Category: Speeches

  • John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    John Healey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Healey on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 1.149 of the Budget 2016, how much of the increased funding available to prevent and reduce homelessness is in addition to the funding allocated to his Department in the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    One person without a home is one too many and we are committed to do all we can to prevent homelessness. We have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20.

    This builds on our Spending Review commitment to increase central government funding to £139 million over the next four years. We announced in the Budget that £10 million of this would be spent to support and scale up innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, particularly in London and that funding for the Rough Sleeping Social Impact Bond announced in the Spending Review will be doubled from £5 million to £10 million.

    We also announced in the Budget an additional £100 million to deliver low cost ‘move on’ accommodation to enable people leaving hostels and refuges to make a sustainable recovery from a homelessness crisis, providing at least 2,000 places for vulnerable people to enable independent living. We will re-prioritise money within our existing capital budgets to deliver this accommodation. This will not affect delivery of the Government’s Starter Homes and Shared Ownership programmes.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2016 to Question 25156, if he will publish the list of circumstances that would trigger natural migration from tax credits to universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    The events that can trigger a change of circumstances depend on many factors. They are similar to the circumstances that would trigger a new claim to existing benefits or tax credits.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-06-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Home Office refused visas to two marathon runners from Palestine who were due to compete in the Derry Walled City marathon on 5 June.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the Immigration Rules. In order to safeguard an individual’s personal information and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 the Home Office is limited in what information it can provide when the request is made by someone who is not the applicant. The Home Office is therefore unable to provide the information requested.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Sarah Newton

    All permanent members of staff directly employed by the Home Office and its agencies are paid the Living Wage Foundation rates or above. The Home Office and its agencies do not retain any directly employed staff on zero-hour contracts.

    All temporary agency staff are employed in accordance with the Agency Workers Regulations which ensures parity with directly employed staff after 12 weeks. Starting pay rates comply with the requirements of the current Government Living Wage legislation; this is a contractual obligation on the supplier and is monitored through contract compliance mechanisms.

    The Home Office only requires its outsourced contractors to comply with the legal minimum standards of pay of their staff as set out in the Government National Living Wage legislation; again this is a contractual obligation on the supplier and is monitored through contract compliance mechanisms and annually through out supplier assurance programme.

    The Home Office does not however require outsourced contractors to pay the Living Wage Foundation rates or requires or monitors that such outsourced contractors do not employ staff on zero hours contracts.

  • Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Louise Ellman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Ellman on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications of UK withdrawal from the EU for the rice milling industry.

    George Eustice

    We are preparing for negotiations to exit the EU. As part of these preparations, we will consider future global trading relationships and the impacts on different agricultural sectors

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to assist the Syrian people in putting in place stable political and diplomatic foundations on which to rebuild that country once the conflict there has ended.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We hope that the 30 October Vienna meeting is the start of an international process, alongside talks between the Syrian parties, which will lead to transition away from Assad in line with the Geneva communiqué of 2012. The UK Government is closely engaged in this process and is working with Syrian opposition and civil society groups to ensure they are adequately represented in the process, and to help them prepare for a political transition in Syria.

  • Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Rennard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Rennard on 2016-10-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their response is to the recommendation of the Electoral Commission in its report on the 2016 EU referendum that Governments should make use of all available owned channels to promote voter registration ahead of any major poll.””

    Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen

    We welcome the Electoral Commission’s recommendation. This recommendation reflects the success of activities conducted by the Government to promote registration ahead of the EU Referendum that complemented the activity delivered by the Commission.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the security and political situation in Helmand province, Afghanistan; and what support the Government (a) has provided and (b) plans to provide to stabilise the situation.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    The Afghan Security Forces have been tested by a determined insurgency in Helmand Province this year, resulting in a temporary loss of ground in some areas. The Afghan Security Forces have been reinforced, and are responding well.

    A small contingent of UK military training advisers, drawn from our existing contribution to the NATO Resolute Support Mission, have deployed to Helmand in a non-combat role as part of a larger NATO team. The UK, with our international partners, will remain steadfast in our support for the Afghan Government and people, including in their efforts to bring enduring peace and security to Afghanistan.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s legal costs were in the case Susan Rutherford, Paul Rutherford and Warren Todd and Appellant A v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Government has incurred approximately £50,626 in legal costs in the Court of Appeal proceedings in the case of Rutherford and others v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and A v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2016] EWCA CIV 29.

    It should be noted that this figure includes VAT where this is payable (e.g. on Counsel’s fees) but does not include costs attributable to the time spent by Government advisory lawyers on this case, as time spent by such advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to reduce the amount of litter on Highways England’s road network; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England, as a Government Owned Company, is responsible for complying with the mandatory legal requirements under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which includes removing litter on England’s motorways. Collecting litter puts road workers at risk and is a costly operation, so Highways England works collaboratively with a number of organisations to promote anti-litter campaigns.