Category: Speeches

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether data gathered from border exit checks will enable her Department to distinguish between short and longer-term overstaying of visas.

    James Brokenshire

    Exit checks were introduced in April 2015. They will, over a period of time, provide us with a range of insights into the behaviours of migrants and how they comply with restrictions placed upon their length of stay in the UK.

    Data collected from exit checks is a record of cross border movement. It may in the future help inform but will not in itself answer questions on emigration.

    The Home Office has announced that it is considering the use of exit checks data for statistical reporting and intends to publish an initial evaluation of the use of exit checks for this purpose. The evaluation will be a technical assessment of the analysis carried out thus far and of the further analysis necessary to better understand short, medium, and long term opportunities.

    The initial evaluation of the use of exit checks will be published on 25 August to coincide with the next quarterly immigration statistics release.

    Publication of the initial evaluation on the use of exit checks will be on the GOV.UK website

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has received on trends in life expectancy in Syria; and if she will make a statement.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    Syria is the world’s biggest and most urgent humanitarian crisis. 13.5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and four in five Syrians live in poverty. The UN estimates that since the crisis began life expectancy among Syrians has dropped by more than 20 years, from 79.5 years to 55.7 years. Significant contributory factors include death rates due to the conflict (including increased death rates among younger people); destruction of health care facilities and difficulties in delivering routine childhood vaccinations; and an increase in poverty.

    The UK is at the forefront of the response to the crisis. UK support is reaching hundreds of thousands of people affected by it in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. The UK has pledged over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We are also mobilising the international community. We co-hosted the “Supporting Syria and the Region” conference in London on 4 February, which secured pledges of more than $12 billion, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Of this, over $6 billion was pledged for support in 2016 and a further $6.1 billion for the coming years until 2020. This money will save lives, give hope and give people a chance for the future

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to continue to participate in the European GNSS Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    As we leave the EU, our country is embarking on an important negotiation. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has already said, we are not going to provide a running commentary on every twist and turn of the negotiation.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what procedure his Department follows in investigating cases of discrepancies between statements in disability benefit claimant questionnaires and assessor reports.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Following the gathering of evidence, including the assessor’s report which would reflect the claimants own evidence from the consultation and the questionnaire, a DWP decision maker will decide the facts of the case and then make a decision, applying those facts to the conditions for benefit. Any contradictions within the evidence will be decided on the balance of probabilities. The claimant can raise any such issues again at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what work his Department is undertaking with partner countries to address the inequalities experienced by Bedouin Arab communities in Israel.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are concerned about the inequalities faced by Bedouin Arab communities in Israel. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv is particularly focused on issues related to housing and supports several Arab town planning projects in Green Line Israel. These projects provide professional training and practical solutions for dozens of urban planners and engineers in Arab towns, helping them to overcome planning obstacles. This year our projects include: establishing an engineers’ task-force, professional advice for Arab local authorities in planning matters and a piece of research into planning obstacles.

    We continue to lodge our concerns about ongoing evictions and demolitions with contacts at Israel’s Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Agriculture and to encourage the development of a policy based on genuine consultation, which secures the buy-in of the community. We have pursued this with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chief advisor on Arab affairs, who told us that the state has invested 1.2 billion NIS in Bedouin education, employment and infrastructure.

  • 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 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people applied to join the Army Reserve in 2015; and how many such applications were successful.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Defence Statistics publish information on a regular basis showing intake figures for the Armed Forces, including the Army and Army Reserve. The most recent information is contained in ‘UK Armed Forces Monthly Service Personnel Statistics: December 2015’ and associated tables, which is available at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-armed-forces-monthly-service-personnel-statistics-index.

    The number of applications to the Army Reserve in the 12 months ending 30 September 2015 was 29,730. The intake of Army Reserve New Entrants in the 12 months ending 30 September 2015 was 3,750.

    There is not necessarily a direct correlation between the individual applicants who applied within the period above, and the individuals who were classed as new entrants within the same period: due to the time taken to process applications, not all new entrants would have been applicants during the period specified.

    New Entrants reflect intake into the initial phase of training only, and comprise new recruits, ex-Regulars and Reserve re-joiners that require training.

    ‘UK Armed Forces Monthly Service Personnel Statistics: 1 January 2016’ will be published on 11 February 2016.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 22664, when those contract breaches took place; and with what procedures G4S failed to comply.

