Category: Speeches

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has decided on a date for the conclusion of the public sector spectrum release.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Budget 2016 announces a new government commitment that 750MHz of valuable public sector spectrum in bands under 10GHz will be made available by 2022, of which 500MHz will be made available by 2020. All revenue from spectrum auctions is paid into the Consolidated Fund operated by HM Treasury.

  • Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Henry Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Smith on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to encourage body confidence in young disabled people.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The government wants all young people to be confident and positive about their body image. My department has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on teaching about body image using accredited resources.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the adequacy of support available to personnel leaving each of the services and (b) the effectiveness of that support by (i) service, (ii) length of service and (iii) reason for leaving the armed forces.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Government provides a comprehensive programme of support for ex-Service personnel. This includes an excellent resettlement package for Service personnel returning to civilian life, high quality pension and compensation schemes and measures to meet veterans’ health and welfare needs.

    The Department continually measures the effectiveness of the support to Service leavers and personnel leaving the Armed Forces are entitled to resettlement provision consisting of time, funding and training, depending on length of service. Resettlement Provision is delivered through the Career Transition Partnership (CTP) as performance of the CTP is continually assessed by Head Office by management of the CTP contract and the Key Performance Indicators. As part of the performance management process, Service leavers are asked what their reason was for leaving the Services.

  • Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nigel Mills – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Mills on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost was to HM Revenue and Customs related to insolvency procedures in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Gauke

    The amount spent by HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) debt management offices in Worthing, Edinburgh and Newcastle on staff costs and insolvency expenses (e.g. court fees and payments to insolvency practitioners) was £32,594,200 in 2012/13, £26,337,346 in 2013/14, £30,295,668 in 2014/15 and £28,171,282 in 2015/16. Full data is not available for 2011/12. Across HMRC there are other staff working on specialist areas of insolvency but in the time available we cannot provide details of numbers or cost.

  • Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jessica Morden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jessica Morden on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to protect members of the armed forces from bullying, sexual abuse and other crimes.

    Mark Lancaster

    Our Armed Forces are held in the highest esteem for their discipline, conduct and representation of our country. Any form of bullying or sexual abuse is utterly contrary to their culture, values and ethos. The Ministry of Defence strives to reduce crime and behaviour that impacts on victims and operational capability.

    Senior Officers and all personnel continue to reinforce the zero tolerance approach and actively counter any form of behaviour which damages the reputation of our Armed Forces.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to publish an updated cost-benefit analysis of the smart meter rollout programme.

    Jesse Norman

    The Government intends to publish an updated cost-benefit analysis for the rollout of smart meters in due course.

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish a Digital Transformation Plan.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As part of the Government’s Productivity Plan, we are developing a cross-Government Digital Transformation Plan that will be published in due course. This will set out how we will support theadoption of digital technologies andtackle the barriers to new businesses entering and creating new markets.

  • Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Diana Johnson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 1.273 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how much funding he plans to provide to the (a) Science Museum, (b) Victoria and Albert Museum and (c) British Museum.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Chancellor announced in the Spending Review 2015 that government will invest £150 million to support the British Museum, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum to replace out of date museum storage at Blythe House with new world-class storage facilities with public access. The allocations to each museum are yet to be determined.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people who applied to join the Army Reserve in 2015 had their applications withdrawn on medical grounds.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Candidates applying to join the Army Reserve are assessed against the same medical eligibility standards as those joining the Regular Army. Candidates withdrawn on medical grounds may be rejected, deferred for set periods of time, or withdraw voluntarily citing medical reasons. The total number of candidates to the Army Reserve who had their applications withdrawn on medical grounds in 2015 is 7,920. This total has been rounded to the nearest 10 in accordance with Defence Statistics policy.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will place in the Library a copy of the application made by Twynham Learning Federation to establish a new primary academy in West Christchurch which is proposed to open from September 2016 and a copy of her response.

    Edward Timpson

    The Secretary of State is happy to make available the proposal by Twynham Learning Federation and also a copy of the decision letter signed by Sir David Carter, the former Regional Schools Commissioner for the South West. These documents will be published on the department’s website in May, along with other successful central free school applications.