Category: Speeches

  • Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Colleen Fletcher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Colleen Fletcher on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has undertaken an assessment of the potential effect of changes to employer national insurance and pension contributions on (a) primary and (b) secondary school budgets.

    Nick Gibb

    The most recent change to the employer contribution rate for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) took place in September 2015. At that time the rate was increased from 14.1% to 16.4% of the total pay bill from September 2015. The current employer contribution rate will not change until after the next scheme valuation is complete, which is expected to be in April 2018.

    On 1 April this year, the single tier state pension was introduced. Members of previously contracted out schemes will no longer receive a National Insurance rebate. The National Insurance rate for employers has increased therefore by 3.4% for all salary payments between £8,112.01 and £40,040. Based on data from the last scheme valuation this change is expected to add on average 2% to schools’ pay bill, in relation to the TPS, from 1 April 2016.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to improve teacher retention.

    Nick Gibb

    It is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers – that is why we have made policy interventions in the areas that teachers tell us matter most, such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload.

    We have appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in managing behaviour in 21st century schools.

    In response to our Workload Challenge, we set up three independent review groups to address unnecessary workload in the key areas of marking, planning and data management. The groups reported early this year, and set out clear principles about what should happen in schools to reduce unnecessary workload in these areas. The Government has accepted all the relevant recommendations made by the groups, and we will continue to work with the teaching profession to make sure they have the ongoing support they need to continue reducing unnecessary teacher workload.

    We have recently conducted the first biennial Teacher Workload Survey, which will allow us to track teacher workload over the coming years. The results of the first survey will be published later this year.

    Approximately 90 per cent of all teachers are in service in state-funded schools the year after they qualify, and 72 per cent of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later. Over the longer term, over 60 per cent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.

  • Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Norman Lamb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Norman Lamb on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the psychological support available for people with dystonia and other neurological conditions; and if he will take steps to improve the process of such support.

    David Mowat

    NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised neurological services and has published a service specification for neurological care that sets out what providers must have in place to offer evidence-based, safe and effective services. Included in this is an expected availability of psychological support for people with movement disorders including dystonia. The specification can be found at the following link:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d04-neurosci-spec-neuro.pdf

    “

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel about the recent attacks in Silwan and the fatal shooting of Ali Alef Shyoukhi.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not made any representations to the Israeli authorities on this issue, we have an ongoing dialogue with the Israeli authorities about the Israel Defence Forces’ use of live fire. We remain concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents. We regularly raise these concerns with the Israeli Government, stressing the need for proportionality and proper accountability.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to the Written Statement by the Secretary of State for Scotland, HCWS282 whether he plans to bring forward proposals to amend the draft Wales Bill to include a requirement that the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government should not be abolished except on the basis of a decision of the people of Wales.

    Stephen Crabb

    Clause 1 of the draft Wales Bill reflected the equivalent clause in the Scotland Bill on the date of publication. The Government will consider carefully whether any changes to the wording of the Scotland Bill clause should be reflected for Wales in the Wales Bill

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the legal recognition in Northern Ireland of same-sex marriages which have been registered elsewhere in the UK.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Northern Ireland Office Ministers have had no discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the legal recognition in Northern Ireland of same-sex marriages which have been registered elsewhere in the UK. This is a transferred matter and is therefore the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the back-to-work support which is available for people with mental health problems.

    Alistair Burt

    We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions and other government departments through the Work and Health Unit. Over the next three years the Work and Health Unit are investing over £43 million in a range of voluntary mental health and employment trials to test what works in improving both the employment and health outcomes for people with common mental health problems. The Work and Health Unit will also invest around £115 million in testing wider support to improve health and employment outcomes. Additionally, The Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme has already helped over 100,000 people to move off sick pay and benefits, with nearly 25,000 moving off in 2014/15.

    In each of the last five years the Department of Health has not provided specific central programme funding for back-to-work support for people with mental health problems.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to overcome the problem of race hate crimes on Britain’s railway networks in the light of the figures collected by the British Transport Police that show an increase in such crimes of 37 per cent in the past five years.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government considers the safety of passengers on the railway to be of paramount importance. The British Transport Police (BTP) is committed to providing policing services that meet the needs of all passengers and people who work on the railways. In line with the College of Policing’s National Hate Crime Strategy, BTP is working with partners to reduce hate crime and the harm that it causes, increasing the confidence of victims to report, and to identify and prosecute those who commit such crimes.

    BTP will also work with Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to improve awareness, vigilance and reporting on hate incidents, and to identify locations and patterns.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27757, whether he plans to take steps to mitigate the potential effect of the public sector exit cap proposed in the Enterprise Bill on employees of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

    Greg Hands

    The public sector exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this will include the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

    Restrictions imposed by the cap can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances for individuals or groups of individuals, subject to Ministerial approval. These circumstances will be set down in guidance and directions alongside the secondary regulations that will give effect to the cap.

    The Government can also confirm that the regulations will not come into force before 1 October 2016 and therefore all exits before that date will not be within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap.

    The public sector exit payment cap will apply to organisations classified as within the public sector by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this will include the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

    Restrictions imposed by the cap can be relaxed in exceptional circumstances for individuals or groups of individuals, subject to Ministerial approval. These circumstances will be set down in guidance and directions alongside the secondary regulations that will give effect to the cap.

    The Government can also confirm that the regulations will not come into force before 1 October 2016 and therefore all exits before that date will not be within the scope of the public sector exit payment cap.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to gather the views of and comments from claimants regarding their experiences with Maximus Health and Human Services Ltd.

    Priti Patel

    The Department has a formal contractual requirement on CHDA to report on claimant engagement and perception of the service they receive.