Category: Speeches

  • Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tom Brake – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much of the welfare budget was spent on employment and support allowance, incapacity benefit and income support claimants or universal credit claims with sickness or disability elements in 2014-15.

    Priti Patel

    The benefit expenditure for 2014/15 is in the table below:

    Benefit 2014/15 expenditure £m
    Employment & Support Allowance 12,827
    Incapacity Benefit 245
    Income Support incapacity 389
    Severe Disablement Allowance 735
    Total 14,196

    Severe Disablement Allowance is a non-contributory version of Incapacity Benefit and is included here for completeness. Information on the sickness or disability element of Universal Credit is currently unavailable.

    Detailed information on benefit expenditure is available in our Benefit Expenditure tables which can be found at:
    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

    “

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the build time for HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax will be shorter than that planned for HMS Anson.

    Earl Howe

    The build time for the Astute class submarines has reduced with every boat built to date. HMS Agamemnon and the yet to be named Boat 7 are both at a very early stage of construction. However, as published in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2015, their expected operational handover dates are May 2022 and March 2024 respectively.

  • Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Robert Jenrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Jenrick on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average level of funding per pupil in secondary schools in Newark constituency has been in each year since 2010.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Funding from the Department is primarily allocated at a local authority level, in this case the Nottinghamshire local authority. Since the introduction of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) in 2006-07, figures are no longer available to be shown split by phase of education.

    Figures for financial years 2010 to 2013 are shown below in cash terms:

    Average revenue per pupil funding (£)

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    Nottinghamshire LA

    4,810

    4,750

    4,750

    Per pupil figures use DSG allocations plus other schools related grants, e.g. school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation), standards fund, and pupils aged 3-15, rounded to the nearest £10. Most of the additional grants were mainstreamed into DSG in 2011-12.

    The changes to DSG funding in financial year 2013-14 with funding allocated through three blocks, namely schools, early years and high needs, means there is no longer a comparable overall figure with previous years. The table below shows the DSG schools block unit funding figures in cash terms for Nottinghamshire LA.

    DSG schools block per pupil funding (£)

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-2016

    2016-2017

    Nottinghamshire LA

    4,351

    4,351

    4,352

    4,355

    Since 2011-12, schools have received the Pupil Premium which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2011-12, the premium was allocated for each pupil known to be eligible for Free School Meals, looked after children and children of parents in the armed services. In 2012-13 coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for Free School Meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil amounts for each type of pupil are shown in following table in cash terms:

    Pupil Premium per pupil (£)

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-2016

    Free School Meal Pupil Primary

    £488

    £623

    £953

    £1323

    £1320

    Free School Meal Pupil Secondary

    £488

    £623

    £900

    £935

    £935

    Service Children

    £200

    £250

    £300

    £300

    £300

    Looked After Children

    £488

    £623

    £900

    £1900*

    £1900*

    *Also includes children adopted from care

    Total Pupil Premium allocations for Nottinghamshire local authority and schools in the Newark constituency for each year are shown in the following table in cash terms:

    Pupil Premium Allocations (£ millions)

    2011-2012

    2012-2013

    2013-2014

    2014-2015

    2015-16 (prov.)

    Nottinghamshire LA

    7.380

    14.710

    22.903

    30.420

    30.163

    Newark constituency

    0.678

    1.404

    2.203

    2.899

    2.815

    Figures for Newark exclude the looked after children element as this is not available at a parliamentary constituency level.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will postpone the replacement of student maintenance grants with maintenance loans until a sharia-compliant finance product is available for such loans.

    Joseph Johnson

    Maintenance grants will be replaced by increased maintenance loans for eligible students starting full-time courses in the 2016/17 academic year. The Government supports the introduction of a Sharia-compliant ‘Takaful’ alternative finance product. Subject to Parliament, the Government hopes to introduce the system through new legislation.

  • Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ronnie Cowan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ronnie Cowan on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, on how many occasions he or officials of his Department have met representatives of high street bookmakers to discuss gambling since May 2015.

    David Evennett

    Details of my and the Minister for Sport and Tourism’s meetings with representatives of the bookmaking industry are available via the Department’s transparency returns, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/search?q=quarterly+ministerial+returns&filter_organisations%5B%5D=department-for-culture-media-sport

    In addition, my officials have met representatives of bookmakers on numerous occasions to discuss issues related to gambling.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has held discussions with academics and charities in receipt of grants from his Department on the potential effect of the anti-lobbying clause on their work.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department is currently rolling out the new anti-lobbying clause in its grant agreements and will monitor any feedback on the effect it may have on recipients.

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to protect the pensions of grandparents that care for grandchildren.

    Justin Tomlinson

    From 6 April 2011 a weekly Class 3 National Insurance credit is available to grandparents and other adult family members under State Pension age that look after children aged under 12 to enable the children’s parents to work. The credits can help protect the grandparent’s National Insurance record and will count towards entitlement to the new State Pension and (before 6 April 2017), Bereavement Benefits.

    Since its introduction in 2011, over 4,000 people have been approved.

    In addition, support is available through income-related benefits to grandparents of working age who have responsibility for their grandchildren or act in the place of the child’s parents. The Government announced its intention to exempt grandparents, and other family members or close friends, looking after children, who could otherwise be at risk of entering the care system, from the restriction which limits the child element of Universal Credit to a maximum of two children. The Government is committed to working with stakeholders to develop a solution that meets the needs of the children in respect of whom this exemption is intended to apply, whilst guarding against the risk of fraud and error

    Universal Credit recipients who are grandparents can have childcare costs reimbursed. Where a firm job offer has been accepted childcare costs can be claimed for at least one month before they start work and after the employment ends. The childcare costs element is intended to protect work incentives and ensures that support is focused on low-earning families.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36419, if he will set out the actions required of an hon. Member, including the number of parliamentary questions asked, contributions to debate and other relevant matters which are deemed to demonstrate sufficient interest in devolution, for such hon. Members to be invited to meetings on future plans for the area they represent.

    James Wharton

    I would welcome a proactive and enthusiastic approach to involvement on devolution matters and associated opportunities locally, with which my department stands ready to engage. It is for hon. Members to determine for themselves what that involves.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times in the last two years Falmouth Coastguard Operations Centre has had staffing levels below what is considered safe.

    Mr John Hayes

    The operational concepts and procedures that underpin Her Majesty’s Coastguard’s national network mean that the Coastguard Centres within it no longer have fixed geographic boundaries. This enables Coastguards at either the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) or any of the 9 Coastguard Operations Centres (CGOC) to coordinate any incident anywhere around the UK coast irrespective of their location. As a result workload is now managed on a national basis rather than Centre by Centre as was previously the case. National capability and Coastguard staff from any Centre are now available to provide additional support to any individual Centre within the network when it is considered necessary by senior operational managers.

    Due to this inherent flexibility Her Majesty’s Coastguard sets ‘Optimum Suggested’ staffing for the network as a whole rather than for each centre. Over the last two years since the national network became operational out of a total of 1,427 watches (both day and night) the network has been staffed below ‘Optimal Suggested’ levels on 137 watches.

  • Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Marlesford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what part they played in the 9 September Geneva agreement between the US and Russia for a ceasefire in Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The 9 September Geneva agreement was the product of months of bilateral negotiations between the US and Russia. The UK plays an active role on Syria in wider fora including in the International Syria Support Group and through our Permanent Membership of the UN Security Council. We have further been playing our role in the wider political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis and on Sunday 16 October the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) convened a meeting of key partners on Syria in London. The meeting discussed various options for responding to the appalling situation in Syria, and particularly the worsening humanitarian situation in Aleppo.