Category: Speeches

Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

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

To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many (a) EU and (b) Commonwealth citizens from which countries were registered in each London borough to vote by October 2015.

Mr Gary Streeter

The Electoral Commission holds data on the the number of European Union (EU) citizens (including attainers) on the electoral registers in December 2014. These figures are collected annually by the Office of National Statistics for England and Wales. Data is not available on the number of registered Commonwealth citizens as the registers do not distinguish Commonwealth citizens as they are entitled to vote in all elections.

London borough	Number of registered EU citizens
Barking and Dagenham	11,552
Barnet	23,174
Bexley	5,148
Brent	30,107
Bromley	8,742
Camden	17,654
City of London	748
Croydon	15,731
Ealing	31,339
Enfield	16,803
Greenwich	15,217
Hackney	18,145
Hammersmith and Fulham	18,965
Haringey	21,020
Harrow	14,641
Havering	5,282
Hillingdon	12,935
Hounslow	21,089
Islington	16,334
Kensington and Chelsea	20,670
Kingston upon Thames	8,971
Lambeth	28,035
Lewisham	16,651
Merton	16,725
Newham	25,562
Redbridge	13,999
Richmond upon Thames	9,580
Southwark	20,368
Sutton	7,848
Tower Hamlets	19,910
Waltham Forest	22,269
Wandsworth	24,764
Westminster	19,565

01/01/2023

Jo Stevens – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with the FA, the Premier League and the Football League on the cost to supporters of following football.

Tracey Crouch

I have raised the issue of costs to supporters with the football authorities but it is important to remember this is a matter for individual clubs. However I am pleased to hear of some excellent examples of clubs reducing ticket prices such as Coventry City and Doncaster Rovers – in line with the Football Supporters’ Federation ‘Twenty Plenty’ campaign, and that Premier League clubs are also considering an extension of the Away Supporters’ Initiative.

01/01/2023
Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many disputes have been filed through an accredited tenancy deposit scheme and withdrawn before a final decision was made in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis

The number of disputed cases filed but withdrawn by each of the three authorised tenancy deposit schemes in the last five years is set out in the tables below.

Number of cases withdrawn before adjudication by approved scheme

2010/11(1) 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15

MyDeposits (2)

177 1,012 1,324 1,626 1,728

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Deposit Protection Service (3)

1,049 (4) 1,945 1,888 2,489 2,464

The Dispute Service

832 1,186 1,810 2,140 2,075

(1) From 24 November 2010

(2) Figures include cases where tenants have raised a dispute but scheme has been unable to contact them for further information.

(3) Figures include cases where (i) both parties have reached agreement (ii) notification given that the case is going to court (iii) one party has not submitted any evidence within the required timescale which has resulted in the disputed amount being paid to the other party and (iv) other reasons.

(4) From June to December 2011

The upward trend in the number of cases withdrawn before adjudication is a result of the successful use of mediation services by the schemes before the formal adjudication process begins and the detailed guidance and advice provided to both landlords and tenants by the schemes to help avoid disputes.

01/01/2023
Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which vaping or e-cigarette products the NHS can prescribe to help smokers quit; and what the process was for selecting those products.

Jane Ellison

Only e-cigarettes that have been granted a marketing authorisation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) can be prescribed by the National Health Service.

By law, before a medicine can be placed on the market, it must be given a marketing authorisation (product licence) by a medicines regulator. The United Kingdom regulator is the MHRA. A specially trained panel of medicines assessors reviews all the available evidence arising out of the pre-clinical research and clinical trials. Manufacturers may also be asked to supply additional information. The MHRA also inspects the factory where the medicine is to be made, to make sure that supplies will be of a uniformly and consistently high standard.

To date one e-cigarette, e-Voke (10and 15mg electronic inhalers) has been granted a marketing authorisation by the MHRA. It is, however, not yet commercially available on the UK market to prescribe.

It is a commercial decision whether to apply to a medicines regulator for a marketing authorisation.

01/01/2023
Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions the Government has had with the governments of Australia and New Zealand on the proposed introduction of an annual change to Australian and New Zealand citizens for use of the NHS.

Alistair Burt

On 6 April 2015 the United Kingdom introduced an immigration health surcharge for non-European Economic Area nationals who come to the UK to temporarily reside for a period of over six months. At the time Australian and New Zealand nationals were granted a temporary exemption and we entered into a series of discussions with both the Australian and New Zealand Government on the introduction of the surcharge for its nationals. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health wrote to both the Australian Minister for Health and New Zealand High Commissioner confirming introduction of the surcharge on 17 December 2015. Introduction of the surcharge for Australian and New Zealand nationals was publicly announced by the Home Office on 4 February 2016 and subject to Parliamentary approval, it will come into effect from 6 April 2016.

