Category: Speeches

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with cystic fibrosis in receipt of disability living allowance have been invited to claim personal independence payments (PIP); and how many such people have been awarded PIP for (a) 16 to 18 year olds and (b) people over 18.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Department intends to provide detailed breakdowns of DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes in due course. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 16 November 2015 to Question 13604, what proportion of the deposits handed back in each of the schemes and for each of the years listed in the Table of Adjudications were subject to adjudication by their respective deposit protection scheme.

    Gavin Barwell

    The three Government approved Tenancy Deposit Schemes in England help ensure that tenants are treated fairly at the end of their tenancy through protecting deposits.

    A deposit can be protected in a custodial scheme where the deposit is paid (submitted) and held by the scheme until the end of the tenancy. The scheme will pay the deposit back (return) to the tenant if they have fulfilled all their obligations at the end of the tenancy. A deposit can also be protected in an insured scheme, where the landlord or agent holds the deposit and pays it back to the tenant at the end of the tenancy. The deposit is not submitted to or returned by the scheme.

    The figures available for the number of deposits protected for tenants in Greater London since 2011, are set out in Table 1, and for deposits submitted and returned in Table 2.

    Table 1 – tenant’s deposits protected in Greater London

    Year

    Total number of deposits protected

    2011-12

    434,031

    2012-13

    398,635

    2013-14

    453,200

    2014-15

    499,098

    2015-16

    545,937

    Table 2 – tenant’s deposits submitted and returned in Greater London

    Year

    Number of deposits submitted

    Number of deposits returned

    2011-12

    74,202

    55,550

    2012-13

    77,709

    62,341

    2013-14

    82,613

    67,583

    2014-15

    88,465

    70,105

    2015-16

    90,849

    76,305

    The differences between the number of deposits submitted and returned are due to different lengths of tenancies, cases going through the dispute resolution process, and the protection of more deposits as the private rental market continues to grow.

    Overall, 98 per cent of all deposits protected in England since the launch of the tenancy deposit scheme in 2007, are returned to the tenant at the end of their tenancy.

  • Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ian Blackford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Blackford on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will undertake an evaluation of the effectiveness of the self-exclusion pilot schemes introduced by bookmakers in Medway and Glasgow.

    Tracey Crouch

    Evaluation into the effectiveness of the self-exclusion pilot schemes introduced by bookmakers in Medway and Glasgow is being carried out by the Association of British Bookmakers (ABB). From April 2016 all bookmakers will have to offer self exclusion schemes as part of a condition of their licence andlessons from these pilot schemes will feed into the final model adopted by the bookmaking sector. The Gambling Commission will be responsible for ensuring compliance with this new licence condition and the Government will take an active interest in the schemes effectiveness.

  • Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison McGovern – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison McGovern on 2015-12-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what preparations her Department has made for the increased level of aid required in Calais when winter sets in.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office is in regular discussions with French counterparts at ministerial and official level on all aspects of the migrant situation in Calais. The French Government is responsible for the care of migrants in Calais, including support over the winter. However, both governments are committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Calais. One aspect of the UK-France Joint Declaration of 20 August, committed the UK to providing a £3.6 million (or €5 million) per year for two years to help support a range of work to manage the migrant population in Calais, in particular to provide support and facilities elsewhere in France. Additionally, the UK has provided £530,000 (€750,000) to fund a project to identify those in the camps at risk of trafficking and exploitation, to transfer them to places of safety; and to provide them with appropriate support within the French system.

    The UK and French Governments are unified in their response to the migratory phenomenon and both governments recognise the importance of close partnership and collaboration to reach a long-term solution. This is a global challenge, and we will also work together to ensure that other EU states, as well as source and transit countries outside Europe, are doing everything they ought to be to stop people making these dangerous journeys in the first place.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to make an assessment of the performance of the National Crime Agency in its first year of full operation in Northern Ireland.

    Mr John Hayes

    Since 20 May 2015, the National Crime Agency has been operating with full powers in Northern Ireland. The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (National Crime Agency and Proceeds of Crime) (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 requires the Northern Ireland Policing Board to monitor the exercise of the functions of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland. The interim Memorandum of Understanding between the National Crime Agency and the Northern Ireland Policing Board states the Board is required, not later than six months after the end of each financial year, to issue a report relating to the policing of Northern Ireland for the next financial year. The report will include an assessment of the exercise of the functions of the NCA in Northern Ireland. It further requires the Director General of the National Crime Agency to attend the Northern Ireland Policing Board and, in order to assist them, the National Crime Agency is to provide, on a quarterly basis, performance reporting on the exercise of the NCA’s functions in Northern Ireland which will be aligned to the key threat areas in the National Control Strategy, as outlined in the NCA’s Annual Plan. The NCA is committed to playing its role in tackling serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2016 to Question 23063, on universal credit, if he will ensure that each notification will also state the claimant’s expected change in entitlement.

    Priti Patel

    Universal Credit entitlement is determined in arrears at the end of the assessment period. For that reason claimants are informed about their change in entitlements separately to the notification.

  • Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Browne of Belmont – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Browne of Belmont on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the average cost to the public purse of a parliamentary by-election since 2010.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The average (mean) cost to the public purse of a Parliamentary by-election since 2010 is £228,964. This comprises two main elements: the costs incurred by Returning Officers in running the poll; and the cost of delivering election mailings produced by candidates. The costs of running the three most recent by-elections, for which the Returning Officer’s expenses have not yet been settled, have not been factored into this average figure.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the proposed closure of Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, what plans the Government has for relocating medium security patients under the care of that trust.

    Alistair Burt

    These are matters for the National Health Service.

    It is for the local NHS, in conjunction with NHS England as specialised commissioners, to effect change.

    We are advised by NHS England that following authorisation as a foundation trust, Mersey Care NHS Trust intends to acquire Calderstones.

    We expect consideration of patients’ interests to be paramount. The re-provision of care will be considered on a case by case basis and we expect patients and their families to be supported throughout the transition process.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote habilitation training.

    Alistair Burt

    In 2013, Blind Children UK, previously the National Blind Children’s Society, received funding through the Department’s Voluntary Sector Investment Programme (Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund) for their three year project `Children and Young People’s Habilitation Service’.

    At a national level, the Department for Education has funded a partnership of charities through the National Sensory Impairment Partnership to help local authorities to compare their services, learn from the best in the country and make sure that services for blind children and their families (as well as those with other sensory impairments) are effective and meet local needs.

    My Department will consider with the Department for Education, which has responsibility for children’s social care, and where appropriate, with training and regulatory bodies, how we can highlight the value of habilitation workers.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Police Service of Northern Ireland on financial resources and increasing levels of recruitment.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    PSNI’s main grant budget is provided through the block grant and is a matter for the Northern Ireland Department of Justice. Recruitment is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.

    The UK Government has provided the resources PSNI asked for to tackle the terrorist threat: £231million in Additional Security Funding between 2011 and 2016, and £160 million over this spending round.

    This is a significant funding package and is part of this Government’s commitment to tackling the terrorist threat and supporting the PSNI. As the Government’s Northern Ireland manifesto at the General Election made clear, we will always give our fullest possible support to the brave men and women of the PSNI who do such excellent work protecting the community.