Category: Speeches

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his Department’s wellness strategy is.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department has a health and wellbeing strategy that reflects the wider Civil Service priorities of mental health, musculoskeletal disorders and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

    An effective Occupational Health and Workplace Adjustment services, together with an Employee Assistance Programme, are in place. The Department has committed and strong staff networks, including a Health and Wellbeing network.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects to have put in place comprehensive management plans for each of the existing Marine Conservation Zones.

    George Eustice

    The Government is committed to delivering a ‘Blue Belt’ of well-managed Marine Protected Areas around our coasts. Where fisheries management measures are required, the Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities and the Marine Management Organisation will put in place measures, such as byelaws, for all inshore Tranche 1 Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) by the end of this year. To date, 19 new byelaws and 14 new voluntary measures that complement over 25 legacy byelaws are already in place. Appropriate fisheries management measures for inshore Tranche 2 MCZ sites will be identified by January 2018, following their designation earlier this year.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget was for food procured for his Department in each of the last three years; and what proportion of such food was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.

    Jane Ellison

    All civil servants employed by the core Department are paid via its payroll system.

  • Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kevin Foster – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Foster on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is provision to ensure that both parents in a separated couple receive financial assistance for their children when joint custody has been approved.

    Damian Hinds

    Where a separated couple have joint custody for their children, only one of them will receive financial assistance for those children through Universal Credit. The separated couple may jointly nominate which of them that will be. The parent who receives financial support is the one whom the child normally lives with, but if the child normally lives with both, then it is the parent who has main responsibility for the child. This is to be decided by the parents, or failing that, the Secretary of State if the parents cannot agree or if the Secretary of State does not think that the nomination accurately reflects the arrangement. HM Revenue & Customs administer Child Tax Credit and Child Benefit and the rules similarly require that payment is directed towards the person who is mainly responsible for the child, so that at any one time, only one person can be entitled to receive payments in respect of a particular child.

  • Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tommy Sheppard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what correspondence he has received from English Heritage on Duchy of Lancaster properties under the guardianship of English Heritage in the last 12 months.

    Sir Patrick McLoughlin

    The Minister for the Cabinet Office has received no correspondence from English Heritage on Duchy of Lancaster properties under the guardianship of English Heritage in the last 12 months.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Mark Pritchard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what additional support her Department plans to give to Ethiopia because of drought in that country in 2015-16.

    Grant Shapps

    We are extremely concerned about the impact of the current drought on the food security situation in Ethiopia. A joint Government of Ethiopia and UN assessment is underway and we are in touch with our UN and Non-Governmental Organisation partners on the ground to determine the extent of need.

    In October, the Government of Ethiopia announced that about 8.2 million people are in need of emergency food aid, up from the 4.5 million estimated in August. The number of severely malnourished children under five years old admitted to therapeutic feeding programmes this year has increased notably.

    Britain has acted quickly and decisively by providing emergency support for 2.6 million people. This includes food aid for 2.1 million people for a month. The Government of Ethiopia has also committed its largest ever response to a drought. The international community will need to work hard with the Government of Ethiopia to prevent the crisis from worsening in the coming months.

    DFID is at the forefront of resilience work to reduce the impact of crises in developing countries. In Ethiopia, DFID’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP) has helped turn desert land into land that can be farmed again.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will deploy the RAF to provide humanitarian support to the people of Syria through the use of air drops.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The UN, the Red Cross Movement and Non-Governmental Organisation partners have the mandate and expertise to deliver an appropriate response to the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Any UK response would work to the same principles by which the UN operates. We would not use air drops when there is ground access particularly in the circumstances of western Syria, where there are no assurances about the safety of delivering humanitarian assistance by air. Nor would the UK undermine humanitarian agencies by providing duplicate aid through air drops, in the absence of full coordination with all agencies on the ground.

  • Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans the Government has to contribute to the funding agreed at the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015 to assist developing countries in adapting to the effects of climate change.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The Government will provide £5.8 billion over the next five years to support developing countries in tackling climate change through the UK International Climate Fund, including at least £1.76 billion in 2020, ensuring that the UK plays its part in achieving the goal of mobilising $100 billion of climate finance a year by 2020. We plan to spend 50% of our climate finance on adaptation and 50% on mitigation.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what further assistance his Department plans to give the devolved legislatures for providing access to higher speed broadband services.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Superfast broadband is available to nearly 90 per cent of homes and businesses in the UK, and we are on track to reach 95% by the end of 2017, as set out in our manifesto All of the BDUK superfast broadband contracts with BT contain a claw-back mechanism so that as take-up rises above a set level of 20%, further funding is reinvested in extending coverage, which all the nations will benefit from, including Northern Ireland.

    In November, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to implement a new broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) and our ambition is to set this at 10 Mbps. This will give people the legal right to request an affordable broadband connection from a designated provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold, no matter where they live.

    We are also piloting a range of alternative technology approaches to help us understand the options for extending superfast broadband further. We are also encouraging commercial suppliers to meet their commitments to provide further coverage who are themselves investing in new technology to extend coverage.