01/01/2023
Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-03-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate her Department has made of the number of its senior civil servants who will potentially fall under the provisions of the Fourth EU Money Laundering Directive, 2015/849; and what assessment she has made of which of her Department’s agencies or other public bodies will potentially be classed as holding a prominent public function for the purposes of that directive.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Under the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, a politically exposed person is one who has been entrusted with a prominent public function domestically or by a foreign country. This would include some senior civil servants, such as ambassadors and chargés d’affaires. The Government’s view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. The Government will be setting out this view in a consultation which will be published shortly.

The changes proposed under the Directive should not prevent any individual in this category from gaining or maintaining access to financial services. The Treasury regularly raises these issues with financial institutions and the regulator, and we encourage financial institutions to take a proportionate, risk-based approach when applying these measures.

01/01/2023
William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of immigrants from other EU and EEA member states who will (a) enter and (b) settle in the UK in each of the next five years.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

01/01/2023
Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances he has received from Vauxhall that all owners of Zafira B models were informed about the changes to the vehicle safety recall relating to those cars.

Andrew Jones

To address the latest reported fires, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency told Vauxhall that a secondary safety recall (R/2016/104) was needed on Vauxhall Zafira B models equipped with manual control heating and ventilation systems. Under the requirements of the Code of Practice on vehicle safety defects and the General Product Safety Regulations, manufacturers are required to inform owners/keepers of vehicles that are affected by a vehicle safety recall of the risk and what action they are conducting to address the issue.

01/01/2023
Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage professionals from the private sector to train as teachers.

Nick Gibb

Professionals are an important source of new teachers and bring relevant knowledge and skills from their previous employment. In 2015/16, 45% of new entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) courses were aged 25 or over. To attract more potential career changers, our marketing campaign, Your Future | Their Future, uses a range of media including television advertising, national newspaper advertising and targeted digital and print communications.

We provide support specifically for career changers to make the transition to teaching, especially in the subjects where they are needed most, including:
- The School Direct (salaried) route which is specifically targeted at career changers with three years’ work experience and allows them to earn a salary whilst they train to teach. We provide grant funding to schools to subsidise the costs of salary and training for trainees on this route.
- Our new flexible routes pilot from September 2016, which will allow career changers to train as maths and physics teachers. The pilot, which is delivered by 18 School Direct lead schools, will test whether schools can attract more career changers by offering flexible training routes which meet the needs of different individuals.
In addition, career changers can access extensive support that is available for all ITT candidates. This includes bursaries or scholarships of up to £30,000 tax-free; advice and guidance from the expert advisers on the Get Into Teaching Line; help with arranging school experience to assist with their ITT application; and access to our free Train to Teach events.

Those who wish to teach secondary biology, geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, languages or computing are also eligible for our enhanced Premier Plus service. This includes tailored advice from a dedicated adviser, including the practicalities that often affect career changers, such as childcare funding. Applicants who wish to teach these subjects can also access funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses, through which they can boost or refresh their subject knowledge.
01/01/2023

Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what loans have been issued for what purposes to Business Improvement Districts in each (a) region of the UK and (b) local authority area in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Percy

The Government is committed to Business Improvement Districts and the impact they have on their local areas.

We are keen to see the setting up of more Business Improvement Districts and we recognise that their development requires up front expenditure. In October 2013 we launched a £500,000 recyclable loan fund and have supported 20 areas with loans totalling £658,555. In the last two years the following loans have been issued to areas requesting support in setting up a Business Improvement District:

Area	Amount	Region	Local Authority
Cheltenham	£35,000	South West	Cheltenham Borough Council
Eastbourne	£41,000	South East	Eastbourne Borough Council
Hastings	£31,400	South East	Hastings Borough Council
Hexham	£40,000	North East	Northumberland County Council
Leicester	£50,000	East Midlands	Leicester City Cuncil
Lichfield	£20,000	West Midlands	Lichfield District Council
Milton Keynes	£35,000	South East	Milton Keynes Council
Oxted	£30,000	South East	Tandridge District Council
Poole	£42,000	South West	Poole Borough Council
Purley	£10,000	Greater London	London Borough of Croydon
Runcorn	£27,000	North West	Halton Borough Council
Watford	£49,822	East of England	Hertfordshire Borough Council
York	£30,000	Yorkshire and Humber	York City Council

01/01/2023