Category: Speeches

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many infraction proceedings the EU has initiated against his Department in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for each such proceeding being undertaken; and what the outcome was of each such proceeding.

    Mr David Lidington

    The information requested is publicly available on the website of the European Commission where the infringement cases for each member state can be found. This includes the infringement and the decision. These records go back to 2002 and can be found here: http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/?lang_code=en

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Institute of Director’s call in February for a broadband target of 10 gigabits a second by 2030.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government welcomes the Institute of Directors’ Ultrafast Britain: Broadband Report published in February and is committed to working with the market to deliver a digital infrastructure that meets the current and future needs for high speeds, as well as security and resilience. The Government will be setting out its plans for realising this in its upcoming Digital Strategy.

  • Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Biography information for Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-07-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 27 June (HL Deb, col 1352), what assessment they have made of whether action to combat the threat of terrorism could be helped by a clearer use of language, for example by explaining the actual meaning of words such as extremism”

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The 2011 Prevent strategy and statutory guidance on the exercise of the Prevent duty both contain glossaries which explain the meaning of terms used.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what qualifications are required of people who work as personal independence payment assessors.

    Penny Mordaunt

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to his previous questions numbered 47755 and 47757 (PQs asked on Tuesday 11th October 2016).

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the proportion of people working in (a) law, (b) journalism, (c) politics, (d) medicine and (e) other professions who attended (i) selective and (ii) non-selective schools.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department does not hold this information.

    The Sutton Trust has looked at this matter as part of its Leading People study, which can be viewed on its website.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 1 December 2014 to Question 216015, what criteria his Department sets for eligibility for free NHS prescriptions for households in receipt of universal credit.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has introduced two earnings thresholds to determine entitlement to Help with Health Costs, including free NHS prescriptions, for those getting Universal Credit. A higher earnings threshold has been set at £935 net per month for claimants who are responsible for a child or who have limited capability for work, and a lower one at £435 net per month for all other claimants. These thresholds became effective on 1 November 2015, and replace the interim arrangement whereby all Universal Credit claimants were entitled.

    In setting these earnings thresholds, we have broadly aligned entitlement through Universal Credit with the arrangements for those benefits which currently provide entitlement and which Universal Credit will replace, within the constraints imposed by the different structure of Universal Credit and the need to avoid additional costs to the NHS. The thresholds will make sure that those claimants on the lowest incomes continue to get Help with Health Costs.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will meet members of the Manufacturing Commission to discuss its report, entitled Industrial Evolution, published in October 2015.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government’s top priority is to continue creating a highly competitive business environment that makes the UK an attractive location for new manufacturing investment in sustainable processes. We are protecting spending on innovation and the cutting-edge smart manufacturing technologies that will encourage digital, virtual, resource-efficient factories in the future. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult has skills, expertise and equipment available to help partner companies improve the efficiency and sustainability of their processes. As part of Autumn Statement 2015, my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that funding to the nine existing Catapults would increase in real terms over the Spending Review period ensuring the UK remains a world leader in high-value manufacturing.

    In addition, we are taking into account UK business opportunities during negotiations on the EU Circular Economy proposals which include aims to improve business sustainability, resource and energy efficiency.

    At the Summer Budget 2015, the Chancellor announced a review of the business energy efficiency tax landscape and Government launched a consultation in September. The consultation set out proposals for delivering a simpler and more stable environment for business that will reduce administrative costs and improve incentives to invest in energy efficiency. This will help increase the productivity of UK businesses, save carbon emissions and ensure secure energy supplies. The Government is currently considering all consultation responses and is likely to publish its formal response at Budget 2016.

    I would be delighted to receive further representations from the Manufacturing Commission on their recent Industrial Evolution report.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Attorney General, if he will estimate the costs attributed to the Department for Education in cases relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 by the Government Legal Department since 2010.

    Robert Buckland

    The Treasury Solicitor’s Department was renamed the Government Legal Department (GLD) on 1 April 2015. It is primarily funded through the fees it charges for its legal services. It provides Litigation, Employment, Commercial and Advisory legal services to the Department for Education (DfE). The fees charged to DfE for this work, including the cost of disbursements, are as follows:

    Financial year

    Fees (excluding VAT) £

    2010-11

    4,208,845

    2011-12

    4,499,546

    2012-13

    4,805,840

    2013-14

    4,409,976

    2014-15

    4,098,629

    Providing information on the costs attributed to cases relating to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 would incur disproportionate cost as it would involve a manual exercise to identify those historical cases that relate to FOI.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse of the Defence Assistance Fund was in 2014-15.

    Michael Fallon

    The cost of the Defence Assistance Fund in financial year 2014-15 was £15.529 million.

  • Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Byford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Byford on 2016-03-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they used to decide on which radio channels to advertise the new workplace pensions; whether they are being advertised on BBC Radio; and if not, why not.

    Baroness Altmann

    We select radio stations to reach the largest proportion of our employer target audience in a cost efficient manner. This is determined by RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) listener surveys and using a sample audience profile that represents employers with less than 30 employees.

    We are unable to advertise on BBC Radio due to their commercial policy.