Category: Speeches

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many full time equivalent staff were employed at the tax credit office in Preston in each year from 2010 to 2015; and what estimate he has made of the size of the workforce at that office in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

    Mr David Gauke

    The following table outlines the number of full time equivalent staff employed at the tax credit office in Preston at the start of each financial year.

    Financial year

    Number of full time equivalent staff

    April 2010

    2010

    April 2011

    1957

    April 2012

    1998

    April 2013

    2033

    April 2014

    1870

    April 2015

    1787

    The projected full time equivalent staffing levels in 2016, 2017 and 2018 are 2,050, 1,941 and 1,834 respectively.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what information her Department holds on the average life expectancy for girls aged 15 in sub-Saharan Africa between 2005 and 2015.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The UN Population Division estimates that total average life expectancy for fifteen year old girls in Sub-Saharan Africa was 63.53 years between 2005 and 2010 and 66.12 years between 2010 and 2015.

  • Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Helen Hayes – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Hayes on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the postponement of the introduction of the one per cent rent reduction for supported housing requires the postponement of the introduction of the local housing allowance cap for residents living in supported housing.

    Justin Tomlinson

    We value the work of the supported housing sector extremely highly and are working closely with them to ensure they are supported as effectively as possible.

    As part of this we have commissioned an evidence review of supported housing.

    The results of this research will determine our future policy development and any appropriate exemptions.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the proportion of five-year olds eligible for free school meals with severe or extensive tooth decay.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England (PHE) has produced guidance to support local authorities in their responsibility to improve dental health and reduce inequalities among children in their area. PHE has also developed guidance for dental teams on preventing dental disease in their patients. Advice has recently been published by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence.

    The Department will be launching the Childhood Obesity Strategy in the summer. It will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese, including sugar which is a cause of tooth decay.

    Overall, children’s access to National Health Service dentistry remains consistently high, with the number of children seen in the 24 months to December 2015 by an NHS dentist standing at 8.1 million or 69.5% of the population. 104,000 more children saw an NHS dentist in England in the 24 month period ending 31 December 2015, compared with the same period ending 31 December 2014.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Albanian women (a) with (b) without children claimed asylum in the UK in each year since 2012; and how many of those women were subsequently removed from the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    Our records indicate the following claims in the 4 years from 2012:

    Claim Raised Date

    With Children

    Without Children

    Grand Total

    2012

    147

    107

    254

    2013

    263

    203

    466

    2014

    298

    242

    540

    2015

    278

    323

    601

    Grand Total

    986

    875

    1,861

    Of these claims the following were removed:

    Application/Raised Date

    With Children

    Without Children

    2012

    6

    19

    2013

    12

    30

    2014

    5

    27

    2015

    1

    10

    Grand Total

    24

    86

    Caveats

    The data has been sourced by searching for claims based on the main asylum claimant and has not used data relating to dependant .

    The parameters of the search are claims raised between 01 January 2012 and 31 December 2015 where the claimant is female, has dependant under 18 years of age or no dependants.

    Data does not include withdrawn or void applications.

    This is provisional management information that is subject to change. It has not been assured to the standard of Official Statistics.

  • Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Kilclooney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kilclooney on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of (1) UK exports to the US, and (2) imports from the US to the UK, for the most recent years for which figures are available; and whether this trade was based on any trade agreement with the US.

    Lord Price

    In 2015 UK exports of goods and services to the US were £ 95.1 billion and UK imports from the US were £ 59.7 billion.

    There is no bilateral trade agreement with the US. Both the EU and US are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). There are no estimates of the impact that their membership of the WTO and its trade agreements such as the Information Technology Agreement has had on UK-US trade.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hooper on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what provision they make for uprating the UK state pension for UK citizens living in British Overseas Territories.

    Baroness Altmann

    The Government has a clear position, which has remained the same for around 70 years and we have no plans to change this policy: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide and uprated abroad where we have a legal requirement to do so for example in the European Economic Area or countries where we have a reciprocal agreement that allows for uprating. Annual increases are paid to UK state pension recipients and in Bermuda and in Gibraltar.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the European Commission on (a) the status of EU students at British universities and (b) the status of British students at universities within the EU; and whether it is her policy that such student will be eligible for international student fees once Britain has left the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    No discussions have taken place yet. There are no immediate changes following the EU Referendum, including in the circumstances of British citizens studying, or planning to study, in the EU.

    Future arrangements for studying abroad will need to be considered as part of wider discussions about the UK’s relationship with the EU. For further information, see the Government Statement at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-higher-education-and-research-following-the-eu-referendum.

    “

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the citizenship process for EU nationals married to British citizens.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There are no plans to review the citizenship process for EU nationals married to British citizens at the current time.

  • Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Bill Esterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Esterson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his proposals for automatic enrolment of employees in pension schemes on businesses with fewer than 10 employees.

    Justin Tomlinson

    In 2010 the independent Making Automatic Enrolment Work (MAEW) review considered the impact of automatic enrolment on small and micro businesses. DWP’s impact assessments and on-going evaluation of Automatic Enrolment continue to monitor the costs and benefits of automatic enrolment on small businesses, including those with fewer than 10 employees.

    DWP’s evaluation reports and impact assessments are all available online.