Category: Speeches

  • Kwasi Kwarteng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kwasi Kwarteng – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kwasi Kwarteng on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is his policy to expand London’s transport zones to include (a) Spelthorne constituency and (b) other new areas inside the M25 orbital that do not use the oyster system.

    Claire Perry

    The Travelcard map, showing the zone in which each station falls, is set out as part of the Travelcard Agreement between the Train Operating Companies and Transport for London (TfL). Any changes to station zones must be proposed by a signatory to the Agreement and then agreed by the remaining signatories. The government is not a signatory to the Agreement and therefore has no role in proposing such changes to station zones.

    Once a change is proposed by TfL and the Train Operating Companies, the Department for Transport can approve or reject the change proposals. This decision is made by the Secretary of State for Transport, on the basis of a business case and other wider policy and initiatives that may be considered at the time. If the proposal does not represent good value for money, it would be unlikely to get approval. It would be inappropriate for the Government to promote or back any proposals outside of this established process.

    In the current rail franchising contracts there are commitments for train operators to bring forward proposals to extend Oyster and Contactless to Swanley, Epsom, Hertford North, Luton Airport Parkway and Welwyn Garden City. The Secretary of State will consider these proposals on their individual merits when they have been developed and submitted in accordance with the process set out above.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions he has had with Sir John Chilcot on the publication date of the Iraq Inquiry.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    None.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the epileptic drug Briviact will be available on the NHS.

    George Freeman

    Briviact (brivaracetam) became available on the National Health Service following its launch in the United Kingdom in February 2016. It is for clinicians to decide whether to prescribe it to patients.

    In the absence of guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence, such as clinical trials or peer-reviewed publications.

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 35843, whether chapels owned and administered by the Ministry of Defence are part of the pilot project exploring the registration of civil marriages and partnerships, including same-sex unions.

    Penny Mordaunt

    No chapels owned or administered by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) are part of the pilot project exploring the registration of civil marriages and partnerships or same-sex unions.

    The MOD supports same-sex marriage and is committed to ensuring that couples are not disadvantaged by their service. We have concluded a study of serving LGBT personnel to obtain their view on this matter.

    Should a same-sex military couple wish to have a civil marriage ceremony on the Defence Estate, it is a requirement that the same access must be granted to all members of the public. The project is attempting to indentify suitable sites for this purpose.

    Should a same-sex couple from the Armed Forces wish to get married in a military Chapel they must follow the rules surrounding the marriage of same sex couples (Military or Civilian) in Military chapels, which are laid out in ‘The Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Use of Armed Forces’ Chapels) Regulations 2014′. At present none of the Churches that send Chaplains to the Armed Forces have opted into the provision of marriage for same-sex couples. Some may seek to change their policy in the future.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing incentives to encourage householders to have outdoor charging points provided at their premises to encourage the uptake of electric cars.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government already offers grants of up to £500 towards the cost of installing a chargepoint at home, through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme. All available evidence suggests that electric vehicle drivers prefer to charge at home and at work. Reducing the cost of homecharging removes a potential barrier to uptake and allows owners to charge conveniently and at low cost. Dedicated home chargepoints will also play an important role in the smarter, more dynamic charging and electricity grid.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have had housing support terminated following a failed asylum claim in (a) Liverpool, Wavertree constituency, (b) Liverpool, (c) Merseyside and (d) England in each year since 2010.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Information on numbers of cases who have had support terminated broken down by reason for cessation and by area of the UK, is unavailable and could be produced only at a disproportionate cost.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to deliver a faster payments infrastructure.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Faster Payment Scheme (FPS) launched in 2008 and provides near-instant settlement for over one billion payments that consumers and businesses make every year.

    FPS is one of the eight payment systems regulated by the new Payment Systems Regulator – which the Government launched in 2015, equipped with powers to ensure that UK payment systems are competitive and innovative. A key part of the PSR’s work is to ensure that UK payment systems work efficiently to deliver benefits for the individuals and firms that use them.

    The Government is also working with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Project Innovate – which looks to foster and support innovative financial technology (“FinTech”) firms, including firms that offer customers new and efficient ways to make payments in the UK.

  • Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps an academy school is legally required to take if it has a budget deficit.

    Lord Nash

    An academy trust is required by its funding agreement with the Secretary of State to balance its budget from each academy financial year to the next. Where the board of trustees of an academy is formally proposing to set a deficit budget for the current financial year, which it is unable to address after unspent funds from previous years are taken into account, it must notify the Education Funding Agency (EFA) within 14 days.

    The EFA may issue a trust with a Financial Notice to Improve (FNtI) in cases of a deficit or projected deficit, setting out the actions it requires the trust to take. The trust must comply with all the terms of the FNtI which would include a requirement to implement a recovery plan to secure financial stability.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 14108, whether the Government has imposed binding conditions in previous privatisations.

    Anna Soubry

    A body such as the Green Investment Bank can only be classified to the private sector if it is not subject to significant government control over its corporate policy. That includes any control Government has over the body in terms of legislation, regulation and its contractual agreements.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the Treaty of Le Touquet; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Le Touquet Treaty is crucial to maintaining the UK’s border security. We meet regularly with our French Counterparts to discuss border security issues and look forward to further cementing our close cooperation at the upcoming UK-France summit on 3 March.