Category: Speeches

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7331), what is their assessment of the prospect of the government of Iraq acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are not aware of any information indicating that the Government of Iraq is in the process of acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    The UK is a strong supporter of the ICC. We offer support to any State that is in the process of ratifying the Rome Statute or needs assistance in adopting the national legislation needed to enact the full implementation of the statute. Whether Iraq chooses to accede to the Rome Statute is a matter for the Government of Iraq.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34913, on planning, if he will publish the analysis of the responses on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations.

    Brandon Lewis

    A consultation on specific changes to the Framework, aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations, closed on 22 February. We are currently analysing the responses.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what help and support is available to historic victims of forced marriage.

    Sarah Newton

    Figures on the number of cases reported to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), via its public helpline and email inbox, are published annually and are available on GOV.UK. The figures include a breakdown of cases by age, gender and country to which the case relates.

    The FMU carries out a range of activity, including delivery of a comprehensive programme of outreach, provision of an e-learning tool and guidelines for professionals, and a series of short films aimed at supporting victims and deterring potential perpetrators. We also recently launched a new forced marriage campaign, ahead of the summer holidays, aimed at raising awareness through radio adverts.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to recruit more trainee teachers for secondary school subjects for which recruitment targets have been missed.

    Nick Gibb

    The latest published figures from UCAS show that teaching remains a hugely popular profession. Over 27,000 people have been recruited to postgraduate teacher training courses in England in 2016/17.

    To support recruitment in 2017/18, we have announced a new package of financial incentives – including increases to bursaries and scholarships to attract top graduates in priority subjects. We have expanded the scholarship scheme, introducing two new scholarships in languages and geography, in partnership with the British Council and the Royal Geographical Society.

    Our 2017/18 teacher recruitment marketing campaign commenced on 4 October and features a new television advert, alongside print, online and social media advertising. Forty Train to Teach recruitment events will take place across the country and further activity will take place on university campuses, including over thirty graduate fairs where our advisors will meet with students, setting out the benefits of a career in teaching.

    In addition, we are spending up to £67 million on a programme of measures to upskill the existing maths and physics teaching workforce, and increase the number of new mathematics and physics specialists entering teaching. This package aims to recruit up to 2,500 new teachers and upskill up to 15,000 existing teachers over the term of this parliament. We have increased bursary rates in the subjects that leading universities say are most commonly required at A level for entry onto their degree courses.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of in-work households in receipt of tax credits with an underlying entitlement to Working Tax Credit in each of the last five tax years had not had a claim with an underlying entitlement to Working Tax Credit in the preceding tax year.

    Damian Hinds

    The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Stuart Andrew – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stuart Andrew – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Government has to meet demand for school places in Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    As announced at the Spending Review, the Government is investing £23 billion in school buildings to create 600,000 new school places, opening 500 new free schools and addressing essential maintenance needs. This commitment reflects our bold ambitions for education and provides a firm basis from which to deliver our goal of securing educational excellence in every corner of the country.

    Local authorities are responsible for planning and securing sufficient school places in their area, and supporting them to do so is one of this Government’s top priorities. We allocate basic need funding to local authorities to help create new school places where they are needed. Leeds has been allocated £73 million of basic need funding for the period 2015-18. Leeds also received £99 million between 2011 and 2015, helping to create 8,800 new school places between 2010 and 2014.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve police responses to sexual assaults and rapes at universities.

    Karen Bradley

    Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes which we remain committed to tackling. We expect every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

    We continue to work with the police to look at ways to improve their response to rape and sexual assault. We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of this crime. The Rape Action Plan, led by the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Policing lead for rape, ensures that investigators and prosecutors have both the right tools for handling these cases, and referrals from the police to prosecutors are improved to increase successful prosecutions.

    We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes to the police, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice, no matter where the offence takes place. Police recorded rape increased by 43% (to 31,621 offences) in the year ending June 2015 compared with the previous year. We do not hold figures on the number of rapes in England and Wales that took place in universities. This significant rise in the reporting of rape is the result of a renewed focus on the quality of crime recording and a greater willingness of victims to come forward. These can only be positive developments in our fight to end abuse.

  • Nigel Ada – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nigel Ada – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Ada on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) broadcasters and (b) Ofcom on the Ofcom review into the regulatory framework of independent television production; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom reported on the operation of the television production sector on 23 December. I am now considering that report, and will make a decision in due course.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people requiring wheelchair accessible homes in (a) Easington, (b) the North East and (c) England.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government has published data on the housing need of older and disabled people in England to support local authorities in assessing likely need in their local area. This can be found at link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-regulations-guide-to-available-disability-data

    It is for local authorities to determine specific needs in their local areas.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Earl of Courtown on 22 February (HL5963), and with regard to Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request 0986-15, why there is a discrepancy between the Minister’s quoted figure of £270,046.61 being spent on projects in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with a human rights focus and a quoted figure in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Freedom of Information response of £9,499 being spent; and what differentiates the FCO projects with a human rights rationale” and a human rights “element”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The figure of £270,046.61 relates to projects which are not exclusively focused on promoting human rights, but which significantly contribute to our human rights objectives in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. These include humanitarian projects aimed at improving the lives of the most vulnerable people in North Korean society, and English language projects which make North Korean participants aware of other ideas and cultures. The figure of £9,499 relates to projects solely focused on promoting human rights.