Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the situation in Eastern Ukraine; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Lidington

    The security situation in eastern Ukraine remains fragile, although a ceasefire agreed in September continues largely to hold following an order issued by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ chief-of-staff on 25 November not to return fire unless in self-defence. Progress on the Minsk peace process was made at a Normandy-format Foreign Ministers’ meeting on 6 November, including agreements on the withdrawal of heavy weapons and de-mining. However these now need to be fully implemented alongside the ceasefire being fully respected.

    A report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 9 December reported that the total death toll since mid-April 2014 is at least 9,098, with another 20,732 injured. The report also reveals that serious human rights abuses against people in the separatist-held areas continue, including killings, torture, ill-treatment, illegal detention and forced labour, lack of freedom of movement, assembly and expression. An estimated 2.9 million people living in the conflict area continue to face difficulties in exercising their economic and social rights, in particular access to quality medical care. The already dire humanitarian situation is exacerbated by the lack of access to these areas by international humanitarian organisations. Sustained and unimpeded access by humanitarian organisations to these areas is vital.

    I expressed my concern at the situation in Ukraine in a statement at the OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel on 3 December, where I called on the Russian Federation to withdraw their weapons and personnel, and use their considerable influence over the separatist leadership in order to bring an end to the crisis. I also raised the Government’s concerns about the situation in Eastern Ukraine with Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Titov in Moscow on 22 December.

  • 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 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many recruitment and employment agencies his Department has used to source staff in each year since 2010-11.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office used two recruitment agencies to source staff since 2010-11.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of his Department’s fiscal policies on the financial position of women.

    Harriett Baldwin

    In line with the Equality Act and the Government’s strong commitment to gender equality, ministers carefully consider the impacts for women when developing fiscal and other policies.

    It is equally important for the future finances of both women and men that we have chosen to tackle the deficit; other Government policies including increases in the income tax personal allowance, the simplified state pension, auto enrolment into pensions, the National Living Wage, and free and tax-free childcare are also especially beneficial to women.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of changes to Health Education England funding on training in (a) child psychotherapy, (b) clinical psychotherapy; and on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

    Ben Gummer

    Higher Education training in child psychotherapy, clinical psychotherapy and Improving Access to Psychological Therapies is not currently eligible for NHS Bursary funding and, as such, is not subject to the healthcare education funding reforms.

    The Government will be consulting shortly on healthcare education funding reform as announced in the November 2015 Spending Review and respondents to the consultation may wish to raise issues relating to courses operated outside of the remit of these reforms. The Government will consider these in the context of its consultation response.

    Health Education England (HEE) funding for psychological therapy training is currently determined at a local level based on local need. For 2016-17 HEE will fund those commissions set out in the HEE Commissioning and Investment Plan for 2016-17 which was published in December 2015. HEE’s plans for training child psychotherapists, clinical psychotherapists and Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (low intensity and high intensity practitioners) remain unchanged from 2015-16, with 43, 526 and 946 proposed commissions respectively.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many times she has attended public meetings of the International Development Committee since her appointment.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Ministerial attendance at public meetings of the International Development Committee is a matter of public record. Details can be found online at http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/international-development-committee/formal-minutes/

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  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the total cost of Trident renewal over the lifespan of the Successor-class submarines, including in-service costs and decommissioning.

    Earl Howe

    As stated in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, our latest cost estimate for manufacturing the four submarines of the Successor submarine programme is £31 billion, plus a contingency of £10 billion. This includes an assessment of the likely inflation over the lifetime of the programme and the risks appropriate for a project at this stage.

    Once the new fleet of ballistic missile submarines comes into service, we expect that the in-service costs of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, which include the costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, basing and disposals, will be similar to the current system, at around six per cent of the defence budget.

    While we have no plans to replace the current Trident D5 missile, we are participating with our US partners in a programme to extend their lifespan to the 2060s. The estimated cost is around £250 million.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what new measures she is implementing to encourage take-up of teacher training.

    Nick Gibb

    The latest published figures from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service show that teaching remains a hugely popular profession; nearly 28,000 people have been recruited to postgraduate teacher training courses in England in 2016/17, with several weeks of the recruitment cycle remaining.

    Our 2017/18 teacher recruitment marketing campaign will commence in the autumn and will feature a new television advert, alongside print, online and social media advertising. Forty recruitment events will take place across the country, and teaching will be promoted also at over thirty graduate fairs where our advisors will meet students, setting out the benefits of a career in teaching.

    To support recruitment in 2017/18, we will also be announcing a new package of financial incentives, including bursaries and scholarships to attract top graduates in priority subjects such as physics and maths, in early autumn.

    In addition, we are spending up to £67 million on a programme of measures to upskill the existing maths and physics teaching workforce, and increase the number of new maths and physics specialists entering teaching. This package aims to recruit up to 2,500 new teachers and upskill up to 15,000 existing teachers over the term of this parliament.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how the Government plans to use regulatory powers to ensure that an adequate broadband service is provided.

    Matt Hancock

    The Government is creating a regulatory environment that supports the market in delivering world-class broadband services and has taken a number of steps to support this aim. As part of the Digital Economy Bill, we are introducing a broadband Universal Service Obligation to be implemented by 2020. This will give everyone the legal right to broadband at a minimum speed of 10 Mbps.

    We are reforming the Electronic Communications Code to cut costs and simplify the process of building mobile and broadband infrastructure on private land. We are making permanent the relaxations in the rules for deploying fixed broadband infrastructure in all areas except Sites of Special Scientific Interest that we introduced in 2013. This will also cut deployment costs for communications providers and speed up broadband roll-out. Similar planning relaxations are being made in relation to the deployment of mobile infrastructure.

    As of 31 July this year, the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016 gave rights to Communications Providers to share passive infrastructure across utility, transport and communications sectors which is designed to reduce the cost of broadband deployment.

    In addition, building regulations have also been amended to introduce a requirement from January 2017 for all new buildings, and major renovations, to include in-building physical infrastructure to support superfast broadband connectivity. The Government has also put in place industry agreements with developers for fibre connections to be made available to all new build housing.

    The Government continues to review the regulatory landscape to identify further opportunities for reform.

  • Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Leasehold Advisory Service about future demands on its services for free legal advice from leaseholders, landlords, professional advisers, managers and others as a result of expanding the right-to-buy scheme to Housing Association tenants.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    We are working collaboratively with the sector in implementing the Right to Buy extension; Ministers and senior officials continue to engage with partners.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential for the UK to be a world leader in (a) production of, (b) use of and (c) research into autonomous vehicle technology; and what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of practice developed in autonomous vehicle projects and research in Sweden.

    Andrew Jones

    We recognise the transformative potential that connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technologies have for mobility and our transport system, and the significant opportunities that exist for UK industry in their development and commercialisation.

    That is why we are committed to the development of CAVs, maintaining and improving the UK’s world leading position. Together with industry, academia, and cities we are running trials of CAVs in four cities in England, and have plans for a connected corridor on a key route combining urban roads and motorways. We are also funding research into intelligent mobility focusing on connected and autonomous vehicles.

    The Government has also announced:

    – A £20 million collaborative R&D competition, match-funded by industry, to explore user behaviours, and how other road users will respond to these technologies.

    – A world-leading, Code of Practice for driverless cars to help make UK best place for testing without placing additional regulatory burden on industry.

    – A new joint policy team, the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), which will act as a single point of contact for industry and co-ordinate/enhance government activity.

    There are a number of other countries, including Sweden that are trialling driverless vehicles. We will review outcomes of both the UK and international trials and take forward the valuable insights they will provide for policy development.