Category: Speeches

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to increase the numbers of primary and secondary school places in Dartford.

    Edward Timpson

    Supporting local authorities to ensure sufficient school places in their area is one of this Government’s top priorities. That’s why we’ve committed to investing £7 billion in new school places up to 2021, which along with our investment in the free schools programme we expect to deliver 600,000 new places.

    Kent County Council, which is responsible for school places in Dartford, received £115 million in basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, helping to create nearly 17,000 new places between 2010 and 2015. Of these, around 8,700 were primary places and around 8,200 were secondary. Kent has also been allocated £144 million to create the additional places required by September 2019.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the total amount awarded to schools in pre-opening support grants in each month of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his plans are for the future of the Land Registry.

    Sajid Javid

    We recently consulted options for the Land Registry.

    This consultation closed on 26 May and Government are currently reviewing the responses.

    Until this is completed, no decision will be made.

  • Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 June 2016 to Question 40370, when his Department plans to outline its new approach to the carbon capture and storage industry; and if he will make a statement.

    Jesse Norman

    Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has a potential role to play in the long-term decarbonisation of the UK but its costs must come down.

    We continue to work with industry to help develop CCS cost effectively and we will set out our future approach to CCS in due course.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to help SMEs expand overseas.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Small businesses can find out what support is available to them by contacting their local Growth Hub. There are now 30 Growth Hubs across England that are bringing together local and national business support so that people can find the help they need quickly and easily. This includes referring on to UK Trade & Investment those businesses who want help and advice on how to export

    UK Trade and Investment provides a range of support to help companies develop their capacity to export; that includes elements such as helping companies devise an export strategy, guide them on researching and selecting markets, and addressing language and culture barriers. UKTI also helps companies access international markets by organising a wide range of events and missions, supporting companies at overseas exhibitions and highlighting export opportunities.

    UKTI supported almost 55,000 businesses in 2014/15, around 90% of which were SMEs

    UK Export Finance (UKEF) also continues to support those who wish to export, including small and medium sized businesses and mid-sized businesses (MSBs)

    In 2014/15 UK Export Finance provided over £2.7bn of support to help 160 exporters (129 of which were smaller businesses) win overseas contracts in over 100 markets.

  • Liam Fox – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Liam Fox – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Fox on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the outcomes were of his recent meetings with BT’s Head of Customer Care in relation to (a) billing, (b) transparency around charges, (c) customer care and (d) other issues that were discussed at that meeting.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    BT have madea public commitment to answer at least 80% of calls in the UK by the end of 2016. They also have planstoinvestin new tools for call centres and customers over the next 18 months to make it easier to get help; ensurethat customers with complex issues have a UK-based case handler; work to simplify bills and charges; and to increase the UK capacity in its call centres in the evenings and at weekends. I shall be watching their progress with interest, as I am sure will be my Rt Hon friend.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support UK military personnel are providing to the (a) security services and (b) armed forces of Burkina Faso.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UK strongly condemns the recent atrocity that took place in Ouagadougou on 15-16 January and is deeply concerned by the spread of violent extremism both into Burkina Faso and across the wider region. We offer our heartfelt sympathies to the families affected by this terrible act of terrorism. The UK is working hard with regional countries; close international partners; and multilateral organisations to increase their capacity to address the security threats they face. Our major regional contributions are in Nigeria; at the HQ of the Multi-National Joint Task Force; and in support of the EU Training Mission in Mali. We are, though, supporting the Burkina Faso armed forces, together with a number of other African militaries, through our participation in regional training exercises.

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons a high-sided heavy goods vehicle which overturned on the Humber Bridge on 1 February 2016 was permitted to cross the bridge while the bridge was closed to all high-sided vehicles due to high winds; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Safety on the Humber Bridge is the responsibility of the Humber Bridge Board in cooperation with the local police.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of proposals for changes to Government policy on community pharmacies.

    Alistair Burt

    Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population.

    The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public.

    Our proposals are about improving services for patients and the public and securing efficiencies and savings. A consequence may be the closure of some pharmacies but that is not our aim. We are not able to assess which pharmacies may close or the number of people who may lose their jobs, because we do not know the financial viability of individual businesses or the extent to which they derive income from services commissioned locally by the NHS or local authorities or have non-NHS related income.

    We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and others, including patient and public representatives on our proposals. An impact assessment will be completed to inform final decisions and published in due course.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupil vacancies there are in free schools in (a) London, (b) Yorkshire and (c) England; and what proportion of the free schools that opened in each year since 2012 have vacancies.

    Edward Timpson

    Information is not currently collected on vacancies in schools. Information on numbers of pupils on roll and planned admission numbers in schools can be combined to estimate how many unfilled places exist in free schools.

    In October 2015 there were (a) 2,088 unfilled places (13%) in mainstream free schools in London, (b) 189 unfilled places (7%) in mainstream free schools in Yorkshire and the Humber, and (c) 7,674 unfilled places (15%) in mainstream free schools in England[1]. 79% of mainstream free schools that opened since 2012 had one or more unfilled places which is the same proportion as for all mainstream state funded schools at May 2015[2].

    These figures are based on pupils in reception to year 11 in mainstream free schools and will include schools which had only recently opened.

    [1] Figures are based on (a) total number of pupils on roll across years Reception to year 11 from October 2015 and (b) total planned admission numbers across these year groups. It excludes year groups which are not yet populated. Figures exclude 16-19, Special and AP free schools. Some free schools build up their capacity in year groups gradually, so for example they may open with one class of 30 in Reception in year 1, and in year 2 expand to have two classes of 30 in Reception. This means that the current capacity in a free school in Reception, for example, may not be the eventual capacity once the school is at full capacity.

    [2] See School capacity: academic year 2014 to 2015 at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-capacity-academic-year-2014-to-2015

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