Category: Speeches

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps to allow postal voting ballot papers to be counted separately in order to more easily detect fraud.

    John Penrose

    The law provides for the checking of the integrity of completed postal ballots prior to them being included in the count. Returning Officers are required to check 100% of postal vote identifiers (signatures and dates of birth) returned with completed postal votes against those supplied by the elector when they applied for a postal vote. Any that do not match will not be counted in order to prevent any attempt at electoral fraud. The law requires that postal ballot papers are mixed with ballot papers from a ballot box before they can be counted as a necessary step in order to help protect the secrecy of the ballot.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what timetable she has set for resettling 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Work continues with local authorities and international partners to deliver the Government’s commitment to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees over the lifetime of this Parliament and we are on track to do this.

  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what financial support the Government has made available for local authorities to commission new nursery places in the event of current providers withdrawing or reducing their delivery of subsidised places.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government is committed to extending the free entitlement to childcare from 15 to 30 hours a week for working parents. We are clear that we need to get the funding right to ensure that providers are funded on a fair and sustainable basis. Our recent consultation set out our proposals to allocate our record level of funding fairly and transparently, with the maximum amount reaching providers. We will publish our response this autumn.

    We have recently made a substantial capital investment to support the creation of new 30 hours childcare places and our recently closed capital bid round made £40million available to local authorities working in partnership with providers in their area. We intend to announce successful project bids in mid-December 2016. We will also shortly be announcing the outcome of a competition to appoint a delivery contractor, who will provide support to ensure that all local authorities are ready to deliver the required number of free places in September 2017.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment the Government has made of the risks to the security of electricity supply in Northern Ireland posed by the failure to build and have operational by 2020 the 400kV North-South electricity interconnector between County Tyrone and County Meath.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Non-nuclear energy policy is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.

  • Gerald Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gerald Howarth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Howarth on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 113 of the Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy, published in October 2015, what definition her Department uses of extremism; and what steps she is taking to ensure that that definition does not close down debate or limit free speech.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government definition of extremism is ‘vocal or active opposition to our fundamental values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and the mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.’ We have been consistent on this since 2011 and have reaffirmed this definition in the Counter-Extremism Strategy.

    The overwhelming majority of people in this country support these values and condemn those who try to undermine them.

    The Government would not consider the ‘claim’ that an individual’s religion is ‘the only one true faith’ to be extremist.

    We are clear that Government should not restrict anyone’s freedom of speech or right to practise a faith. These are core values that help to make our country great. However we shouldn’t allow the extremist voice to go unchallenged, causing harm to our society and promoting hatred and division.

    The Government has engaged on the strategy, and will continue to engage with partners – including faith groups, communities and civic society groups on the new proposed powers to tackle the most dangerous extremists. This provides an opportunity to consult on the proposed powers further, and ensure that sufficient safeguards are in place to protect our rights to free speech and debate.

  • Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stewart Jackson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Jackson on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what response she has made to the recent letter from the Chair of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire and Rescue Authority detailing improvements in that Authority’s pay and recruitment arrangements following Ministerial intervention; and if she will make a statement.

    Mike Penning

    Melanie Dawes, the Permanent Secretary and Accounting Officer for the Department for Communities and Local Government, replied to Sir Peter Brown the chairman of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority, on 30 December. That letter reiterated the Government’s position that all parts of the public sector should continue to demonstrate restraint in the pay and reward offered to senior staff, and should ensure that the way that their workforces are managed is truly in the interests of taxpayers.

    While fire and rescue authorities are independent employers and it is for their leadership to make local decisions about the pay, reward and appointment of their staff, the Government has taken a number of steps to increase the transparency and accountability of these local decisions, not least through the Localism Act 2011 and its associated guidance.

    These measures have helped create the conditions in which decisions on senior remuneration are rightfully subject to significantly greater scrutiny, ensuring the public have the information they need to hold councillors to account at the ballot box.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2016 to Question 26305; what estimate his Department has made of the total number of licenses granted for houses of multiple occupation which are in use in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Brandon Lewis

    I have nothing to add to my earlier reply.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the assessment process for personal independence payments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Since its inception, the system of assessing claimants’ eligibility for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has been continually reviewed and refined in order to improve its efficiency, effectiveness and the claimant experience. We have worked extensively with PIP assessment providers and disability rights groups to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service.

    The Government’s response to Paul Gray’s independent review of the process can be found at:

    www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/478224/pip-assessment-first-independent-review-second-response.pdf

    The Government has committed in legislation to a further independent review which will report by April 2017.

    “

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of comments by the head of the IMF regarding threats to the global economy, whether they are preparing any contingency plans.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Since 2010 the UK has made significant progress in developing its economic security. The public finances have improved and the deficit as a share of GDP has now been cut by almost two-thirds from its post-war peak. The financial sector is more resilient, and household finances are more robust with interest payments as a proportion of income the lowest level on record in 2015.

    However, the UK is not immune from global risks, which is why, as I set out in the debate on the Economy last week, it is vital we continue with our long-term economic plan focused on ensuring sound public finances, while delivering the supply-side reforms necessary to boost productivity and deliver long-term sustainable growth.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Culture and Digital Economy of 23 May 2016, Official Report, column 371, what estimate his Department has made of the number of households that will not request broadband access under the broadband universal service obligation.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    We do not yet have a specific estimate for the future take-up under the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO). Once in place the USO will act as a safety net giving homes and businesses the right to a fast broadband connection of at least 10 Mbps where superfast broadband is not available. Superfast broadband is available to 90% of premises, up from 45% in 2010 and roll-out will continue when the Government’s target of at least 95% superfast broadband coverage by the end of 2017 has been met. The Government is committed to reinvesting funding to extend superfast broadband to as many rural homes and businesses as possible.