Category: Speeches

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the proportionate level of effect of her Department’s proposals for changes in apprenticeship funding, published on 12 August 2016, on (a) small employers, (b) young people in deprived areas and (c) apprenticeships offered in the service and tourism sectors.

    Robert Halfon

    Apprenticeships are a great way to progress in work and life and a great way for employers to improve the skills base of their businesses. They work for people of all ages and backgrounds and can transform lives.

    We have engaged thousands of employers and training providers throughout the development of the apprenticeship funding reforms and continue to do so. This engagement helped to shape the funding policy proposals for England from May 2017, published on 12 August.

    A survey seeking detailed views from employers and providers closed on 5 September, and the feedback will inform the final policy which we aim to publish in October, and our understanding of the potential impact.

    Our proposed funding policy is designed to put employers of all sizes in more control, and supports individuals from all backgrounds and regions – it is not aimed at specific sectors or apprentices in deprived areas as our polices are aimed at everyone, including those groups.

    Our proposals for how apprenticeships will be paid for in England in the future will simplify the current complex funding system by introducing a single funding band for individual apprenticeship framework pathways, putting them in line with apprenticeship standards, regardless of the age of the learner or geographic location.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Maria Caulfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of whether it is necessary to improve support services for people with disabilities entering the labour market; and what steps his Department is taking to make recruitment processes accessible for all.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Government is committed to enabling all disabled people to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations. Work is an important part of this, and the Government wants all disabled people and people with a long term health condition to go as far as their talents will take them. Every individual should have the opportunity to work and share in the economic and health benefits that work brings.

    A new Disability Confident employer scheme went live on 14 July 2016. When employers sign up as Disability Confident they are asked to make specific meaningful offers of opportunities for disabled people such as jobs, apprenticeships, internships, and work experience opportunities.

    We will soon publish a Green Paper that will explore a range of options for long-term reform across different sectors, targeting the factors which contribute to the disability employment gap.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has assessed the necessary financial support required by local authorities to deliver a charging network for electric vehicles of the scale required to have an effect on local air quality.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government wants almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050 and is investing £500m between 2015 and 2020 to help deliver this. The long-term transition to ultra low emission vehicles can help improve local air quality, and will also lower UK greenhouse gas emissions and provide high value jobs and growth, but our modelling suggests that even very rapid uptake can have only a marginal impact on today’s air quality problems because of the time taken to turn over the vehicle fleet.

    We are aware that a number of local authorities have been assessing electric car charging point requirements in air quality management areas.

    The Government is considering future grid and chargepoint requirements as part of its planning for this transition. The UK already has the largest network of rapid chargepoints across Europe and over 6000 publically accessible chargepoints have been part-funded by the Government. We will continue to collaborate with industry to ensure that the UK’s infrastructure network meets the needs of electric vehicle drivers.

  • Huw Irranca-Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Huw Irranca-Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Huw Irranca-Davies on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she plans to publish details of how her Department plans to reform the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme to make the savings announced in the Autumn Statement 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Officials have begun discussions with stakeholders, and we plan to consult on the changes in the New Year.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what contingency arrangements his Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I refer my hon Friend to the answer given to him by my rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 January 2016 (UIN 21952)

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-01-11/21952/.

    “

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Chidgey on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of political instability, human rights violations, poor governance and rule of law, and economic collapse, on migration flows from Sudan.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are concerned by migration flows from across the region, including Sudan. There are a range of political, economic and security factors that impact migration flows and we are undertaking further research on the drivers of migration from Sudan. We continue to raise our concerns about the human rights situation in Sudan and urge the government and opposition groups to work together to secure a political settlement that addresses Sudan’s internal conflicts.

  • Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Lexden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lexden on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees, further to his Written Answer on 25 February (HL6181), whether he plans to reconsider the decision to cease using vellum for Public Acts.

    Lord Laming

    As the House Committee was content that we were seeking to take forward the House’s 1999 decision and the House of Commons has indicated that this is a matter for the Lords, I have no such plans.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of electrifying the railway line from (a) Crewe to Chester and (b) Chester to Holyhead.

    Claire Perry

    We await the industry’s advice on future investment priorities for the England and Wales network in the next Control Period, building on the Wales and other Route Studies. We continue to work with the industry, the Welsh Government and local groups, including the recently announced North Wales and Mersey Dee Region Task Force, to see what more can be accomplished to deliver better journeys for passengers and freight customers in this corridor. We welcome the recent submission by the Welsh Government of their Strategic Outline Business Case for electrification from Crewe/Warrington to Holyhead as a contribution to this work.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what representations he has made to the Electoral Commission on resolving recent problems with registration on aboutmyvote.co.uk related to the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    Cabinet Office officials have worked closely with colleagues at the Electoral Commission to ensure the messaging on aboutmyvote.co.uk informs electors that they do not need to re-register for the EU referendum.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average waiting time is for a driving test appointment (a) in England, (b) at the Halifax test centre and (c) at the Huddersfield test centre.

    Andrew Jones

    The average waits for a practical car driving test appointment in (a) England and (b) at Halifax test centre and (c) at Huddersfield test centre are as follows:

    England – 12 weeks

    Halifax driving test centre – 18 weeks

    Huddersfield driving test centre – 17 weeks

    The main cause of current high practical driving test waiting times across the country is a significant and sustained surge in demand for driving tests. The last time there was demand at such high levels was in 2005/6.

    To help address the demand, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) 2015/16 recruitment campaigns resulted in 193 new examiners starting work at test centres across Britain. A further 48 examiners have started testing since April 2016, and DVSA has made employment offers to an additional 110 people, who are currently either attending the new entrant training course, or waiting to attend one.

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) also deploys driving examiners between test centres accordingly to help balance variations in demand for tests. Resources have been pooled between Huddersfield, Halifax, Steeton and Skipton, and the DVSA is currently using resource from Huddersfield and Halifax to help service demand at Steeton and Skipton.. There are five new entrant examiners currently attending training who, if successful, will be deployed into Steeton and Skipton. This will have the knock on effect of helping to reduce waiting times at both the Halifax and Huddersfield test centres.