Category: Speeches

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what involvement the UK armed forces have had in training armed forces of Gulf states in each of the last 15 years.

    Mike Penning

    Over the past 15 years, UK Armed Forces have provided support to armed forces of Gulf States both in-country and in the UK and continue to do so. Gulf States have attended international defence training courses in the UK such as the advanced command and staff course, Royal College of Defence Studies and Initial Officer Training.

    UK Armed Forces have also provided training in-country through the delivery of tactical level Short Term Training Teams in the maritime, land and air domains. The Defence Academy has also delivered the strategic leadership programme and managing defence in wider security context courses to Gulf States along with the Royal Navy’s exclusive economic zone course.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of how many additional GPs will be needed to supply the Battersea-Nine Elms development; and how many such GPs are planned to be provided.

    Alistair Burt

    We are advised by NHS England that it is working with its co-commissioning clinical commissioning groups to assess the requirements of the new development utilising the existing infrastructure and the requirements for an estimated population of in excess of 30,000 over a 10 year plus timeframe.

    We understand that new models of delivery of primary care services are being investigated with an estimate of around 15 additional general practitioners required to serve the final population numbers.

  • Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Scriven – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Scriven on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made, for each local authority in the Yorkshire and Humber region, of whether the social care budget will meet future demand in the period between 2015 and 2020, in the light of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    No such assessment has been made. It is for local authorities to allocate funding to individual services from their overall budget. In recognition of increasing demand for social services, the Spending Review announced an ambitious plan to integrate health and social care across the country by 2020, and a £3.5 billion package to support local authorities with responsibility for adult social care to meet the needs of their local population. This includes giving councils the additional freedom to introduce a social care precept onto council tax bills, which local authorities in Yorkshire and Humber with responsibility for Adult Social Care services can choose to take up from 2016-17.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department last audited the management of Northumbria Probation Service by Sodexo.

    Andrew Selous

    We regularly review the operations of each Community Rehabilitation Company to make sure they fulfil their contractual commitments to maintain service delivery, reduce reoffending, protect the public and deliver value for money to the taxpayer. An operational assurance audit of Northumbria Community Rehabilitation Company was completed in June 2015.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the Government’s timetable is for introducing measures to implement a gender pay gap reporting among (a) public sector, (b) private sector and (c) voluntary sector employees.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Eliminating the gender pay gap is a key priority for this government. We will shortly seek views on the draft regulations requiring large private and voluntary sector employers in Great Britain to publish information about differences in the pay and bonuses paid to male and female employees. The government wants to commence these regulations at the earliest opportunity. We have also pledged to extend these requirements to the public sector. Public bodies will be covered by different regulations, following a further consultation that we will issue soon.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25153, on which Type 45 Destroyers all 16 recommendations of the Independent Power and Propulsion System Performance Review have been implemented in full; when he expects the implementation of all 16 recommendations to be completed across the class; and if he will publish the recommendations made by the review.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Fourteen of the recommendations involved a modification to the Power and Propulsion system and all fourteen have been completed across all six ships in the class.

    The remaining two recommendations, involving changes to existing training procedures and documentation, have also been adopted. As these two recommendations are administrative in nature, they do not require physical modification of the ships.

    With regard to the request to publish the recommendations made by the Independent Power and Propulsion System Performance Review, dated March 2011, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman) to question 25234 on 8 February 2016.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons applicants for the fifth round of the SMART scheme will not be able to apply for a sixth round as initially advised.

    Joseph Johnson

    Innovate UK is currently in the process of simplifying its support to innovative businesses to make its funding programmes more visible and easier to access. Innovate UK expects to publish its Delivery Plan for 2016/17 in the spring.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual budget was for food and drink procured for his departmental offices in Whitehall in each of the last three years; and what proportion of all food procured for his Department was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on food and drink solely for the Department’s building in Whitehall. The Department has spent the following on food and drink procured for Departmental offices in each of the last three financial years:

    Financial year £

    2013-14 193,591.20

    2014-15 159,460.39

    2015-16 118,364.32

    These costs include the provision of refreshments for external meetings and visitors hosted in the Department’s buildings. Departmental policy is not to provide refreshments for internal meetings.

    52% of all food procured for the Department was sourced from British producers for the last reporting period, January to March 2016.

    This figure is skewed by the considerable spend on non-indigenous products purchased including large volumes of coffee as well as rice, pasta, tea, bananas, citrus, and exotic fruits. In terms of primary products we can confirm that:

    ― 100% of Beef is sourced from the United Kingdom

    ― 100% of Chicken is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Lamb is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Pork is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Free Range Eggs are sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Milk is sourced from the UK

    ― 100% of Yoghurt is sourced from the UK

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The table below sets out the proportion of payroll and non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010/10 to 2014/15. Data for 2015/16 will be available in due course.

    YEAR

    Proportion on Payroll

    Proportion off payroll

    2010-11

    98.64%

    1.36%

    2011-12

    98.74%

    1.26%

    2012-13

    98.28%

    1.72%

    2013-14

    97.22%

    2.78%

    2014-15

    96.43%

    3.57%

    Non-payroll covers staff categorised as consultants and contingent labour i.e. interim managers, specialist contractors and agency staff.

    The increase in off-payroll engagements can be attributed to factors such as:

    • The merger of the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency and Driving Standards Agency into a single organisation (Driver & Vehicle Standards
      Agency). This required certain roles to be temporarily filled by non-permanent employees.
    • Increased activity reflecting the Government’s investment in roads, rail and HS2, which has required the Department to bring in skills which were not available within the Department.
  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of no longer being eligible to receive employment and support allowance payments at the assessment rate when undergoing a mandatory reconsideration of a work capability assessment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period – and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.