Category: Speeches

Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assistance the Government plans to provide to broadband suppliers to meet the terms of the Universal Services Obligation.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Universal Service Providers responsible for delivering the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) will be designated by Ofcom following changes to primary and secondary legislation. No decision has been taken yet on funding the USO’s delivery .

01/01/2023

Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many callouts have been recorded for each coastguard rescue team along the south coast from Plymouth to Selsey Bill in each of the last five years.

Mr John Hayes

The number of incidents recorded for each Coastguard Rescue Team along the south coast from Plymouth to Selsey Bill in each of the last five years is shown below:

	Bigbury	Bembridge	Beer	Berry Head	Dartmouth	Exmouth	Hope Cove	Kimmeridge
2011	15	75	37	115	52	105	28	24
2012	25	67	38	95	32	93	36	21
2013	16	60	32	86	38	54	16	7
2014	29	71	31	93	55	63	36	15
2015	20	42	26	86	20	48	78	17

	Lymington	Lulworth	Lyme Regis	Newport IOW	Portland Bill	Plymouth	Poole	Prawle
2011	88	40	46		67	73	138	23
2012	69	45	52		53	62	131	15
2013	47	42	33		58	50	95	24
2014	52	26	44		54	48	98	34
2015	48	31	43	22	40	87	71	8

	Selsey	Southampton	Swanage	Torbay	Teignmouth	Ventnor	West Bay	Wyke	Yealm
2011	1	123	133	143	89	44	38	192	18
2012		84	145	137	64	26	43	152	14
2013		69	110	124	71	40	34	119	18
2014		121	108	122	74	41	30	83	26
2015		144	81	90	66	37	29		7

01/01/2023

Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what communication has taken place between the UK Financial Ombudsman Service, the Bank of England and the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman in relation to protection for investors in Providence Bonds and Providence Bonds II.

Simon Kirby

The government is unable to comment on the communications of external bodies.

01/01/2023
Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of post-release prisoners who fatally overdose on opioids.

Ben Gummer

Information on opioid-related deaths in England following release from prison is not held centrally.

01/01/2023

Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2015-11-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the productivity levels in the UK compared with the rest of the G7 in each year since 1990.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The data is available on the ONS website, under the international Comparisons of Productivity section. For your ease, I have provided the table below:

Current price GDP per hour worked (UK=100)

Year	UK	G7 exc. UK	Year	UK	G7 exc. UK	Year	UK	G7 exc. UK
1990	100		2000	100	107	2010	100	115
1991	100	119	2001	100	108	2011	100	114
1992	100	116	2002	100	106	2012	100	116
1993	100	112	2003	100	105	2013	100	117
1994	100	111	2004	100	105	2014	100	120
1995	100	111	2005	100	106
1996	100	109	2006	100	104
1997	100	109	2007	100	106
1998	100	109	2008	100	107
1999	100	111	2009	100	110

Data are in current prices, allowing cross-country comparison of productivity for each individual year.

Source: International Comparisons of Productivity, First Estimates for 2014, ONS (Sep 2015)

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/icp/international-comparisons-of-productivity/2014—first-estimates/stb-icp0915.html

* Productivity data for the G7 are unavailable for 1990 due to the absence of comparable data for pre-reunification Germany.

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01/01/2023

Neil Parish – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Parish on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what criteria her Department plans to use to determine which biomass combined heat and power schemes receive support under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Andrea Leadsom

To be eligible for Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) support, all biomass combined heat and power (CHP) must be certified by the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance (CHPQA) scheme, and must demonstrate that they have a valid CHPQA certificate. Any installation claiming the CHP Renewable Obligation Certificate uplift will not be eligible for receiving support under the RHI scheme.

We intend to reform the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) to improve value for money and reduce costs; improve cost control and budget management; and ensure the scheme focuses more on our long-term needs, while contributing to both our carbon and renewable energy targets. We plan to consult on the changes shortly. Therefore, I am unable to make specific commitments as to the future shape of the scheme at this point.

01/01/2023
Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-01.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many commercial organisations have reached a negotiated settlement with HM Revenue and Customs on the amount of tax owed to the public purse since 2010.

Mr David Gauke

Disputes with taxpayers of all types as to the right amount of tax that is due are a normal part of tax administration. There is huge variation in the nature of tax disputes depending on the complexity of the taxpayer’s behaviour, the amount and type of tax at stake and the transactions undertaken. Under its statutory powers, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) resolves most civil tax disputes by agreement and without resorting to litigation where the settlement secures the tax that HMRC believes is due under the law. If the right amount can’t be agreed, the dispute goes to litigation at the Tribunal. For any dispute, HMRC’s decision on how it should be resolved is taken by the final appropriate decision maker with appropriate management oversight. For the majority of cases this will constitute authorisation by a case worker’s line manager. However, the most significant and sensitive cases are considered by three Commissioners.

01/01/2023
Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in her Department.

Nick Gibb

The hourly rate of pay for cleaners working in buildings managed by the Department for Education is between £7.85 and £9.15 depending on location and duration of tenure.

The Government Equality Office is based within buildings managed by the Department for Education, and therefore the same rates apply.

From 1 April 2016, the rate of pay will be increased to the 2016 Living Wage Foundation rates.

01/01/2023
Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many nationals from other EU member states have been in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance for (a) less than one month, (b) more than one month, (c) between one and three months, (d) between three and six months, (e) between six and 12 months and (f) more than 12 months.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The information requested is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Skills Funding Agency statistics on Apprenticeship Achievements by framework code, level and gender, 2002-03 to 2013-14, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the reduction in the proportion of engineering apprenticeships which were undertaken by women between 2002 and 2014.

Nick Boles

The proportion of apprenticeship starts by women on the Engineering apprenticeship framework in England decreased from 4.6 per cent in 2002/03 to 3.8 per cent in 2013/14. The volume of apprenticeship starts on this framework by women actually increased by over ten percent over this period, but there was a larger proportionate increase in male apprentices in this period.

We are encouraging more young women to enter science and engineering careers, including apprenticeships. The annual Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (TEWeek) acts a focal point to encourage them to consider a career in engineering. The Your Life campaign inspires young people to study maths and physics as a gateway to STEM careers. The STEM Ambassadors programme is a network of over 28,000 volunteers working with schools across the UK, 40% of whom are women.

We are taking action to support the growth of apprenticeships in all areas to meet our commitment to 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020. We will launch a new communications campaign in May aimed at promoting the benefits of apprenticeships. Our promotional campaigns include role models of successful female apprentices in sectors where they are under-represented.

01/01/2023