Category: Speeches

  • David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    David Burrowes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Burrowes on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to tackle child trafficking in Nepal; what assessment she has made of (a) the role of Childreach’s Taught Not Trafficked and (b) other preventative education programmes in such work; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    Our Work in Freedom programme tackles human trafficking and promotes safe migration in Nepal and across the region, providing community training, support to victims in destinations and helping to improve laws and policies. In 2015, the programme reached more than 54,000 people in Nepal, including about 40,000 women and children through door to door visits.

    Following the devastating earthquake last year, DFID Nepal supported work with the Nepal Police, Women and Children Service Directorate and Ministry of Women and Social Welfare to create women and children safe spaces, and stop trafficking of women and children. We also support wider work that contributes to helping children avoid the risk of being trafficked, including improving livelihoods, providing skills training and helping families to better withstand natural disasters.

    DFID is not currently engaged in work directly with Childreach.

  • Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Twigg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Twigg on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs retired in Halton constituency in the last 12 months; and how many GPs in that constituency have given notice of their intention to retire in 2016.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not collected centrally. However, this information is available from the Halton Clinical Commissioning Group.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to support (a) peer-to-peer lending and (b) challenger banks.

    Anna Soubry

    Access to finance on flexible, competitive terms is essential for growing businesses. Challenger banks and alternative finance providers have an important role to play in widening choice and promoting competition.

    Government is bringing into effect provisions in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 which will require the largest banks – where they decline lending requests from small business customers – to offer those customers the opportunity for their details to be referred to a government-designated funding platform. These platforms will be brought into operation later this year and will allow SMEs to match their requirements with offers from peer-to-peer platforms and challenger banks.

    During the last 12 months, the British Business Bank has supported 3,301 businesses through the peer-to-peer platforms Funding Circle, RateSetter and Zopa. The British Business Bank also supports the growth of challenger banks by providing wholesale funds alongside private sector investors.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence he has had with (a) the Competition and Markets Authority, (b) the Prudential Regulation Authority and (c) new entrant banks about the internal ratings-based approach and the standardised approach for risk weights in capital requirements regulation; and if he will place a copy of that correspondence in the Library.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The government is committed to increasing banking competition and meets with a wide range of institutions as part of the process of developing policy to help drive more competition.

    We have already taken significant action to improve competition in banking. This includes:

    • Delivering the Current Account Switch Service and midata so customers are able to compare personal current accounts and switch where they see a better deal – simply, quickly and reliably;

    • Lowering barriers to entry and helping to establish the New Bank start-up Unit, making it quicker and easier for new banks to enter the market and compete effectively with the incumbents;

    • Creating the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as a single, stronger competition regulator, to promote competition and ensure markets work well for consumers, businesses and the wider economy.

    The government is also taking action by working with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Bank of England to introduce a more proportionate prudential regime for smaller banks and building societies. The exchange of letters between the Economic Secretary and Andrew Bailey published in November 2015 highlights this work.

    In its retail banking market investigation, the CMA provisionally found that banks on the standardised approach are at a competitive disadvantage in the provision of lower LTV mortgages compared to banks using internal models. It also stated that the capital requirements regime has the potential to impact on competition in retail banking in a range of areas. The government, working with the PRA and Bank of England will take forward the issues identified by the CMA.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on ministerial red boxes in the last 12 months.

    Ben Gummer

    The Cabinet Office has not spent any money on ministerial red boxes in the last 12 months.

  • Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Robert Flello – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reasons the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has not been given access to HM Revenue and Customs’ freight transport data system.

    Jane Ellison

    HM Revenue and Customs has no record of a request by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Association and would be happy to give such a request full consideration.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in receipt of universal credit receive help with mortgage costs.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    Universal Credit (UC) does not currently accept claims from owner occupiers. Once this claimant group starts claiming UC we expect that the numbers of any potential owner occupiers making a claim to be small.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2015 to Question 18222, if her Department will put procedures in place to ensure that family members who are not resettled together when they arrive in the UK under the vulnerable persons programme are able to maintain contact with each other.

    Richard Harrington

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identifies refugees for potential resettlement under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme using their vulnerability criteria, and submits cases for Home Office consideration. The UNHCR links family groups so we can seek to allocate them to the same local authority. We also try and place them close to any family members already residing in the UK.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the change in the proportion of the working age population employed by the public sector in (a) Barnsley East constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) South Yorkshire and (d) Yorkshire and the Humber since 2010.

    Mr Rob Wilson

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

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how he plans to secure comprehensive analyses of skills shortages in the UK economy after funding is withdrawn from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

    Nick Boles

    In the context of needing to make savings in non-participation budgets to allow the core adult skills participation budgets to be protected in cash terms, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has consulted the Devolved Administrations and other users of labour market information on future research priorities.

    These discussions have identified the significance of the Employer Skills Survey, the Employer Perspectives Survey and the LMI (Labour Market Information) for All Portal. We are considering how these can best be delivered in future and will announce future arrangements as soon as final decisions are made.