Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of days of work lost because of bullying in the workplace in the last 12 months.

    Justin Tomlinson

    DWP does not tolerate bullying in any form.

    Guidance on our approach to dealing with and managing bullying is available to all employees and managers, and our policy is that all cases of bullying should be reported.

    DWP capture absence data in a format that is standard across the Civil Service, which is by absence ‘type’. Each absence may have a number of underlying causes, therefore it is not possible to estimate the number of days of work lost because of bullying. Nevertheless, DWP’s current Average Working Days Lost stands at 6.28 which is the lowest it has been in the last 12 months, and down substantially compared to 5 years ago when it stood at 8.2.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of Britain’s exit from the EU on access to healthcare for older British citizens who are resident in other EU countries.

    Jane Ellison

    The Prime Minister believes Britain’s best future lies within a reformed European Union. He is focused on addressing the concerns of the British people and is confident that the right agreement can be reached.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria have been set to access Dormant Assets Commission funds.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The Commission on Dormant Assets will will provide advice on which dormant assets can be brought into an expanded dormant assets scheme. The Committee remit will also include a suggested mechanism through which dormant assets could be redirected by Government to good causes.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the rate of pay is for cleaners in his Department.

    Brandon Lewis

    The rate of pay for cleaners working in buildings managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government is between £6.70 and £8.00 per hour depending on seniority, location and duration of tenure. From April 2016, the Department will pay the National Living Wage.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of internet service provision across all Government departments in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is not held centrally, departments have responsibility for their own Internet service provision.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with Iran following the discovery by the US of an Iranian ship bound for Yemen containing a significant cache of weapons; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We urge Iran to desist from any transfer of weapons and play a constructive role in the region.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Government did not apply to the European Globalisation Fund to secure financial support for those affected by the closure of SSI Redcar in 2015.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The UK has not made any applications to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

    The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market. EGF Regulations state that these measures must complement actions at national, regional and local level.

    The EGF Regulations also set out strict criteria and eligibility for potential applicants with regards to the number of redundancies that take place over a given period of time and the link between these redundancies and globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis.

    The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could therefore not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

    The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.

    In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar.

    It has, therefore, not been necessary to make an application for EGF funding to provide complementary support.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will commission an international and independent review of organ harvesting in China.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We currently have no plans to commission a review of organ harvesting in China.

  • Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2016-09-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the procedures and priorities to agree the spending of public money on international aid are the same across all government departments, and if there are differences, what they are.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The allocation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding was agreed at the 2015 Spending Review in line with the strategic objectives set out in the UK aid strategy. Departments spending ODA are required to demonstrate how they are using rigorous evidence to underpin spending decisions. There must be clear lines of accountability for all ODA projects, and project performance must be regularly assessed. Poor performing programmes will be closed and funds redeployed. In addition, all ODA spend is subject to scrutiny by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact.

    Spending on ODA is also subject to the principles of sound financial management set out in ‘Managing Public Money’. Within these constraints departments have discretion over how they organise, direct and manage the resources at their disposal.

  • Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure women’s participation in future peace negotiations in Syria by supporting women’s groups in Syria.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The second meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Vienna on 14 November agreed an outline timetable for Syrian peace negotiations, leading to transitional governance, a new constitution and elections within eighteen months. The International Syria Support Group will now meet on a regular basis, in parallel with Syrian-led discussions facilitated by UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan De Mistura, to take forward this process.

    Ministers and senior officials have made regular representations to the UN Special Envoy and other UN officials to impress upon them the importance of the inclusion of Syrian women’s groups in the peace process. We continue to encourage the moderate Syrian opposition to be gender-inclusive and were pleased that a senior female activist accompanied the Syrian National Coalition President, Khaled Khoja, on his official visit to the UK earlier this month. Our programmes of support to grass roots peace-building initiatives and civil society groups inside Syria support this objective, and are designed to ensure that Syrian women’s voices are heard and that they are represented in political negotiations.