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Category: Speeches

  • Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Will Quince – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Will Quince on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to launch its consultation on amending the school admissions code to enable summer-born children to be admitted to reception class at the age of five.

    Nick Gibb

    Ministers have announced plans to change the admissions system to support the admission of siblings and of summer born children. Ministers are currently considering whether to make any additional changes to the admissions system alongside this.

    Any changes will be subject to a full public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. The details of proposed changes and of the consultation will be announced in due course.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether lease contracts on buildings currently housing HM Passport Office interview offices that are facing closure would allow for the proposed timeframe of office closures to be extended.

    James Brokenshire

    Sites which host flexible interview teams are operated by Her Majesty’s Passport Office as managed office space. Rental agreements vary, but most require one month notice.

    In Blackburn, Bristol, Crawley, Leicester and Sheffield HM Passport Office holds a licence to occupy the premises until September 2018, with an opportunity to break the licence in September 2016.

    A date to cease interviewing in March 2016 has been set to enable staff to work with the Home Office career transition service and focus on finding alternative employment prior to the offices being decommissioned.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the farming industry of the potential impact on rural businesses of the proposed changes to the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010.

    Rory Stewart

    The changes referred to do not amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The changes made are to the ‘Environmental Guidance On Waste Incineration’, which now clarifies that small waste oil burners used to burn waste oil must meet the requirements of Chapter IV of the Industrial Emissions Directive or switch to non-waste fuels. This guidance can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-permitting-guidance-the-waste-incineration-directive/environmental-permitting-guidance-waste-incineration.

    A consultation on the changes to the guidance was undertaken between 14 September and 26 October last year. A summary of responses can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487892/waste-incineration-consult-sum-resp.pdf.

    The impact assessment for the changes to this guidance considered some sensitivities on the price of crude oil with regard to collection fees only. The impact assessment can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487895/waste-incineration-consult-ep-ia.pdf.

    “

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary school places in Calderdale.

    Edward Timpson

    Supporting local authorities to ensure sufficient school places in their area is one of this Government’s top priorities. That’s why we’ve committed to investing £7 billion in new school places up to 2021, which along with our investment in the free schools programme we expect to deliver 600,000 new places. This is on top of the £5 billion the Coalition Government spent between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create 600,000 additional places between 2010 and 2015.

    Calderdale received £8.8 million in basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create nearly 2,000 new places between 2010 and 2015. Of these, around 960 were primary places and around 1,010 were secondary. Calderdale has also been allocated £17.6 million to create the places required by September 2019.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that Burundi implements the recommendations of the Arusha Accords.

    James Duddridge

    The continued violence in Burundi shows that the principles of inclusion set out in the Arusha Accords are needed now more than ever and we continue to urge all in Burundi to uphold them.

    It is essential that the talks on 21 May are based on the Arusha Accord, but, as I stated in the adjournment debate on Human Rights in Burundi on 5 May 2016, there is flexibility about the details of how they take place. The UK will support former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa when he agrees a strategy for the talks.

  • Jake Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jake Berry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jake Berry on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to facilitate customers switching suppliers in consumer markets.

    Nick Boles

    We are taking action to make it quick and easy to switch suppliers. Last year, we published six switching principles, urging industry to improve their processes.

    The Government has challenged the mobile phone operators to unlock handsets for free, and the major operators have committed to doing so.

    We are also legislating for easier switching in the communications markets in the Digital Economy Bill.

  • Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Arkless – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will exempt crisis, refuge and homeless accommodation from any extension to the Local Housing Allowance cap.

    Caroline Nokes

    I refer the Honourable Member to the Written Statement made today by the Secretary of State:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2016-09-15/HCWS154/

    “

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what comparative economic assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of HM Revenue and Customs locating its regional hub in (a) Leeds and (b) Bradford; and if he will place a copy of that assessment in the Library.

    Mr David Gauke

    On 12 November, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced the next stage of its ten-year modernisation programme. As part of that, the department demonstrated its long-term commitment to Yorkshire and the Humber by setting out that it would establish a Regional Centre in Leeds.

    A number of factors were considered by HMRC when deciding where to locate its new Regional Centres. In addition to cost, it considered local and national transport links, the local labour market, supply of future workforce and the retention of current staff and skills.

    HMRC modelled the impact of locating the Regional Centre for Yorkshire and the Humber in both Bradford and Leeds. For both scenarios, it took into account the potential loss of jobs for staff expected to be outside of reasonable daily travel (defined as approximately 1 hour from home to work, though dependent on individual circumstances).

    HMRC first shared its transformation plans with its employees 18 months ago. Since then has held more than 2,000 events across the UK, setting out how and why it is changing. The department is committed to continuing to support all of its employees who are affected by these changes.

    Staff in Yorkshire attended a number of face-to-face events, providing feedback on the potential location of the regional centre. They will also have the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances in one-to-one meetings with their manager.

    This transformation programme will ultimately enable HMRC to deliver better public services at lower cost to the taxpayer. It will generate estate savings of £100 million a year by 2025.

  • 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 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the effect of capping housing benefit for social tenant at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate on the incomes of the tenants affected.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Capping high social sector rents at the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate does not come into effect until April 2018 and then only where a new tenancy is taken out or a tenancy is renewed after April 2016 and the resulting social rent charged exceeds the appropriate Local Housing Allowance rate for the size of household in the area at that time.

    Because a range of factors will influence where and when a cap is applied, including behavioural responses from both claimants and landlords, it is not possible to assess the potential effect of the policy on the incomes of the tenants affected.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether a distinction is made by the Government between Commonwealth Realm Orders and decorations where Her Majesty the Queen is Sovereign of the Order and an order where the Governor General as Her Majesty the Queen’s representative is the Head of the Order; whether there is a reciprocal recognition policy in place between each of the Commonwealth Realms concerning titular honours; and whether there has been any change in his Department’s rules on that policy in the last two years.

    James Duddridge

    The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative and is governed by convention. The convention has not changed in the last two years. My Department does not set rules or regulations for these matters.

    The main distinction between Orders of which Her Majesty The Queen is Sovereign and those where The Queen is not Sovereign is that The Queen approves and appoints recipients of all awards in the former and the recipients can apply to receive their awards at an investiture in the UK.

    There is no reciprocal recognition policy in place between each of the Realms concerning honours and associated titles. Whether a title associated with an honour awarded by one Realm is recognised in a second Realm is a matter for the second Realm.