Category: Speeches

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support will be provided to parents should they have difficulties accessing support through the tax-free childcare scheme; and if he will make a statement.

    Damian Hinds

    Tax-Free Childcare is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents. It will be quick and easy to apply online for the vast majority who are able to do so. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided to families who cannot access the internet so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.

    Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

    The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested before the scheme is launched.

  • – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2016-06-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to require Ofsted inspectors to judge whether the work of mainstream Christian churches with young people, either directly or through approved Christian organisations which specialise in working with young people, in activities such as holiday Bible clubs, church weekends, and summer camps, is in accordance with a British Values” test; and if so

    Lord Nash

    The Government is committed to safeguarding all children and protecting them from the risk of harm and extremism, including in out-of-school settings.

    The Prime Minister announced plans to introduce a new system of oversight for out-of-school education settings – such as supplementary schools and tuition centres – which teach children intensively, on 7 October 2015. These were confirmed in the Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy which was published on 19 October. These plans to regulate out-of-school settings which teach children intensively were set out in the call for evidence which ran for 6 and a half weeks between 26 November and 11 January.

    We are not proposing to regulate settings teaching children for a short period every week, such as Sunday schools or the Scouts, or one-off residential activities, such as a week-long summer camp. We are looking specifically at settings providing intensive education outside school where children could be spending more than six hours a week.

    The call for evidence sought views on the appropriateness of seeking to prohibit teaching which undermines or is incompatible with fundamental British values. Now that the call for evidence has closed, we are considering carefully the responses received as we develop the proposals further.

    We will be publishing our response to the call for evidence and setting out the next steps on the proposals in due course.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the use of mechanical thrombectomy in treatment of stroke on length of stay in hospital and bed occupancy rates.

    David Mowat

    As yet, there are insufficient patients being treated with mechanical thrombectomy to assess its impact on processes, such as length of hospital stay and bed occupancy rates, outcomes of care and the effect on post stroke rehabilitation.

    However, the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme is now collecting data on patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy and the results will be reported as soon as it is feasible. Sufficient cases will need to be undertaken before conducting the necessary statistical analyses and reporting the data.

    NHS England is considering whether mechanical thrombectomy should be an area covered by its specialised commissioning portfolio and work is underway on this.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-conviction rate is of offenders supervised by Working Links in Wales during the first 12 months following such supervision.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    One year reoffending rates for the first cohort managed under our probation reforms will be published in the quarterly proven reoffending statistics bulletin in autumn 2017, available on gov.uk. This will include those for Wales.

    “

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how her Department identifies vulnerable refugees with intellectual impairment; and what support is provided to such people.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID provides assistance to refugees through bilateral and central funding to a number of trusted organisations such as the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross. We are in dialogue with our partners to ensure special consideration is given to the most vulnerable groups, including people with physical and developmental disabilities. In September 2015, DFID issued guidance for staff outlining the specific considerations to be made by DFID partners for those living with disabilities to ensure that their needs are identified and addressed, and that they have opportunity to participate in decisions that affect them. In addition, through the Disaster & Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) for NGOs, we are supporting the development of a new tool to guide humanitarian agencies on how to ensure their programming is inclusive.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many civil servants in his Department are in the redeployment pool.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The function of the redeployment pool is to give appropriate support to employees who have become surplus as a permanent post no longer exists for them. The redeployment pool helps them remain in employment and provides priority access to vacancies before they are advertised across Treasury.

    There are no employees in the HMT redeployment pool.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which military assets provide fisheries protection within the UK’s exclusive economic zone.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels HMS TYNE and HMS SEVERN and the Survey Vessel HMS ECHO currently provide the Royal Navy’s contribution to fishery protection duties within the United Kingdom’s exclusive economic zone.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Philip Hollobone – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will take steps to ensure that local planning authorities maintain high homebuilding standards in large sustainable urban extensions.

    Brandon Lewis

    The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that good design is indivisible from good planning and should contribute to making places better for people. Our planning guidance reinforces this strong focus on design, and provides advice on tools for delivery – including design codes.

    All new homes also have to meet building regulations’ requirements. The Government has introduced new optional building regulations which means that for some requirements such as on access, local planning authorities can apply a higher standard than the national minimum requirements, where justified by need and provided that the viability of development is not compromised. The Government has also introduced a national space standard which local authorities can apply where justified by need and provided that the viability of development is not compromised.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2016 to Question 27121, what the implied average annual season ticket fare referred to in that Answer is.

    Claire Perry

    The cost of annual season tickets varies by route. The Department for Transport has access to commercially confidential information which allows us to assess how many season tickets have been sold at which prices, to determine the average season ticket price. This process was originally carried out using 13/14 sales data and then increased in line with regulated fares policy. Because this information is derived from information we are licensed to use, from the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC), we are not able to share this publically.

  • Baroness Scott of Needham Market – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness Scott of Needham Market – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Scott of Needham Market on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role they envisage for town and parish councils in the new devolution deals.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Government is engaging with areas across the country to explore how devolution to neighbourhood level can enable more effective co-ordination and tailoring of services and engage communities in delivery and design of services. However, agreeing devolution deals is a bottom-up process – it is up to areas to determine the nature of devolution and the role of town and parish councils, as well as other local groups.