Category: Speeches

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2015 to Question 18835, what alternative options will be available to single people claiming housing benefit who are under the age of 35 and are not able to afford a social tenancy from April 2018.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Discretionary Housing Payments will be available to help single people under 35 (claiming either housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit) if they need help transitioning to shared accommodation rate in April 2018.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of its policies on the automotive sector on the competitiveness of that sector.

    Anna Soubry

    The Government works closely with the automotive industry, in particular through the Automotive Council, on competitiveness issues affecting the sector. In November 2015, the Automotive Council published an assessment of the UK’s international competitiveness on their website. UK automotive sector productivity is the highest in Europe compared to other major European producers. Car production reached a 10-year high in 2015 at 1.59 million vehicles, with almost 80% of these exported to over 100 countries. In addition, the value of UK sourced components by vehicle manufacturers has increased from 36% in 2011 to 41% in 2015. The sector is at the forefront in the design and use of high quality Apprenticeships to ensure the skilled workforce required to support future growth.

  • Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Daniel Kawczynski – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Kawczynski on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to assist vulnerable Syrian minorities register with the UNHCR who have not done so due to fear of persecution.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    At the "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference on 4 February more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict. This is the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total more than £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees. Any person claiming refugee status is able to avail themselves of UNHCR’s global protection mandate where UNHCR has a presence. They can directly approach UNHCR and register with them, or be referred to UNHCR by a third organisation, or UNHCR can ask them to register. The UK has allocated £115 million to UNHCR’s operations in Syria and the surrounding region, of which a proportion is used for registration.

    Over time, many previously unregistered refugees have sought UNHCR’s assistance and protection services as their resources have dwindled and coping mechanisms become stretched. Some minority groups may not see a need to register either due to their own resources or due to reliance on community/social networks.

    DFID continues to work with the UN and the international community to ensure all minorities’ rights are protected and our aid reaches those in greatest need.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the safety of railways in the UK and other European countries.

    Claire Perry

    The United Kingdom currently has the safest record of any major railway network in Europe. All European Union Member States collect statistics about their safety performance including, for example, accidents and consequences, accident precursors and technical information. This material is collated by the European Railway Agency in its Annual Safety Performance Reports which are published at www.era.europa.eu/Core-Activities/Safety/Safety-Performance/Pages/Safety-Performance-Report.aspx.

    “

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether there was any consultation with businesses in flood-risk areas before the decision was taken to cut funding to the Climate Ready programme delivered by the Environment Agency.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra has not consulted on the Climate Ready Support Service delivered by the Environment Agency. The Service was originally envisaged as a three year programme that was extended to a fourth year in March 2015. This enabled completion of the majority of National Adaptation Programme actions to which the Service was contributing. Indeed the first National Adaptation Programme sets out more than 370 actions to help the UK better prepare for climate change – we continue to deliver on these actions and make sure adaptation is integrated across government policy making.

    The Environment Agency continues to play an important role in helping businesses adapt to climate change, in particular as part of its core role on flooding, coastal risks, water management, freshwater habitats, and as a statutory adviser in the land-use planning system. In addition, the EA will continue to provide advice to businesses and other organisations on using the UK climate projections and it will continue to contribute to a range of stakeholder groups. Over 70 online tools developed by the Climate Ready Support Service are available for use by businesses.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) mathematics and (b) physics teacher training places have been allocated in each available teacher training route for the 2016-17 school year; and how many of those places allocated have been filled.

    Nick Gibb

    There are no caps on the number of mathematics and physics trainees that universities, School Direct lead schools and school-centred initial teacher training providers can recruit. We changed the approach to ITT allocations for 2016/17 by not allocating places to individual organisations for postgraduate ITT courses.

    We will publish the number of trainees starting courses in the 2016/17 academic year when we publish the ITT Census in November 2016.

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Disclosure and Barring Service checks are yet to be processed which are (a) one, (b) three and (c) six months after the relevant renewal date.

    Mike Penning

    The Disclosure and Barring Service is responsible for issuing criminal record certificates and the maintenance of children’s and adults’ barred lists. The Disclosure and Barring Service has a target of processing 85% of all disclosure applications within 21 days. In the vast majority of cases (95%), disclosure certificates are issued within 8 weeks (2015/16).

    Criminal record certificates issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service do not expire after a specific period of time and do not include a renewal date. A certificate has no set period of validity. Information revealed through a Disclosure and Barring Service check reflects the information that was available at the time of its issue. Disclosure certificates are primarily designed to be used by an employer at the point of recruitment for a particular position.

    Some roles and some employers require the person concerned to “renew” their Disclosure and Barring Service check at specific intervals. The person can do that either by applying for a new certificate or by using the Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service.

    It would not be appropriate to comment on specific cases, but there are a number of factors which can affect the timely completion of checks. These include the length of time if can take for an employer to deal with the initial application, the accurate completion of the application form, the clarity of the information provided, the existence of conviction or non-conviction information, legal challenges and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units of the police forces involved, if any, in the enhanced process. In some cases, forces will ask Disclosure and Barring Service to clarify some details provided by the applicant which requires further investigation and this can cause further delays.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is his Department’s policy to reduce the overall civil service headcount in the current Parliament.

    Ben Gummer

    There is no central Cabinet Office policy to reduce the overall Civil Service headcount in the current Parliament. Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each department to determine based on their individual operational and policy requirements. Each department has their own spending agreements with HM Treasury for this Parliament and are responsible for ensuring they have the right workforce and capability in place to deliver their commitments.

    Earlier this year, departments published their Single Departmental Plans, setting out the key programmes of work required to deliver the Government’s Manifesto commitments. Departments have been developing plans to ensure they have the workforce required to deliver their Single Departmental Plans.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-11-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) the Government’s policy is and (b) guidance his Department has issued on the use of e-cigarettes as an alternative to smoking; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government believes that vaping/using e-cigarettes is significantly less harmful than smoking tobacco products. Evidence suggests that smokers can substantially benefit their health by fully substituting the use of e-cigarettes for smoking. Public Health England has been working with Local Stop Smoking Services encouraging them to be open to the use of e-cigarettes, where clients choose to use them to support their quit attempts, alone or alongside other nicotine replacement therapies and the behavioural therapy that the services offer.

    The first e-cigarette was licenced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency earlier this month. The Government continues to encourage applications for licensed medicinal products to enable both general practitioners and Local Stop Smoking Services to prescribe products which have demonstrated that they meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

  • Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness McIntosh of Pickering – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to match revenue spending on flood defence and protection measures to capital spending, and whether they plan to move towards a total expenditure budget for such measures.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    We are investing £2.3 billion in 1,500 flood defence improvement schemes over the next six years. This will provide better protection to at least 300,000 households, up to 420,000 acres of agricultural land, over 200 miles of railway and 340 miles of roads. The Government has confirmed that flood maintenance funding will be protected in real terms for the duration of this Parliament.

    There are no plans to move towards a total expenditure budget for flood defence and protection in this Parliament. The Environment Agency have advised us that the current funding is an optimal mix of resources funding (for maintaining defences) and capital funding to rebuild and improve defences as set out in the 6 year investment programme. We do not believe that there would be significant additional benefits from this flexibility at this stage.