Category: Speeches

Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will amend the Cycle to Work scheme to incorporate a higher maximum allowance for disabled cyclists requiring specialist cycles.

Mr Robert Goodwill

We are currently in the process of updating the Cycle to Work Scheme guidance published on GOV.UK and we are considering reviewing the maximum allowance of £1,000. Discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and HMRC will be arranged before we confirm any changes.

01/01/2023
Poulter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the budget for Health Education England (a) was in each year since 2012 and (b) will be for 2017-18.

Mr Philip Dunne

In 2012-13, the strategic health authorities nationally were allocated £4.879 billion to spend on education and training in the National Health Service. This budget was transferred to Health Education England (HEE) from 1 April 2013 when it assumed full operational responsibilities for workforce planning, education and training.

From 2013 to 2016, HEE received the following annual budget allocations from the Department: £4.867 billion in 2013/14; £4.933 billion in 2014/15; and £4.912 billion in 2015/16.

For the current year, HEE’s revenue allocation is £4.995 billion as at 31 July 2016. Further in-year capital and revenue allocations will be made to HEE later in this financial year.

HEE’s budget for 2017-18 is yet to be determined through the Departmental business planning process.

01/01/2023
Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy for the free email service offered by the International Enquiry Service automatically to acknowledge safe receipt of messages sent to it by enquirers.

James Brokenshire

The International Enquiry Service currently handles approximately 12,000 emails a week and continues to answer all emails within the published service standards. All email enquiries receive an auto response which states “Your email has been submitted – We have received your email. You will receive a response within one working day.”

01/01/2023
Andrew Percy – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average response time was for a 101 call in each year since that service’s launch; and what the average response time was for 101 calls made to the Humberside Police from (a) North Lincolnshire and (b) East Yorkshire in the last 12 months.

Mike Penning

The Home Office does not hold data centrally on the average response times for 999 calls. Information on average 101 call waiting times since April 2014, provided by forces, including Humberside Police, can be found at: www.Police.uk

The Home Office does not hold information on call waiting times for individual forces which pre-dates April 2014 or about calls made to forces from local areas. This information is held by forces.

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01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the total beneficiaries from the Thalidomide Health Grants in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt

The Thalidomide Health Grants are currently for 10 years from 2012 to 2022.They total £80 million in England, £14.2 million in Scotland, £7.5 million in Wales and £4.6 million in Northern Ireland. The Thalidomide Trust administer the Health Grants and the number of beneficiaries receiving the Grants since their inception is set out in the following table.My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (George Freeman) MP, had an introductory meeting with representatives from the Thalidomide Trust and its National Advisory Councilon 22 October last year.

Country	2012	2013	2014	2015
England	325	325	325	325
Scotland	58	55	54	55
Wales	30	31	31	31
Northern Ireland	19	19	19	19
Total	432	430	429	430

01/01/2023

Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of implications for her policies of the finding in the Fair Admissions Campaign’s report, An unholy mess, published in October 2015, that schools which are their own admission authorities are consistently failing to comply with the School Admissions Code.

Nick Gibb

Many of the findings of the report echo those reported by the Chief Schools Adjudicator in her Annual Report for the 2013/14 school year. The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

01/01/2023
Ian Paisley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Paisley on 2016-03-10.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of when the tax optimisation for cigarettes will be reached.

Damian Hinds

The government believes that cigarette duty achieves a balance between its two fiscal goals on tobacco; to raise revenue and to protect public health.

In considering fiscal impacts of duties, the illicit trade is an important consideration. The government is committed to tackling illicit tobacco, which undermines health and tax policy objectives and harms legitimate business. HMRC and Border Force have an established and effective strategy for tackling tobacco fraud which has seen the illicit market reduce significantly since the strategy was first launched in 2000. This has meant that, since the introduction of the tobacco duty escalator, the size of the illicit market has continued to fall.

01/01/2023
Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the time taken to conduct its Supported Accommodation Review on the number of beds available in the supported accommodation sector.

Brandon Lewis

We understand the importance of ensuring that those people living in supported accommodation, who are generally the most vulnerable members of our society, receive appropriate protections.

The supported housing sector provides valuable support to some of our country’s most vulnerable people.

We have commissioned an evidence review of the supported housing sector which we expect to report shortly. Building on this review, we will continue to work with and listen to providers as part of developing a long-term sustainable funding regime.

In the meantime we have put in place a one-year exception for all supported accommodation from the social rent reduction measures and the Local Housing Allowance cap, so there will be no material change in this financial year.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote pluralism and religious freedom in Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, which we supported, urges all parties to the UN-facilitated political process to adhere to the principle identified by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to protect the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination. Through our membership of the ISSG we will focus all our efforts on ensuring that Syrian minorities are included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. In our contact with members of the Syrian opposition who have signed up to the Geneva Communiqué, we have maintained a strong line on our commitment to pluralism, and the need to ensure that Freedom of Religion or Belief is enshrined as a constitutional right. A proportion of the High Negotiations Council, including members of the negotiating team, are drawn from religious minority groups in Syria’s richly diverse population. We are also supporting non-governmental efforts to promote dialogue between different ethnic and sectarian groups and education on tolerance, integration and pluralism.

01/01/2023
Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-07-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they and the UNHCR plan to take to protect Eritrean and Somali families now in Ethiopia, the Sudan, or South Sudan without legal status.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Irregular migrants in Africa are extremely vulnerable. We are working through the Khartoum Process, of which the UK is currently chair, and bilaterally to improve conditions for all migrants in the Horn of Africa. The Khartoum Process is a regional initiative bringing together the Governments of Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Libya and the EU, the UK, Italy, France, Germany and Malta to better manage migration in the region, including the protection of irregular migrants. The Khartoum Process is part of a plan of action agreed between African nations and the EU and its member states in Valletta in November 2015. The protection of migrant rights is a critical element of that plan.

In Sudan, we are advocating through the Khartoum Process for increased rights for refugees in national legislation, including work permits for Eritreans in Sudan. Alongside this, DFID contributes through the European Development Fund to the €100 million EU Trust Fund (EUTF) package of Special Measures for Sudan, which aims to protect and address the development needs of refugees in Eastern Sudan. The EUTF has been supporting UNHCR and local law enforcement efforts over the past 18 months to make camps in the East of Sudan more secure. With this EU support, UNHCR also hosts a unit for unaccompanied minors (UM) in Shagarab Camp, which works to return them to their families in Eritrea wherever possible, houses them separately from other migrants in purpose built dormitories, and provides free meals for all the children.

In April 2016, the UK together with World Bank and UNHCR signed up to a set of principles on programming to support long term refugees. These principles recommend increased support to a shift from relief provision for refugees towards a more sustainable approach. In line with this, DFID in Ethiopia is providing £125 million over the next five years for basic service and economic opportunities alongside protection programming, working with both refugees and host communities. Research into push and pull factors around migration also forms a part of DFID’s package of support.

01/01/2023