Category: Speeches

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people who applied to join the Army Reserve in 2015 had their applications withdrawn on medical grounds.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Candidates applying to join the Army Reserve are assessed against the same medical eligibility standards as those joining the Regular Army. Candidates withdrawn on medical grounds may be rejected, deferred for set periods of time, or withdraw voluntarily citing medical reasons. The total number of candidates to the Army Reserve who had their applications withdrawn on medical grounds in 2015 is 7,920. This total has been rounded to the nearest 10 in accordance with Defence Statistics policy.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will place in the Library a copy of the application made by Twynham Learning Federation to establish a new primary academy in West Christchurch which is proposed to open from September 2016 and a copy of her response.

    Edward Timpson

    The Secretary of State is happy to make available the proposal by Twynham Learning Federation and also a copy of the decision letter signed by Sir David Carter, the former Regional Schools Commissioner for the South West. These documents will be published on the department’s website in May, along with other successful central free school applications.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost to HM Revenue and Customs is of administering probate.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Ministry of Justice is responsible for administering probate.

    The amount of fee income accrued to the public purse in probate fee charges (after remission) increased from £19m in 2013/14 to £41.5m in 2014/15 following fee increases introduced in April 2014.

    The annual cost to the Ministry of Justice of administering probate in 2014/15 was £42.5m.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 1.89 of Budget 2016, how much of the £20 million a year of new funding for a Northern Powerhouse school strategy she expects will be directly received by schools in Lancashire.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The allocation of this funding will depend on the identified need and will be reassessed each year, based on the evidence. We intend to build on the Department’s strategy for Achieving Excellence Areas, as identified in our recent White Paper.

    Decisions on allocation of funding for the 16-17 financial year will be made by the autumn of this year and will be informed by the emerging findings of the review by Sir Nick Weller.

    We will be publishing the terms of reference for Sir Nick Weller’s report in due course.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the total (a) cost of monitoring and (b) number of full-time equivalent officials of her Department supporting the emergency authorisation period for neonicotinoid pesticides which expired on 20 November 2015.

    George Eustice

    Defra has not made any such estimates.

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the education of girls in developing countries.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    The UK is strongly committed to providing education for girls. The UK’s flagship Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) programme is the world’s largest global fund dedicated to girls’ education. UKAID has supported over 6.6 million girls in developing countries to receive a quality education, of whom 1.6 million were at particularly high risk of missing out.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether his Department has had discussions with representatives from Japan on arrangements for Japanese pharmaceutical companies in the UK.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for International Trade (DIT) works with new investors from Japan as well as Japanese companies across many sectors that have a UK presence. The Life Sciences Organisation (LSO) in this Department as well as the overseas market team in Japan have been engaging directly with Japanese pharmaceutical companies in Japan and those with a UK footprint. We welcome engagement from Japan and senior officials will continue to engage in a structured way on all levels.

  • Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Douglas Carswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the location of imprisonment of transgender prisoners.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Prison Service Instruction 07/2011 sets out NOMS policy on the care and management of prisoners who live or propose to live in a gender other than the one assigned at birth. Prisoners are normally placed according to their legally recognised gender. However, the guidelines allow room for discretion and senior prison staff will review the circumstances of every case in consultation with medical and other experts in order to protect the physical and emotional wellbeing of the person concerned along with the safety and wellbeing of other prisoners.

    A review of the current policy on transgender and transsexual prisoners began earlier this year and revised policy guidance will be issued to reflect NOMS’ responsibilities to transgender offenders in the community as well as in custody. The intention is to implement the guidance early in the New Year.

  • Baroness Afshar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Afshar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Afshar on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Islamophobia on Muslim communities in the UK.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Everyone in Britain has the right to feel safe and at ease in the place where they live. There is no place for hatred against people because of their race, gender, ethnic origin, faith, sexual orientation, age or disability.

    Anti-Muslim attacks rose 30-40% in the first two weeks after the Paris attacks. These attacks are unacceptable in Britain. The Government funds Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) to encourage reporting of these crimes and to support victims. We have also set up the first cross Government Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group to raise awareness of Islamaphobic attacks. In addition, the Prime Minister announced that the police will disaggregate hate crime by religion beginning in April 2016. This will help the police to build community trust, target their resources and enable the public to hold them to account.

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned expenditure is on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Army and (b) Army Reserve in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, (iii) 2017-18, (iv) 2018-19 and (v) 2019-20.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The expenditure, or planned expenditure, of each Service on television recruitment campaigns in Financial Year (FY) 2015-16 is as follows:

    Naval Service – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £4.3 million for Regular personnel and £0.72 million for Reserves.

    Army – planned expenditure is £0.94 million for Regular personnel and £0.65 million for Reserves.

    Royal Air Force (RAF) – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £3.46 million. It is not possible to differentiate between Regular and Reserve spend as the majority of RAF advertisements are targeted towards both cadres.

    Plans for expenditure in FY 2016-17 and onwards have not been finalised.