Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Brittany Ferries on the carriage of game birds on their ships.

    James Brokenshire

    Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website: http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Ministry of Justice has made of whether there is a correlation between alcohol consumption and criminal activity.

    Lord Bates

    Alcohol is a contributory factor in crime and disorder. The Home Office has estimated that alcohol-related crime costs society around £11.4 billion per year.

    The Crime Survey for England and Wales data from 2013/14 showed that around half (53%) of all violent crimes are alcohol-related, with two-thirds (64%) of all violent crimes involving strangers attributable to alcohol-consumption. Alcohol is also associated with over a third (36%) of domestic violence incidents.

    There is also a link between non-violent crime and alcohol. 36% of penalty notices for disorder in 2014/15 were issued for being drunk and disorderly. Alcohol is closely associated with anti-social behaviour with nearly one fifth of adults (18%) perceiving people being drunk or rowdy as a problem in their local area in 2014/15.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to provide assistance to people who have purchased homes under the Help to Buy scheme in the event that interest rates subsequently rise.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government does not have any plans to provide additional assistance to those who have purchased a home under the Help to Buy scheme, in the event of a rise in interest rates.

    Since April 2014, lenders have had to conduct an affordability assessment which includes a robust income and expenditure analysis. In addition, lenders must consider the impact of future interest rate increases on affordability.

    This ensures that mortgages are only advanced where there is a reasonable expectation that the customer can repay.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Fiona Bruce – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) business representative bodies, (b) central government bodies, (c) local authorities, (d) trade union or staff associations, (e) charity and social enterprises, (f) large businesses, (g) medium-sized businesses, (h) small businesses, (i) micro businesses, (j) convenience stores, (k) shop workers, (l) legal representatives, (m) religious organisations, (n) individuals and (o) other bodies responded to the consultation on Sunday trading devolution; how many responses of each category (i) supported and (ii) opposed devolution.

    Anna Soubry

    The Department does not hold full data from this consultation broken down by specific question as a large portion of respondents chose to respond in their own words rather than addressing the consultation questions directly, and/or did not indicate the type of organisation they represented.

  • Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tebbit – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tebbit on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any (1) minister, (2) official, or (3) ministerial special adviser, have played any part in the drafting of letters subsequently signed by retired military officers or business people and published in national newspapers in the last year.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    In carrying out government business, Ministers, officials and special advisers must abide by their respective Codes of Conduct.

  • Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nusrat Ghani – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nusrat Ghani on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of households eligible for the property compensation scheme proposed by Gatwick Airport Limited under the current proposal for the expansion of Gatwick Airport.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The property compensation scheme proposed by Gatwick Airport Limited consists of two elements, compulsory purchase and a voluntary purchase scheme (‘Home Owner Support Scheme’). Approximately 168 properties will be eligible for compulsory purchase compensation. The number of properties eligible for voluntary purchase will be determined by the promoters published eligibility criteria in due course.

  • Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Philip Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effect of the trial of Active Movement in schools in Newbury; and if she will roll out Active Movement to other parts of the country.

    Edward Timpson

    We want all pupils to be healthy and active. We welcome schemes such as Active Movement which encourage pupils to participate more in physical activity. This Government gives schools the freedom to choose how to use the primary PE and sport premium to improve their PE and sport provision. PE remains a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum. The national curriculum sets out the expectation that pupils should be physically active for sustained periods of time.

    Through the primary PE and sport premium, the Government has provided over £450 million of ring-fenced funding to primary schools to improve PE and sport[1]. As announced in the 2016 Budget, revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the primary PE and sport premium to £320 million a year from September 2017, enabling them to further improve the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer.

    This is part of a wider government commitment to cut obesity rates, together with DCMS’ recent Sports Strategy and DH’s forthcoming Childhood Obesity Strategy, which is expected to be launched in summer 2016.

    [1] Across the academic years 2013/14 to 2015/16.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidelines her Department has issued on the time to be taken by a Regional Schools Commissioner to name a sponsor for a school that has been issued with an Academy Order.

    Edward Timpson

    Since the Education and Adoption Act came into force in April 2016, the Secretary of State has been under a duty to make an Academy Order in respect of any maintained school that has been judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. Regional Schools Commissioners, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, ensure that the maintained school becomes a sponsored academy as swiftly as possible, after considering the circumstances in the school, and then identifying the most suitable sponsor.

    No Academy Orders have been revoked to date.

    143 Academy Orders have been made since the new duty came into force. It is too soon to give an annual average of how long it has taken to match a school to a sponsor under these new arrangements.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that universal credit is effective in supporting an increasing number of people into self-employment.

    Damian Hinds

    Universal Credit Claimants who are gainfully self-employed and within one year of starting out in self-employment are also eligible for a ‘start-up period’, of up to one year to support them to grow their business.

    Claimants who are in their start-up period will attend quarterly sessions designed to provide support, assistance and guidance. They will have access to a cadre of work coaches with the right skills to signpost self-employed people to support to grow their business and earnings.

    We will use survey findings to ensure that the journey for newly self-employed claimants of Universal Credit is effective.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure that fewer children who have been subject to abuse need to attend court to give evidence.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry is committed to supporting all victims and witnesses, including children, when giving evidence in criminal trials. All victims and witnesses are eligible for special measures to relieve stress when giving evidence, including giving evidence by video remotely.

    We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.

    Since March 2015 vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including child abuse victims, can give evidence from a remote site which is away from the court environment. There is at least one remote site in each of the seven Regions in England and Wales, and twelve sites in total.

    In addition, the court estate is video-enabled so that any victim or witness can give evidence from a court building other than the trial site to ensure they do not come into contact with the defendant, or their family and supporters.

    Whilst HMCTS collates data on the number of witnesses giving evidence by video, the ages of the victims and witnesses are not recorded.