Category: Speeches

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase cycling among (a) women and (b) older people.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government remains committed to its manifesto target to double the number of journeys made by bicycle. In order to achieve this, all potential cyclists’ needs must be considered, including women and older people.

    The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking, with SR2015 announcing funding support of over £300m. In addition, Highways England has committed to provide a safer, integrated and more accessible strategic road network for cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

    By improving existing cycle provision and ensuring that cyclists are considered when designing and building new infrastructure then our roads will be more appealing to cyclists of all ages and ability.

    The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will fully explain the Government’s investment strategy for cycling and walking.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many people have been prosecuted for going abroad to assist Daesh.

    Robert Buckland

    As of the end January 2016, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had successfully prosecuted and convicted 38 individuals in 27 cases where the allegations were considered to be related to the conflict in Syria.

    The CPS does not hold central records for the number of people prosecuted in relation to Daesh.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30445, what target she has set for the (a) number of enterprise coordinators to be appointed and (b) timeframe for those coordinators to be put in place.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) has made excellent progress in its work to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people.

    The CEC is aiming for Local Enterprise Partnerships to recruit 50 Enterprise Co-ordinators and 300 volunteer Enterprise Advisers between September 2015 and March 2016. The Department for Education is in the process of agreeing the CEC’s funding and targets for the forthcoming financial year.

    The number of full-time equivalent staff currently employed by the CEC is 18. Further recruitment will depend on the funding available to the company and its objectives for future years.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what protections the Government has put in place to ensure that historic towns are not adversely affected by shale gas extraction.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government has been clear that shale development must be safe and environmentally sound, maintaining the very highest safety and environmental standards.

    Any impacts of shale gas exploration proposals on the historic environment are fully taken into account through the planning system. The National Planning Policy Framework explains that when considering the impact of a proposed development on the significance of a designated heritage asset, great weight should be given to the asset’s conservation. Designated heritage assets include World Heritage Sites, scheduled monuments, listed buildings and conservation areas.

    In addition, the Government has consulted on measures to ensure that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of our most valuable areas, including World Heritage Sites, and we will publish our response to the consultation shortly.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the demolition by Israeli forces on 16 May of seven donor-funded residential containers and the confiscation of materials for another three in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Jabal al Baba.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We condemn the demolition of Bedouin homes at Jabal Al-Baba, which is a particularly vulnerable community in East Jerusalem. We have not specifically raised this issue, but we are extremely concerned at the large increase in demolitions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the start of 2016, compared to the monthly average in 2015. Our Embassy in Tel Aviv raises our concerns about demolitions regularly with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 15 May. We call on Israel to provide a legal route for Palestinians to obtain building permits.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to upgrade the Skynet A5 satellite system.

    Harriett Baldwin

    We currently have no plans to upgrade the specific SKYNET 5A satellite. The Ministry of Defence is currently examining options to sustain the capability currently provided by the Skynet constellation.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drones have been intercepted operating over prisons in England and Wales (a) in 2015 and (b) from January 2016 to date.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    There were 33 incidents relating to drones reported by prisons in 2015. This includes finds, interceptions and sightings of drones in and around prisons in England and Wales. The Ministry of Justice intends to routinely publish information on prison drone incidents in the future and 2016 data will be provided in due course as part of the publication schedule.

    We remain vigilant to all incidents involving drones and take the threat they pose to prison security very seriously. A range of methods to counter the threat posed by drones are being trialled and evaluated for their effectiveness across the prison estate. We have already introduced new legislation to further strengthen our powers, making it illegal to land a drone in prison or to use a drone to drop in contraband. Anyone found using a drone in an attempt to get contraband into prisons can be punished with a sentence of up to two years imprisonment. We take a zero tolerance approach to smuggling of contraband into prisons and work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to ensure those caught are prosecuted.

    Note: All figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

  • Rebecca Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Rebecca Harris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Harris on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has to encourage the take-up of liquid petroleum gas conversions by taxis and vans.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport (DfT), working with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, have evaluated a range of options for tackling poor air quality; this formed the basis of the Government’s draft air quality plans that recently went to public consultation. Switching to liquid petroleum gas (LPG) can provide air quality benefits but may not be easily deployed in all vehicle types.

    As part of DfT’s 2014 Clean Vehicle Technology Fund (CVTF) grant scheme, Birmingham City Council were awarded £500,000 to enable the conversion of 80 older black cabs from diesel to LPG which will help improve air quality on some of the most polluted roads.

    There may be the opportunity to support further conversions if government launches further retrofit programmes in future years.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women were tested for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation in each of the last five years.

    George Freeman

    NHS England offers BRCA testing to individuals with a greater than 10% chance of carrying the mutation, using a model based on the individual’s personal and family history of cancers. Data is not collected centrally on reasons for women choosing to take a test for the BRCA1/2 gene mutation.

    The UK Genetic Testing Network is working with NHS England, the devolved administrations and the Health and Social Care Information Centre to collect and publish United Kingdom-wide data on molecular genetic testing activity. Data collection is expected to have been completed by the summer of 2016 with a full update prepared for publication by the end of the year. However, it is not intended that this will include specific data for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation testing activity.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many businesses in Brighton and Hove which received a loan from the Start-up loans scheme are still in operation.

    Anna Soubry

    The Start Up Loans Company tracks the repayment performance of each loan rather than the status of each business created. However, it does undertake regular research and evaluation which shows that, for the programme as a whole, 80% of the businesses created continue to trade into the second year following their founder’s receipt of a Start-Up Loan.