Category: Speeches

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 23980, on employment plans: mental illness, whether he plans to introduce new measures of support for people with mental health problems before the end of the three year period of voluntary trials.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The 2015 Spending Review announced at least £130 million a year in steady state funding on the new Work and Health Programme, which we plan to launch in 2017. With this new programme we plan to restructure our current provision to focus on providing the best possible support for claimants with health conditions or disabilities, including those with mental health conditions.

    In addition, the Prime Minister has already announced plans to significantly improve the support that helps people with mental ill health retain or regain employment:

    • Over £300 million will be provided to double access to talking therapies for people suffering from conditions like anxiety or depression.
    • £50 million will be spent to double the reach of Individual Placement and Support Programmes, which find work for people with mental illness.
    • over £50 million is being invested to more than double the number of IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) employment advisors, so that they are linked in to every talking therapy service in the country.
    • 29,000 more people with mental health conditions will be helped to find or stay in work thanks to increased access to these therapies.
  • Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Jamie Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when she expects the regulatory approval processes, including the Generic Design Assessment, to be completed for proposed new nuclear reactors at Moorside in Cumbria.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The regulatory approval process for new nuclear reactors proposed for construction in the UK is run by the UK’s independent nuclear regulators, the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agencies. DECC does not direct or intervene in the assessment process.

    Generic Design Assessment of the AP1000 reactor proposed for construction at the Moorside site in Cumbria is targeted for completion in Q1 2017. NuGen has not yet made applications for site specific regulatory approvals, such as licensing and environmental permits, but DECC expects these to be made in good time, targeting completion for 2018.

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what estimate she has made of the weekly cost of the deferment of the opening of St Helena Airport.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    The St Helena Airport was certificated by Air Safety Support International on 10 May 2016 and is open.

  • 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 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that self-employed tutors are subject to criminal records checks.

    Sarah Newton

    Those wishing to engage a tutor to work with children may ask the tutor to show them an enhanced criminal record certificate obtained from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). A self-employed tutor can apply for such a certificate through an agency, which will process the application and confirm that the activity provides eligibility for the check. Alternatively, any individual can apply directly for a criminal conviction certificate which is available from Disclosure Scotland and which contains details of unspent convictions and cautions.

    Where parents or others do not want to take on a tutor without the reassurance of a DBS check, they are free to limit their selection process to people who can show them a certificate from the DBS. Ultimately, it is for those engaging a tutor to decide who is a suitable person to fill that role, taking into account all the information which is available to them.

  • Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bradshaw on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent by the Competition and Markets Authority conducting investigations into the bus industry, including fees paid to consultants and legal fees, over the last 10 years.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was formed in 2014 after the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission were merged. It has the function to carry out investigations into sectors where there is risk of anti-competitive behaviour.

    Since its inception in 2014, the CMA has carried out five Phase 1 merger investigations into the bus industry. The estimated cost for these investigations was £308,229.55. The Government does not hold information on the cost of individual investigations undertaken by the Office of Fair Trading or the Competition Commission.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with Volkswagen on irregularities in the levels of carbon dioxide emissions from cars manufactured by that firm; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen (VW) Group extremely seriously. As we investigate what went wrong and what we can do to stop it happening again, the priority of course remains to protect the public. We expect VW to take every step necessary to protect its UK customers, but it is right that the Government carry out their own thorough and independent investigation.

    A written statement was made today (10 November) informing the House of the latest developments on the Department for Transport’s vehicle emissions testing programme, following the revelations that VW had fitted defeat devices to some of its vehicles.

    The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is working to confirm that this issue is not industry wide. They have tested two VW group vehicles known to contain a defeat device and will rerun laboratory tests on popular cars sold in the UK to compare real world driving emissions against laboratory performance. This will include measuring CO2 .

    The Secretary of State spoke to Dr Herbert Deiss of VW on 4 November to discuss CO2 emissions, seeking information on those vehicles affected in the UK and the extent of the discrepancy. VW have stated that they are working hard to clarify the situation and are liaising with relevant approval authorities.

    The Secretary of State has written jointly with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to VW seeking clarification on several issues. Separately, officials from the Department for Transport, and its Agencies have held a number of discussions with VW regarding the recall of affected vehicles.

    The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of on road emissions in relation to type approval requirements, but officials are aware of the findings in published reports suggesting significant differences.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many times he has visited each parliamentary constituency in Wales in an official capacity in the 2015-16 session of Parliament.

    Stephen Crabb

    Wales Office Ministers regularly visit Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales. In each instance, the respective honourable Member is notified of the visit.

    Details of Ministerial visits and meetings are published on the Wales Office website, and in Quarterly Ministerial Transparency Returns. In addition, visits and meetings conducted in support of the Wales Office Business Plan are published in the Wales Office Annual Report and Accounts.

    Wales Office Ministers are always keen to receive invitation requests from honourable Members.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many defibrillators are provided in 10 Downing Street.

    Matthew Hancock

    One defibrillator has been provided in each of three buildings managed by the Cabinet Office. The buildings are: 10 Downing Street; Rosebery Court, Norwich; and Emergency Planning College, York.

  • Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Harrison – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harrison on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year An Unholy Mess that a significant proportion of religiously selective schools are not properly publishing their admission arrangements, thereby depriving parents of the information they need to navigate the admissions process.

    Lord Nash

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

    We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK armed forces personnel are currently deployed in (a) the Baltic states and (b) Poland as part of the Transatlantic Capability Enhancement and Training initiative; and from which units these personnel are drawn.

    Penny Mordaunt

    In February 2016 the UK became a Lead Nation, alongside Germany and the US, in the Transatlantic Capability Enhancement and Training initiative (TACET). Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force personnel have met Baltic States’ and Polish representatives to discuss how to deliver TACET’s objectives, and training needs analysis teams will deploy shortly to take the initiative forward. UK training deployments will start from April 2017, and we expect the initiative will be fully operational by the Warsaw Summit this July, but precise numbers to be deployed and their Units have not yet been confirmed.