Category: Speeches

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to further develop the Northern Powerhouse agenda.

    Mr David Gauke

    We have made huge progress in building a Northern Powerhouse, from investment in transport, enterprise and culture to agreeing five landmark devolution deals across the North. We remain fully committed to doing everything we can to strengthen the Northern Powerhouse, including investing £13bn in transport over the course of this parliament, further improving skills through the Northern Powerhouse Schools Strategy and encouraging even more foreign investment into the towns and cities of the North. Next year, 55% of the North’s population will vote for a mayor to oversee economic decision making in their local area.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are planning to revise the visa system for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem and Ramallah which prevents them from applying for a visa at a Visa Application Centre other than the one closest to where they live.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    There are no plans to change the visa system for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem or Ramallah.

    As set out in the Immigration Rules, applications for a visit visa or EEA family permit can be made in any visa application centre, British diplomatic mission or consular post overseas where entry clearance applications are accepted. Applications for other types of entry clearance should be made in the applicant’s country of residence. Where there is no post in the country of residence, applications should be made to the designated application post.

    There are three Visa Application Centres in the Occupied Palestinian Territories designated by the Secretary of State to accept visas applications. These are the Visa Application Centre at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem, the British Information and Services Office in Gaza City, and the British Council office in Ramallah. Applicants choose the location for their appointment to submit their application at the end of the online application process.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Brown – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2015-11-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has to ensure (a) British Overseas Territories and (b) the City of London comply with international standards for transparency in tax matters.

    Mr David Gauke

    In 2013, a major focus of the UK’s G8 Presidency was tax transparency and combatting offshore tax evasion. As part of this the UK promoted the development of a new global standard for reciprocal automatic exchange of financial account information in order to effectively tackle the global problem of tax evasion. Due in large part to the UK’s leadership, over 90 countries and jurisdictions have now committed to the new global standard – known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) – and will begin automatically exchanging information under the standard by 2017 or 2018.

    Together with the UK itself, all of the UK’s Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories with a recognised financial centre have committed to the 2017 timetable as early adopters. They will also be automatically exchanging 2014 and 2015 financial account information bilaterally with the UK in 2016. The City of London is covered by the CRS which has been implemented in UK law.

    In addition to their commitments to early adoption of the CRS, all of the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have engaged fully in the Global Forum Peer Review Process on exchange of information on request, have publicly committed to improvements in the transparency of company ownership and meet Financial Action Task Force requirements.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2015 to Question 15557, on what date her Department plans to publish updated information on free school projects that opened or were withdrawn or cancelled.

    Edward Timpson

    We intend to publish updated expenditure for free school projects in early 2016.

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which builders have been contracted to build new homes at the direct commissioning site at (a) Daedelus Waterfront, (b) Lower Grayling Well, (c) Connaught Barracks, (d) Northstowe and (e) Old Oak Common.

    Brandon Lewis

    These will be detailed commercial arrangements that will be established through a competitive procurement process. Existing public procurement processes will apply.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has undertaken or commissioned into the effect on humans of high levels of bisphenol A caused by consuming food and drinks sold in some plastic containers; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    We are advised by the Food Standards Agency, which has responsibility for food safety, that the United Kingdom’s view remains that exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA) from food contact materials does not represent a risk to consumers.

    In January 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its latest re-evaluation of BPA exposure and toxicity. EFSA’s experts concluded that BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age group (including unborn children, infants and adolescents) at current exposure levels from food contact materials.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on NHS (a) services and (b) governance of NHS England’s decision to discontinue the role of national clinical director for neurology services from March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s Medical Director, has undertaken a review of the National Clinical Director (NCD) resource designed to focus clinical advisory resources on areas where major programmes of work are currently being taking forward, or areas identified as priorities for improvement. As a result of the review, NHS England has proposed to change the way in which clinical advice is received in speciality areas in the future.

    Where there will no longer be a specific NCD role, NHS England will secure expert clinical advice from its clinical networks and through its relationships with professional bodies and by appointing clinical advisors. For neurology it is planned that access to advice will be through clinical leads and members of the NHS England-funded neurology clinical networks, the Neurology Clinical Reference Group and Royal Colleges. It is expected that these new arrangements will be in place from 1 April 2016.

  • Mark Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Garnier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Garnier on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what provision the Government has in place to provide extra funding for clinical commissioning groups to deal with increasing local pressures on social care resulting from limits on local authority resources and NHS trusts being placed on special measures.

    Alistair Burt

    The Better Care Fund gives flexibility to local areas to determine how best to invest a joint budget. Local authorities are required to agree with their local health partners how funding is best used within social care in order to best serve local people and reduce pressures on the health service.

    The total value of the Better Care Fund in 2015/16 is £5.3 billion, which includes monies provided by local authorities and health partners in 151 local areas.

    From April 2017, the Spending Review makes available additional social care funds for local government, rising to £1.5 billion by 2019/20, to be included in the Better Care Fund.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.

    Jane Ellison

    All civil servants employed by the core Department are paid via its payroll system.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average hourly earnings were of 10 Downing Street’s (a) BME and (b) non-BME employees in (i) 2015 and (ii) 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    Cabinet Office staff are paid an annual salary, not on the basis of an hourly rate.

    The Department uses a grading structure to determine annual salary rates. This is underpinned by Job Evaluation and Grading Support (JEGS), an analytical job evaluation tool which meets all requirements of legislation and EHRC statutory codes of practice on Equal Pay. The use of JEGS and its application in determining the appropriate grade for a role enables us to determine where employees are doing equal work based on “work rated as equivalent.