Office has published a collection of democratic engagement learning resources developed in partnership with organisations such as UK Youth and Scottish Youth Parliament. They are designed to enable different groups, including young people and students, to discuss the importance of democratic participation and registering to vote. These learning resources, such as Rock Enrol!, are available to download for free and can be used in schools to encourage young people to participate in democracy and register to vote.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 February (HL5864), whether the term UK troops includes members of 13 Squadron, based at RAF Waddington, and of 39 Squadron, based at Creech Air Force Base in the US.

    Earl Howe

    This Government has demonstrated its commitment to the war powers convention by its willingness to hold Parliamentary debates in relation to air strikes in Iraq and Syria in 2013, 2014 and 2015. However, we have no intention of defining the precise circumstances, including the identity of specific military units, capabilities or types of operation, under which we might be obliged to act first and to notify Parliament afterwards, in order to avoid presenting our adversaries with opportunities to exploit that definition against the UK or our interests.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of in work personal independence payment (PIP) claimants who will no longer be able to work as a result of his Department’s proposed changes to PIP aids and appliances points.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Pensions Regulator will appoint an investment bank and retail consultancy to support its investigation into the events preceding BHS going into administration.

    Baroness Altmann

    Parliament gave the Pensions Regulator independence in how it operates. It is for the Regulator to determine how it wishes to undertake any investigation into matters relating to the BHS pension scheme.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to enable environmental health officers to assess excessive noise in a neighbourhood on a daily basis.

    Rory Stewart

    Local authorities have a range of powers available to them to assess excessive noise from residential and commercial properties. These are set out in various pieces of legislation, including the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Noise Act 1996.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights record of the government of Bangladesh; and if he will make a statement.

    Alok Sharma

    As I said during the adjournment debate on Bangladesh on 8 September, we are concerned about the protection of human rights in Bangladesh. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office named Bangladesh as one of 30 Human Rights Priority Countries in its 2015 report. The report cited the confrontational actions of the two main political parties, extremist attacks against secular writers and religious minorities and pressure on free speech, plus continued use of the death penalty as particular areas of concern.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the average length of time people going through the National Referral Mechanism remain supported by the Salvation Army following a Reasonable Grounds decision, in each fiscal year since 2009-10.

    Sarah Newton

    This information has been provided by the Salvation Army.

    YEAR, JULY-JUNE

    AVE. SUPPORT PERIOD, DAYS

    2011-2012

    91

    2012-2013

    115

    2013-2014

    80

    2014-2015

    130

    2015-2016

    129

    This data only includes individuals who have received a Conclusive Grounds decision and have exited support.