Category: Speeches

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of resources available to (a) primary and (b) secondary school children requiring educational psychology services in each of the next five years; and how much such support will be made available during each of the next five years.

    Edward Timpson

    The responsibility for educational psychology training and services is devolved. This response relates to the current position in England.

    Local authorities are responsible for ensuring there is a sufficient supply of educational psychologists to deliver their statutory responsibilities. This includes the local authorities’ statutory duties in primary and secondary schools for assessing, monitoring and reviewing children with special educational needs.

    The Department works in partnership with local educational psychology services in the private and public sector to ensure a steady flow of educational psychologists to the workforce. As part of our assessment of the implications of the Children and Families Act 2014, the government has increased the number of funded educational psychology training places by 25% in response to the needs of educational psychology services. The cost of this training is shared with local educational psychology services. The Department contribution comes to £20,188,857 over the next five years.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to tackle online fraud.

    Mike Penning

    The Government takes fraud including online fraud incredibly seriously. That is why we established the Economic Crime Command and the National Cyber Crime Unit in the National Crime Agency to tackle the most sophisticated international cybercriminals and fraudsters. We have also made significant investment in Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, both operated by City of London Police, to improve our intelligence on fraud and provide a better disruption response.

    We are also investing in regional and local police capabilities to tackle fraud. This includes, establishing cyber teams at a regional level to support the National Crime Agency and local forces in more complex digital investigations, training police officers and staff in how to identify and secure evidence on digital devices, and launching a network of police officers to offer advice on cybercrime and fraud to individuals and businesses across the country.

    Furthermore, as the Chancellor announced on 17 November, we plan to almost double investment in cyber security, including cyber crime, to £1.9billion. Many successful frauds and cybercrimes could be prevented. Through the most recent phase of our Cyber Streetwise campaign, we are helping to educate the public and businesses on the importance of adopting simple security measures, such as installing security software and stronger passwords.

    Industry also has a role to play in fraud and cyber crime prevention. That is why we are working with the banking sector and law enforcement agencies to more effectively disrupt fraudsters and protect victims. This work will be a key part of the Government’s Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, which the Government intends to publish next year.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the second report on the IAAF of the Independent Commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency, published on 15 January 2016.

    Tracey Crouch

    The findings of the report are disturbing. The government is committed to tackling corruption in sport and we will continue working with UK Anti-Doping and sport stakeholders to ensure that our athletes can compete in a clean sport environment.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral statement of 6 March 2014, Official Report, column 1077, on nuclear submarines, how much his Department set aside for financial risk provision within the submarine programme budget in each of the last six years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    At the programme level it is approximately 10% of the budget with a further contingency fund being available centrally. Risk management is an on-going process which is forward-looking by its very nature. Financial risk provision is a dynamic element of the overall programme budget; as risks are identified, managed, mitigated and retired the associated risk provision at various levels in the Department changes.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many Instant Rewards of what value were given to his Department’s officials in each of the last five financial years.

    David Mundell

    The following provides information on the number and total value of Instant Rewards given to officials in each of the last five years.

    Year

    Instant Rewards

    Total Value

    2014-15

    0

    0

    2013-14

    0

    0

    2012-13

    0

    0

    2011-12

    4

    £115

    2010-11

    14

    £670

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the waiting time to receive an electric wheelchair through NHS Wheelchair Services after being determined eligible to receive one.

    Alistair Burt

    No data is currently available in relation to waiting times for wheelchairs for 2014-15. A new national data collection has been introduced (from July 2015) to all clinical commissioning groups to allow for transparency and benchmarking their services. Data has so far been published for quarter 2 and quarter 3 2015/16. However, this is a new collection and does not yet provide an opportunity to draw national or regional comparisons.

    The new dataset is part of the work that NHS England is taking forward in partnership with service users, carers and others to lay the foundations for improvement across the country. A tariff for wheelchairs will enable commissioners to move away from simple contracts, and so increase efficiency and better align resources with service users’ needs; support and resources for clinical commissioning groups will help them improve their commissioning of wheelchair services.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of named day written parliamentary questions have been answered after the specified date by each Minister in his Department since May 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    In an oral evidence session to the House of Commons Procedure Committee on 27th April it was noted by the Minister for Sport that though the department had experienced a dip in its performance for timeliness of answers to written questions since May 2015, there has also been a significant improvement in performance in recent months.

    The Table shows Named Day responses from 27th May 2015 to 29th April 2016:

    Minister

    Named Day Questions answered

    Number of Late Named Day Questions

    The Minister for Culture

    321

    146

    The Minister for Sport

    109

    30

  • Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Sharkey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Sharkey on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have received about the summary and non-appealable closure by UK-based banks of accounts belonging to Muslims or Muslim organisations; from whom they received those representations, if any; and what response they made.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The withdrawal of banking services from certain sectors, including NGOs and community-based organisations, is unfortunately one instance of a global problem of de-risking affecting many countries and a number of sectors. The Government is concerned about the growth of this trend and the implications it has for NGOs, economic growth, financial inclusion and financial stability. That is why the Government continues to work closely with those affected in the UK to better understand their experiences and encourage dialogue with the banking sector. The Government also encourages banks to take a risk-based approach in their activities, to ensure that the measures they take are effective and proportionate, and that they mitigate the risks they face.

    Treasury Ministers and officials receive representations and have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

    Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training staff at Tinsley House have received to ensure that they are able to work with children.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The training requirements for Home Office, custodial service provider and NHS England staff at Tinsley House pre-departure accommodation are equivalent to those for Cedars.

    As set out in Detention Services Order 19/2012 ‘Detention and Escorting Safeguarding Children policy’, updated in May 2016, all staff working with children receive suitable training, which must be at least equivalent to Tier 1 of the Home Office ‘Keeping Children Safe’.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much (a) her Department and (b) each of its arm’s length bodies has spent on staff redundancies in each of the last five years.

    George Eustice

    The cost of compulsory redundancies is set out in Defra’s Annual Report and Accounts. These are published annually on GOV.UK and links are provided below.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defras-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-annual-report-and-accounts-2012-to-2013

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2011-to-2012–6

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-report-and-accounts-2010-11

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