Category: Speeches

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the spending per head on cycling will be in England (a) outside London and (b) outside London and the eight Cycling City Ambition Grant holder areas in each of the next five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The current cycling ambition programme is fully committed and runs until 2017/18. Spend per head is currently over £10 in the eight cycling ambition cities, and in London (in line with the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Cycling). It is not possible to predict the geographical distribution of other funding for cycling at this stage.

  • Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposed economic rent charges will be applied to historic government buildings in Whitehall; and if so, on what basis the economic rent for buildings of historic significance will be calculated.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Government Property Unit is working with departments to agree a detailed timeline for the transfer of assets and on the detail of implementation, including the finance and charging regime.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to include LGBT issues in sex and relationship education in schools.

    Edward Timpson

    All schools should offer high quality, age-appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE), and build a curriculum that meets the needs of all their students. We expect schools to ensure that young people feel that SRE education is relevant to them.

    SRE is compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and many primary schools also teach SRE, in an age-appropriate manner. We expect academies and free schools to deliver relationship education as part of their provision of a broad and balanced curriculum. Any school teaching SRE must have regard to the Secretary of State’s SRE guidance.

    We welcome the supplementary SRE guidance, SRE for the 21st Century, produced by Brook, the PSHE Association and the Sex Education Forum, which includes guidance on ensuring that SRE is inclusive. All children and young people, regardless of background or identity, are entitled to quality SRE that helps them build confidence and stay healthy.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the UK has received in grants and funding from the EU to fund research into cancer under (a) the EU’s seventh framework programme 2007-2013 and (b) the current Horizon 2020 programme.

    Ben Gummer

    The Department does not hold this information.

  • Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Ahmed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ahmed on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will reply to the letter from Lord Ahmed to the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Theresa May, dated 9 February 2016.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    I must apologise for the delay in responding to your letter. The response was sent on 29 March.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2016 to Question 35020, what funding the Government has allocated to local authorities to deliver digital and budgeting support for the roll-out of universal credit.

    Priti Patel

    As part of the rollout of Universal Credit we fund Local Authorities, through Delivery Partnerships, to provide support to claimants which includes support to acquire and improve their digital skills and to make and manage their Universal Credit claim online. There is also budgeting support to help manage their money on a monthly basis and pay bills on time.

    How much of this funding is targeted to specific purposes will be determined by the individual partnership and based on local need.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of local authorities in processing and deciding planning applications within recommended timescales.

    Brandon Lewis

    Between January and March 2016, local planning authorities decided 82 per cent of major applications on time; the highest figure on record.

  • Karin Smyth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karin Smyth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karin Smyth on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure incentives and support packages meet the needs of small businesses in order to increase their ability to take on apprentices.

    Robert Halfon

    We want to continue to support small employers to take on younger apprentices and so propose that employers with fewer than 50 people working for them will be able to train 16 to 18 year old apprentices at no cost.

    We propose to extend this to small employers who take on a 19 to 24 year old apprentice who was formerly in care or has a Local Authority Education, Health and Care plan. The government will pay 100% of the apprenticeship training costs for these individuals. Further funding detail and provisional funding rates were published in August.

    Since April, employers have not been required to pay employer National Insurance contributions for almost all apprentices aged under 25 up to the Upper Secondary Threshold (£827 per week in 2016-17).

    This change makes the business case for apprenticeships even stronger, reducing the cost of employing a young apprentice by over £500 a year on a salary of £12,000, and over £1,000 a year on a salary of £16,000.

  • Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Edward Argar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Argar on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the likely rate of tree-planting in England in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Forestry Commission has reported, as an Official Statistic, that 522 hectares of woodland, equivalent to 798,000 trees, was planted through Government-funded incentives to the end of June 2016. All agreements for schemes with planting planned for 2017 are currently being processed and have yet to be signed, meaning that no forecast of tree numbers can yet be provided. However, the Forestry Commission estimates that the likely rate of new woodland planting will increase in the remainder of 2016 and 2017.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) contracts and (b) grants have been awarded by the tobacco policy team in his Department in each of the last five years; what the (i) name of the recipient, (ii) purpose of the contract or grant, (iii) financial value, (iv) job title of the lead official overseeing the procurement process was in each such case; and whether ministerial approval was required or given in each such case.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.