Category: Speeches

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) job description and (b) salary is of the Head of the NHS England EU Transition Team.

    David Mowat

    The post of Head of Europe Transition Team for NHS England has been advertised on NHS Jobs and is currently being recruited to. The related job description and person specification is attached. The post was advertised at an Agenda for Change Band 9 which offers a salary of between £78,629 and £99,437.

  • Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Grant Shapps – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grant Shapps on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what independent body or bodies he plans will judge phase one of the Small Modular Reactor Competition.

    Jesse Norman

    Phase One has not involved any evaluation or assessment of Small Modular Reactor proposals, beyond reviewing applicants against the published eligibility criteria, and therefore no independent bodies have been or will be making decisions during Phase One.

  • Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alistair Carmichael – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alistair Carmichael on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Syrian refugees arrived in the UK through the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme in October 2015.

    Richard Harrington

    The refugees that we are bringing to the United Kingdom are very vulnerable people. Our prime concern is their safety and protection as they arrive in this country. We believe that one way to protect their privacy and ensure their recovery and integration is to limit the amount of information about them that we make publicly available. We want to ensure the understandable public interest in the scheme is not based on a running commentary on the numbers that have arrived.

    Notwithstanding this the Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Of-ficial Statistics. The next set of figures will be in the quarterly release on 26 November 2015 and will cover the period July-September 2015. These numbers will be updated each quarter.

  • Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many literacy courses were enrolled on by offenders assessed as having a literacy need in each year since 2010.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The number of offender learners participating in English courses for all academic years where data are available is shown in Table 1. A separate breakdown identifying learners who participated on an English course after being assessed as having a literacy need is not available.

    Table 1: Offender Learner Participation in English (2010/11 and 2013/14)

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    23,980

    25,220

    22,620

    26,080

    Notes

    1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

    Mandatory English and maths assessments for newly-received prisoners (except individuals who have been assessed recently, and those who already have maths and English at Level 2) were introduced from academic year 2014/15. The outcomes for the English education assessments in 2014/15 are published online at the FE Data Library (link below) and attached.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473764/feandskills-OLASS-participation-english-and-maths-assessments.xls

    “

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to prepare for the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we get a better deal for Britain and secure our future. The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many local authorities routinely scan pet cats and dogs that are the victims of road traffic accidents on local roads and where possible contact their owners.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government recognises the distress of owners who lose a beloved pet. The main focus for this Government is to continue to ensure we reduce road casualties and improve road safety. By doing this it is hoped that we can make our roads safer for all users, as well as reducing the risks to all animals.

    It is the Government position that it is best practice to scan deceased pets found on the local highway. Some local authorities do endeavour to identify the owners if the pet has a collar or microchip and we encourage others to adopt the same practice. On 26 March 2015 the then Minister for Roads, Rt. Hon. John Hayes MP, wrote to all local highway authorities recommending that they consider scanning any deceased cats or dogs found on the public highway for which they are responsible as a matter of standard practice.

    It is, however, for each local highway authority to determine how any deceased animals found on the roads are handled and the Department for Transport does not collect information on how many undertake scanning.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department has paid to staff in overtime in each of the last 24 months.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Treasury’s overtime costs are published and can be found on www.gov.uk

    “

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average cost per mile of electrification of a railway line in the UK.

    Claire Perry

    The Department for Transport does not delineate the average cost per mile of electrification from the wider rail upgrade works that it funds in England and Wales. The Government’s commitment to a rolling programme of electrification is reliant on a wider set of enhancement works to make journeys better. This often includes track works, gauging, signalling upgrades, power supply works and station works to allow electric trains to run. The Department does not make an estimate of the average cost per mile of electrification as the engineering complexity and challenge varies significantly across England and Wales. Electrification works in Scotland are devolved to the Scottish Government.

    However, we are aware of the significant cost to the industry and the wider public of the failure of the Labour Governments of 1997 to 2010 to progress electrification schemes across the country. This Government is determined to rectify this failure.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what assessment the Commission has made of the effectiveness of the Education Service in engaging the attention of children during their visits to Parliament.

    Tom Brake

    The Commission has not made a formal assessment of the effectiveness of the Education Service in engaging the attention of children during their visits to Parliament. However, it receives regular updates on the work and reach of the service, and has supported the substantial growth in this area in recent years.

    The Education Service uses a number of techniques to engage students’ attention during visits including story-telling, question and answer, images, audio-visual clips, debating, quizzes and roleplay.

    Visits also make use of interactive and immersive technology as a means to enhance learning. The Education Centre’s Discovery space uses 360° projection and sound technology to immerse students in virtual chambers, historical events and The Story of Parliament, whilst three of the Centre’s learning spaces are equipped with augmented reality experiences, which see Winston Churchill, the Yeoman Usher, Charles I and Queen Victoria ‘come to life’ in virtual environments.

    Voting pods and tablets are used regularly in sessions, and the centre also contains a 3D printer, for printing objects students cannot normally handle or get close to; this is proving particularly effective for tactile learning and Special Educational Needs (SEN) groups. Tablets are also used on the line of route as part of the ‘Adventurer’s Tour’ programme, where KS2 students are tasked with a mission to save democracy.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many members of staff will be recruited to form the Anti-corruption Innovation Hub.

    Matthew Hancock

    There will be a full time member of staff with additional support as part of joint commitment between the Government and Omidyar Network.