Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the number of counter-terrorism officials in the West Midlands; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    The level and distribution of counter-terrorism resources across the country is informed by advice from the police and security and intelligence agencies on assessments of what is needed to counter the threat. This is regularly kept under review. For security reasons we do not publish a breakdown of counter-terrorism resources by region.

    In the Spending Round 2013, specific funding for counter-terrorism policing was protected at £564.3 million for each of the years 2014-15 and 2015-16. We are also providing an additional £14.9 million in 2015-16 to the police to strengthen capabilities in response to the increased threat from terrorism.

    In the Summer Budget on 8 July, we committed to protecting overall counter-terrorism spending across the course of the next Spending Review Period. On 16 November we said we would go further. Through the Strategic Defence and Security Review, we will make new funding available for the security and intelligence agencies to provide for an additional 1,900 officers – an increase of 15% – to better respond to the threat we face from international terrorism, cyber-attacks and other global risks.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much of the £70 billion due to be allocated under the Funding for Lending Scheme has been allocated so far.

    Harriett Baldwin

    UK banks and building societies that participate in in the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) are able to borrow funding from the Bank of England, with the amount they are able to borrow (their ‘borrowing allowance’) linked to their net lending performance. FLS usage and lending data is published on the Bank of England website at the following link: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/Pages/FLS/extensiondata.aspx

  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the (a) Egyptian Ambassador and (b) Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on resuming flights to Sharm El Sheikh.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is working closely with the Egyptian authorities with a view to a resumption of flights as soon as possible. Ministers are keeping the position under close review. There have also been regular contacts between the Government and the Egyptian Ambassador to the UK to discuss the situation.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the provision of mental health care services for children in the care system.

    Alistair Burt

    The Government has made no such central assessment. It is for local areas to consider and commission services based on the needs of their local population. Local transformation plans produced in each area of the country set out how they plan to meet the full spectrum of needs of children and young people with mental health problems including the needs of the most vulnerable, such as children in the care system.

    At the Education Select Committee hearing on the mental health and wellbeing of looked-after children held on 3 February 2016, it was announced that the Department of Health and Department for Education will set up an Expert Group, working with NHS England, Health Education England, and sector partners, to develop care pathways to support an integrated approach to meeting the needs of looked-after children with mental health difficulties. By summer 2016 the expert group will be established to lead the development of models of care for looked-after children’s mental health. Members of this expert group will be drawn from across the health, social care and education sectors, with input from children, young people, carers and families with experience of the care system.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children have been diagnosed with autism in (a) Burnley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in each of the last six years.

    Alistair Burt

    This data is not collected centrally.

  • Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roberta Blackman-Woods – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roberta Blackman-Woods on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to paragraph 2.291 of Budget 2016, when his Department plans to begin the consultation process on proposals to increase transparency in the land market.

    Brandon Lewis

    Government will be consulting on improving the visibility of information relating to options to purchase or lease land during the summer.

  • Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Elliott on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Answers of 16 February 2016 to Question 26010 and 11 April 2016 to Question 32109, when he plans to establish a reading room for hon. Members to access Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership documents.

    Anna Soubry

    The next round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will take place in July. The UK reading room will be open in time to access documents related to this round.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to establish a non-departmental public body as part of the process of placing the National Citizen Service on a permanent statutory footing.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The National Citizen Service (NCS) Bill will place NCS on a statutory footing and describe its means of delivery. Classification is a subject for the Office for National Statistics in the first stage.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that people who lose their driving licence on the grounds of poor vision and subsequently receive a letter from their optometrist confirming that their vision meets the required standards can have their driving licence reinstated quickly.

    Andrew Jones

    Drivers in Great Britain whose licence has been revoked for failure to meet the required eyesight standards may submit further evidence to support their case. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency will consider that evidence within three working days. Further medical enquiries may be required.

    Driver licensing is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and is a matter for the Department for Infrastructure in the Northern Ireland Executive.

  • 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 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend free bus travel for people with disabilities to include peak hours.

    Andrew Jones

    The statutory minimum bus travel concession scheme applies to off-peak travel when there is likely to be unused operational capacity on buses. Concessionary bus travel applies to bus journeys made between 9.30am and 11.00pm Monday to Friday and all day at weekends and on bank holidays. These times were set out in legislation in the Transport Act 2000. Whilst I appreciate that concessionary pass holders might wish to use buses before 9.30am, in the current economic climate there are no plans to extend the statutory scheme to include peak time travel.

    I would point out that the statutory minimum is indeed just that – a minimum. It remains very much open to each local authority to decide whether to offer its residents local concessions over and above the statutory minimum, including peak hour concessions.