Category: Speeches

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will publish the cost-benefit analysis related to his Department’s decision to close its Sheffield office.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department intends to close the Sheffield office at St Paul’s Place by January 2018. This intention is based on the strategic vision for the Department by 2020 that seeks to save 30-40% of its operating costs, reduce the number of locations it operates from (from currently around 80 to 7 centres and a regional footprint for the provision of local services), and halves the number of its Partner Organisations.

    The location strategy is based on the need to simplify delivery and focus expertise in specific areas. This includes locating the policy function in one place, close to Ministers, in the HQ in London. This decision was based on on-going analysis and discussions, leading to the decision by the Executive Board.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the study of STEM subjects by girls at GCSE.

    Nick Gibb

    The number of girls studying mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology at GCSE is broadly similar to boys and the inclusion of science GCSEs in the EBacc will support greater take up of these subjects by all pupils. The Government wants to see more girls progressing to mathematics and science subjects at A Level, building on the 12,000 additional A Level entries in these subjects by girls since 2010. Improving the quality of teaching is vital and we are taking action by investing £67 million over the term of this Parliament to recruit and train more mathematics and physics teachers, and by offering bursaries and scholarships to attract top graduates into mathematics and science teaching.

    We are also providing support to schools to raise the quality of mathematics and science teaching through the network of mathematics hubs and science learning partnerships, and other programmes such as the Stimulating Physics Network which has a particular focusing on engaging more girls in physics.

    The Government supports the “Your Life” campaign which aims to change the perceptions of science and mathematics among all young people, but with a focus on girls.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consultation he expects to undertake on the implementation plan for England for the UK strategy on rare diseases.

    George Freeman

    There are no plans to consult on the implementation plan for England on the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases. NHS England published a Statement of Intent to implement the UK Strategy in February 2014. Implementation of the Strategy is also included in NHS England’s Five Year Forward View.

    The UK Rare Disease Forum is responsible for monitoring progress on implementation of the Strategy across the United Kingdom. It published its first progress report on 29 February 2016. This recognises that significant progress has been made against majority of the 51 recommendations in the report. Further reports will be published in 2018 and 2020.

  • Lord Shutt of Greetland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Shutt of Greetland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Shutt of Greetland on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that, when a Saturday air service begins to operate between Johannesburg and St Helena, those flights will provide connections with flights between South Africa and the UK that avoid an overnight stay in Johannesburg.

    Baroness Verma

    Based on the currently proposed schedule for regular flights between Johannesburg and St Helena, these will permit onward flight connections to and from the UK with a reasonable transfer time and which should not require overnight stays in Johannesburg in either direction.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people are working in her Department’s Counter-Extremism Steering Group.

    Edward Timpson

    There are currently 36 members of staff working in the Department’s Due Diligence and Counter Extremism Division.

  • John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    John Mann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which African countries her Department regards as unsafe to return political opposition supporters to.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    In accordance with our international obligations, the UK is required to consider asylum and human rights applications carefully on their individual merits. The Government takes its international responsibilities seriously and will grant protection to those in genuine need.

    Each individual assessment of an asylum claim is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw. The country of origin information is based on evidence taken from a range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

    The Home Office’s country of origin information, used in the asylum decision making process, is published on the gov.uk website. It is kept under constant review and updated periodically.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in other European countries on the imposition of tighter border controls across Europe and the effective screening of Syrian refugees for connections to ISIS.

    James Brokenshire

    Effective management of European external borders is vital as part of a comprehensive response to the migrant situation and the UK continues to engage with European partners on measures to improve the security of borders and to identify those who may a pose a threat to our countries.

    As set out in the response to PQ11691 answered on 19th October 2015, security is taken extremely seriously in cases referred to us for resettlement. We work closely with the UNHCR who have their own robust identification processes in place. When Syrian cases are referred by the UNHCR for our consideration under the Syrian Vulnerable Person Resettlement scheme they are screened and considered by the Home Office for suitability for entry to the UK: we retain the right to reject individuals on security, war crimes or other grounds. For reasons of national security, we cannot provide further on the details of the screening process itself.

  • John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Mann – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of any shortfall in the number of qualified mathematics teachers in each English region.

    Nick Gibb

    During the academic year 2014/15 there were 33,400 mathematics teachers in state-funded schools in England. The vacancy rate was low, with only 1.4% of all mathematics teaching posts in secondary schools vacant. Mathematics continues to be a popular subject for teacher training, with nearly 2,500 training in 2015/16. During this period we achieved 93% of our postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target in mathematics.

    Each year we estimate the number of mathematics teachers we need to train using the Teacher Supply Model. This estimate is based on assumptions about pupil numbers, teaching practice, curriculum changes, and teacher deployment. The department does not hold estimates of shortfalls for teachers in any particular subjects or regions. It is up to schools to decide what teachers they need, in what specialisms and with what qualifications.

    Nevertheless, we realise that within the context of a strong economy, recruitment for all STEM subjects is challenging. We have continued to offer scholarships and bursaries worth up to £25,000 tax free for those candidates entering mathematics initial teacher training in academic year 2016/17. Through the School Direct (salaried) route we provide schools with additional grant funding to boost trainees’ salaries in mathematics.

    Furthermore, in March the Prime Minister announced a package worth up to £67 million to transform mathematics and physics teaching in England by recruiting 2,500 additional mathematics and physics teachers and providing subject knowledge training to 15,000 non-specialist serving teachers.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his current estimate is of the cost of decommissioning HMS Ocean.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The cost of decommissioning HMS OCEAN is yet to be determined.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons changes to Crown branches take place outside the scope of formal Crown transformation programmes.

    George Freeman

    The provision of its Crown branches is the commercial responsibility of Post Office Limited.

    Like any commercial organisation, Post Office Limited continually reviews all elements of its business to ensure they are effective and efficient. Changes are essential to ensure the long term viability and competitiveness of any company, whether these are as part of a dedicated transformation programme or in the normal course of operations.