Category: Speeches

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps she has taken to increase the number of women represented on the executive boards of FTSE 100 companies.

    Caroline Dinenage

    I am delighted that we exceeded Lord Davies’s target of 25% women on boards of the FTSE 100 last year. However, we know that there is more to be done, and we will support and promote Lord Davies’s recommendation for a business-led 33% target for FTSE 350 boards by 2020. That’s why we’ve appointed Sir Philip Hampton, Chair of GlaxoSmithKline, and Dame Helen Alexander, Chair of UBM plc, as Chair and Deputy Chair of a new review which will focus on increasing the number of women in the executive layer of the FTSE 350.

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-07-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the risk that leaving the EU could negatively affect the growth of startup companies in the UK.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    There will be no immediate changes to the UK’s relationship with the EU, in the way goods can move or services can be sold.

    The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains open for business and continues to grow and thrive.

  • Lord Ramsbotham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Ramsbotham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ramsbotham on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the discussions with the government of the US over the extension of the 1966 agreement concerning the British Indian Ocean Territory will be followed by discussions with Mauritius over the future sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Government is disappointed at recent action by Mauritius in seeking a UN General Assembly resolution requesting “an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965”. We believe this is an inappropriate use of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion mechanism and sets an unwelcome precedent for other bilateral disputes. Whilst we are disappointed that this item has been added to the UNGA agenda, we are pleased that discussions at UNGA will be deferred until at least June 2017 in order to allow for bilateral discussions with Mauritius. We are hopeful that we can reach an agreed way forward through such bilateral discussions.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that CCGs do not reduce expenditure on mental health budgets to cover deficits in the acute hospital sector.

    Alistair Burt

    NHS England has made a requirement of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in the planning guidance for 2015/16, The Forward View Into Action: Planning Guidance for 2015/16, that each CCG’s spending on mental health services in 2015/16 should increase in real terms, and grow by at least as much as each CCG’s overall funding allocation increase.

    CCGs are required to submit their spending plans and their annual accounts to NHS England. NHS England reviews spending, including for mental health, through the CCG assurance process.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of student loans likely to be written off in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    More people than ever before are now able to benefit from higher education. The student loan system ensures that access to finance should not be a barrier to participation in higher education.

    For students starting their Higher Education course prior to the 2020-21 academic year the nominal value of student loans that are written off in each of the next 10 years is forecast as follows:

    Financial year

    2015-16

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    2020-21

    2021-22

    2022-23

    2023-24

    2024-25

    Write-off amount (nominal; £m)

    220

    140

    190

    230

    310

    350

    390

    450

    520

    520

    Source: BIS Student Loan Repayment Model. Figures are rounded to the nearest £10m.

    This table includes loans written-off due to any of the following circumstances: a) if the loan borrower started their Higher Education course prior to 2006-07 academic year and has reached the age of 65; b) the borrower has died; or c) the borrower becomes disabled

  • Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Baroness King of Bow – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2016-01-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total value of redundancy payments made to former employees of the Tenant Services Authority as a result of the decision to abolish that organisation.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The Office for Tenants and Social Landlords (known as The Tenant Services Authority) ceased to exist from 31 March 2012. All staff were transferred under TUPE regulations to the Homes and Communities Agency from 1 April 2012, with the exception of the Managing Director. It was agreed that the post of Managing Director would not transfer and that the post should be deleted from the establishment from that date. A redundancy payment of £47,675 was made, together with enhanced pension contributions of £148,568.

  • Lord Wallace of Tankerness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Wallace of Tankerness – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wallace of Tankerness on 2016-02-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to support Bite the Ballot’s National Voter Registration Drive 2016, as well as the efforts by other organisations to engage and register (1) attainers, and (2) young voters, ahead of the elections in May and the EU referendum.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The introduction of online voter registration makes it easier and faster to register to vote. This provided a platform for Bite the Ballot’s National Voter Registration Drive 2016 which made heavy use of on digital media. The Government supported the initiative by encouraging government departments and relevant stakeholders such as local authorities to promote it. Since its introduction, three quarters of applications to register to vote were made online by people aged 16-24. As part of the week long activity, my Rt Hon. Friend the Minister for Constitutional Reform met with representatives of several faith organisations to discuss democratic participation.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-03-07.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Altmann on 2 March (HL6343), why there is a difference within the Overseas Territories resulting in some people receiving uprating of their pensions while the pensions of others are frozen, and what would be the annual cost of unfreezing pensions for all those living in the Overseas Territories.

    Baroness Altmann

    The government has a clear position, which has remained constant for around 70 years: the UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for uprating. There are no plans to change this.

    The annual additional cost of up-rating the state pensions of those recipients who are resident in the British Overseas Territories is estimated at approximately £1million in 2015/16.

    Were this to occur, liabilities for pensioners who live in other countries and territories would also have to be met. The estimated cost of increasing pensions in those countries where they are not currently uprated would be over £0.5 billion a year. This would be financially unaffordable.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the (a) cost of running and (b) number of full-time equivalent employees based within the Cities and Local Growth Unit in each year since its inception; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Cities and Local Growth Unit is a joint BIS-DCLG team that supports a range of local growth activity. It was established in December 2013 to support policy areas including Growth Deals and City Deals. Its allocated headcount in the past three years has been 123 in 2013/14 and 2014/15, rising to 161.9 by the end of 2015/16, during which time it took on work in additional areas, including Devolution Deals, Enterprise Zones, and High Streets, Town Centres and Coastal Communities.

    The Department has estimated the running costs of the unit for 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 as £2.52m, £6.88m and £9.57m respectively. The figure is low in 2013-14 as the Unit was established three months before the end of the financial year. This estimate includes pay and non-pay costs.

  • Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jack Dromey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jack Dromey on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many European Arrest Warrant surrenders (a) to and (b) from each UK law enforcement agency there have been of people suspected of violent, sexual or other offences against women in each year since 2004; and of which offence each of those people was suspected.

    James Brokenshire

    The statistics provided by the National Crime Agency on their website: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/european-arrest-warrant-statistics are not broken down in the manner requested (i.e., by gender). Additionally they are only available by offence-type from calendar year 2010.