Category: Speeches

  • Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many members of the (a) Army Reserve, (b) Royal Auxiliary Air Force and (c) Royal Navy Reserve have signed terms and conditions of service under the New Employment Model.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    The terms and conditions (TACOS) of all UK Armed Forces personnel are subject to a rolling programme of change under the New Employment Model (NEM), which is modernising Pay and Allowances; Accommodation; Training and Education; and Career Structures and Career Management. Where appropriate this will include Reserves. Personnel are not required to sign new TACOS in order to benefit from relevant changes, which will continue to be rolled out until 2020.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many and what proportion of (a) all children and (b) children with mental health conditions aged five to 16 have conduct disorder.

    Alistair Burt

    Data on the number and proportion of children aged 5–16 years diagnosed with a conduct disorder is not routinely collected centrally. The most recent survey, Mental health of children and young people in Great Britain, 2004, published by the Office for National Statistics in 2005, showed that 5.8% of children aged five to 16 had conduct disorders. This represents 60.4% of the 9.6% of children with any mental health disorder at that time.

    However, the Department is commissioning a new national prevalence survey of children and young people’s mental health – the first since 2004. The survey will estimate the extent of mental ill health in the 2-19 year old population. Final publication of findings is expected in 2018.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2016 to Question 29830, what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on improving coordination between support teams when some or all of those services are outsourced.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department does not provide any formal guidance.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses had signed up for the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme by the 31 March 2016 application deadline; whether the number of businesses was in line with the 20,000 businesses that HM Revenue and Customs estimated could be required to register; and what steps are being taken to tackle any shortfall in numbers.

    Damian Hinds

    From April 2017, HMRC will be making publicly available details of alcohol wholesalers who are approved. From then, retailers who buy from unapproved wholesalers will be liable to a fine.

    HMRC is now assessing the applications it has received against the scheme’s approval criteria. The number of applications received are lower than HMRCs initial estimate of 21,000 businesses that could be wholesaling alcohol. There could be a number of reasons for this, and HMRC is currently comparing the applications received with original expectations and encouraging businesses that have not applied to do so, to mitigate penalties and the likelihood of enforcement action.

    Where businesses have been purposefully fraudulently trading, HMRC will take action. It is too early to report outcomes of any investigations into illicit trading that HMRC are undertaking since the introduction of the scheme.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will estimate how many and what proportion of British citizens identified as violent extremists were radicalised by (a) extremist material on the internet, (b) contact with extremists through e-mail or social media, (c) contact with extremists through family connections, (d) contact with extremists through street gangs, (e) contact with extremists through prisons and (f) contact with extremists in Islamic out-of education settings.

    Karen Bradley

    Research shows that there is no single pathway into terrorism or extremism, nor is any one influence likely to be solely responsible for an individual?s radicalisation. It is a unique process for each individual, and the drivers are varied. However, analysis of case studies indicate that certain background factors, when combined with radicalising influences and an ideological opening, and in the absence of protective factors (such as supportive family or friends) can result in an individual being vulnerable to radicalisation.

    The Prevent strategy safeguards vulnerable individuals by building resilience to extremist ideologies, countering the ideology that terrorists espouse, and removing access to terrorist propaganda online. We work in partnership with families and communities to support and safeguard vulnerable individuals. We are working with internet industry partners to remove more terrorist material, and are supporting civil society groups to deliver counter-narrative campaigns.

    Our Channel programme provides support for those most at risk of radicalisation. It is voluntary and confidential, and support is only provided following careful assessment by experts.

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) direct NHS contracts, (b) contracts sub-contracted from direct NHS contractors and (c) patient transport service contracts VM Langfords held before entering into administration.

    David Mowat

    Patient Transport Services are normally commissioned at clinical commissioning group (CCG) level. CCGs control their own budgets and hold their own contracts. Information on individual CCG contracts is not collected centrally.

    The contracts with Coperforma are held by the relevant CCG as is the value of the contract. There are no central records.

  • Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Matthew Pennycook – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Matthew Pennycook on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that personal independence payment assessments are undertaken fairly and appropriately.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Provider performance is measured across a range of contracted service levels, which set out the Department’s expectations for the delivery of the service. These include the requirements for the quality of assessments which are assessed through an independent audit. Contractual remedies are in place if the provider fails to deliver against the service standards.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the level of resources necessary for trading standards to fulfil the additional duties set out under the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2015 and (b) alternative arrangements for enforcing those regulations; and what discussions his Department has had with local authority trading standards and professional groups representing trading standards on the effect that those duties will have on their resourcing.

    James Wharton

    These Regulations do not change the nature of the existing enforcement responsibility for local authorities or set central targets for enforcement activity. Any additional burden is therefore assessed to be minimal.Discussions with local enforcement officers indicated that the additional burdens imposed by the annual reporting of existing duties would be minimal as enforcement activity should already be appropriately recorded locally.

  • Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Black of Brentwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Black of Brentwood on 2015-12-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of India about the conservation of Asian elephants including banning the use of elephants in tourist attractions.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The UK is committed to conserving Asian elephants and recognises the growing threats to their populations, particularly from poaching and cross-border illegal trade in live animals to meet the demand from the tourist and entertainment industries. The UK has been working internationally through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to increase protection for Asian elephants. In 2014 the UK led successful efforts to ensure that Asian elephant range states have relevant legislation and enforcement in place to tackle illegal cross-border trade.

    During Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the UK on 12 November, he and the Prime Minister issued a joint statement resolving to work together to improve protection for both captive and wild Asian elephants. This provides a firm foundation for future co-operation with India to address this important issue.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of electricity in the UK was generated by UK coal-fired power stations in 2015.

    Andrea Leadsom

    DECC will publish finalised energy market statistics including figures for electricity generation in 2015 later this year. However, provisional figures [1] show that coal accounted for 22% of UK electricity supplied over Q1 – Q3 in 2015 compared to 28% in the same period in 2014.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487838/Electricity.pdf

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