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Category: Speeches

  • Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Rebecca Pow – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Pow on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on the contribution of further investment in road and rail infrastructure to economic growth and resilience in the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership area.

    Anna Soubry

    My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport and I agree about the vital contribution of road and rail infrastructure to national and local economic growth and resilience. In the Spending Review, the government committed to £7.2 billion of transport investment in the South West, including projects with benefits for the Heart of the South West area such as the £2 billion investment to dual the A303. The government also confirmed that:

    • Projects such as the North Devon Link Road will be able to bid for the new £475 million Local Majors Fund.
    • It is investing £20 million in the New Stations Fund, which will look at bids including the proposal for a stop between Castle Cary to Taunton.
    • The new South Western rail franchise will incentivise bidders to increase capacity and improve passenger satisfaction.
    • Existing £195.5m Growth Deal commitments, including transport infrastructure, have been confirmed.
  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the outcome was of the recruitment campaign organised by the Reserve Forces and Cadet Association of Northern Ireland in Summer 2015.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association for Northern Ireland (RFCA NI) is responsible for an ongoing campaign to recruit adult instructors for the Air Training Corps and Army Cadet Force in Northern Ireland. This is a highly effective campaign which has resulted in full staffing. Further details of the activities of RFCA NI can be found at the following address: http://www.reservesandcadetsni.org.uk/

    The Ministry of Defence is responsible for recruitment into the Reserve Forces. For information on the numbers of Reserve personnel stationed in Northern Ireland I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 20 October 2015 to Question 11478 to the hon. Member for East Antrim (Mr Wilson).

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-10-12/11478/

    “

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 on small businesses.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 introduced a number of reforms to increase transparency, streamline processes and ensure prompt payment. These reforms were introduced to support all businesses, especially smaller ones. The impact of these reforms is being assessed by our Mystery Shopper service, who will publish a report on progress in due course.

    Direct SME spend in central government increased from under £3 billion (direct only) in 2009-10 to over £12 billion in 2014-15 (direct spend and spend through the supply chain).

  • Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Kate Hoey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hoey on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with London Underground (LU) on the effect on passenger safety of reducing staffing on LU.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department’s Ministers and officials have regular meetings with Transport for London (TfL) where many issues are discussed, including TfL’s plans to change the way Underground stations are operated and staffed, and to improve the service they provide to customers. I am assured that the changes introduced by TfL will not have a detrimental impact on passenger safety.

  • The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Lord Bishop of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Southwark on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of the Department for International Development’s humanitarian effort in Iraq has been transferred to partners and agencies working in Iraq.

    Baroness Verma

    Since June 2014, the UK has committed £79.5 million in humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Iraq. With the exception of emergency humanitarian supplies delivered by the UK to Iraq in summer 2014, all of this funding is delivered through UN agencies and NGO partners working in Iraq – including through those who have access to some of the most challenging areas. The Department for International Development does not provide any direct financial support to the Government of Iraq or Kurdistan Regional Government.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-04-26.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what he expects the take-up rate of tax-free childcare to be.

    Damian Hinds

    Tax-Free Childcare is being designed to be as straightforward as possible for parents. It will be quick and easy to apply online for the vast majority who are able to do so. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs will ensure that assistance is provided to families who cannot access the internet so that they do not miss out on the support available via Tax-Free Childcare.

    Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

    The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested before the scheme is launched.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2016 to Question 38217, on his Department’s BME pay gap, where the information about this is held; and what estimate he has made of the cost of providing the information.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Ministry of Defence does not capture and report data on hourly earnings, and therefore does not provide comparative data in this way.

    The Department has recently published an Equal Pay Audit 2015 report which can be found at the following address:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-equal-pay-audit-report-2015

    This Audit presents a comparison of male to female and White to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) annualised average salaries in the period 1 October 2014 to 1 October 2015. This meets the Department’s obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty to provide information on its workforce identified by the Equality Act 2010.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on the management and regulation of the UK’s Marine Protected Areas and on Government plans to complete a coherent network of Marine Conservation Zones.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government remains committed to putting in place a well-managed Blue Belt to protect precious marine habitats and species. We are aiming for the third tranche of Marine Conservation Zones to be comprehensive and complete our contribution to the ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas in the North East Atlantic. This network plays an important part in helping stem the decline of marine habitats and species and in aiding their recovery. Marine Conservation Zones are provided for through domestic legislation.

    We will be exploring options over the coming months for how best to protect the species and habitats that are found in our European Marine Sites set up under the Habitats and Birds Directives.

  • Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Joan Ryan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish data on assaults on police at a (a) constituency and (b) borough level.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have worked closely with police forces in recent years to improve the quality of data on assaults on the police. In July 2015 provisional data were published for the first time since 2009/10, presenting data on assaults without injury from crime recording systems alongside information from health and safety systems to provide a more complete picture of assaults.

    These data were then developed further in 2016, with forces asked to submit more complete data on assaults from their crime recording systems, including cases that involved injury as well as cases that did not. This allowed a more refined figure of 23,000 assaults on police officers in 2015/16 to be estimated.

    We are continuing to work with forces to better capture assaults that involve injury to the police in recorded crime data.

    Recorded crime data on “assaults without injury on a constable” are published at Community Safety Partnership (equivalent to boroughs in London) and Police Force Area level, and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

    There are no current plans to collect this data at parliamentary constituency level.

    “

  • Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Mary Creagh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2015 to Question 8364, (a) how many and (b) in which countries British military personnel were embedded in (i) each of the last five years and (ii) 2015 to date.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence said in response to your question 8364 on 7 September 2015: given the routine nature of embedding, this information has not been coordinated centrally. The Ministry of Defence is in the process of compiling data on UK personnel embedded with other nations’ armed forces, who are deployed on the operations together with those who work on operations in deployed coalition or single nation headquarters roles. I intend to update the House after this process is complete.