    Andrew Selous

    Pursuant to the response to PQ 22664, the two occasions on which financial remedies were applied took place between February and April 2015 and May and July 2015. G4S failed to comply with operational procedures, meaning that the number of incidents that took place was higher than the agreed level. Performance points are accrued when an incident or other custodial service failure occurs. Financial remedies are then applied when the total points exceeds the relevant performance baseline. A performance baseline is allowed in recognition of the complex operational nature of prisons where we know that there will be occasional incidents no matter how well the prison is run. This charge protocol is a longstanding practice in prison contracts.

    As the Justice Secretary said last month, the safety and welfare of all those in custody is vital. That is why an independent improvement board has been appointed to provide increased oversight, scrutiny and challenge of managerial arrangements at Medway, in particular in relation to the safeguarding of young people.

  • Baroness Redfern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Baroness Redfern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Redfern on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the current and future financial impact of private finance initiative projects on NHS Hospital Trusts (1) nationally, and (2) in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    HM Treasury holds information on the current estimated revenue payments for the lifetime of each health sector private finance initiative (PFI) in a live online database. This shows that for the 106 National Health Service PFI schemes that have now been signed, the estimated total revenue payments (over the lifetime of their contracts) are £79.0 billion (in nominal terms i.e. including an inflation assumption). This is from the date of the first construction completions in 2000-01 to the date of the very last payment in 2049-50. The revenue payment figures include not just the financing costs (debt repayment and interest) for initial construction but also the costs of all the other services such as building maintenance and support services (cleaning, catering, portering etc) provided over the lifetime of the contract. The payments are subject to meeting agreed performance and quality standards and include an annual uprate assumption for inflation of 2.5%.

    This Government launched an initiative in 2011 to extract savings and optimise value for money in operational PFI contracts. This included a pilot exercise at a major NHS PFI scheme which resulted in guidance with appropriate methodology and lessons learned being issued to all relevant NHS trusts in 2012. The Department has specialist officials to assist trusts in implementing the guidance.

    An extract giving details of PFI schemes in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire is attached.

    Further information on PFI projects nationally can be accessed via HM Treasury’s website as follows. The files are too large to attach to this reply, however when searching, the ‘Current projects as at 31 March 2015’ spreadsheet should be opened. This will show the latest estimates collected from each department as at the end of March 2015; the health sector schemes are clearly marked “Department of Health” and then “DH-Acute (i.e. Hospitals)”. The initial capital cost of each scheme is shown in Column R and the annual revenue payment in the columns headed ‘Unitary Charge Payment’ (UCP). The total of UCPs (England) for 2014-15, the latest audited figure (Column AO), is £1.9 billion.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-and-private-finance-2-projects-2015-summary-data

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  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-04-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding they have put in place to ensure that the parents of special needs students do not feel that home-schooling is their only option.

    Lord Nash

    The Government’s intention is to make sure that the education system offers every child or young person with special educational needs the support they need to achieve their full potential. The department allocates funding to meet the special educational needs of children and young people through the dedicated schools grant to local authorities, and equivalent funding to academies. Most of this funding goes to mainstream schools and academies: each local authority’s school funding formula takes into account the characteristics of the schools’ students, enabling schools to provide appropriate support to those who have special educational needs. Additional funding (£5.3 billion in 2016-17) is made available to enable local authorities to meet their responsibilities to secure suitable provision for children and young people with high needs. Most of this funding is allocated to mainstream and special schools.

    In addition, the department has invested heavily in practical and financial support for implementation of the reforms introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014, including an extra £80 million which is being made available in 2016-17. This includes support to help parents with the new arrangements, to make sure that they know what options are available to them, and can be involved in the assessment of their children’s needs and decisions about the provision to meet those needs. To ensure these new arrangements are working, from May 2016, all local areas (both local authorities and health providers) will be subject to inspection on support and provision for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disaibility by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many of her Department’s officials are working on processing Dublin III asylum transfer requests; and what plans her Department has to increase the number of such staff.

    James Brokenshire

    We continue to work with a number of EU Member States and the European Asylum Sup-port Office (EASO) to ensure Dublin works effectively. We are in ongoing discussions with France, Italy and Greece, as well as the UNHCR, to ensure that we continue to have the right processes in place and the resources to make them work effectively.

    We have recently deployed two UK experts to the Greek Dublin Unit. We are currently providing bilateral support to the Italian Dublin Unit through a long term secondment. We are also due to deploy an additional UK expert to the Italian Dublin Unit shortly.

    Our work with France including the permanent official contact group and a recently sec-onded senior UK official to the French Dublin Unit to assist with the identification and transfer of cases has shown results of our collaborative efforts.

    The Home Office has a unit processing Dublin III asylum transfer requests from and to the United Kingdom. This unit comprises 78.34 full time equivalent managers, caseworkers and support staff. Staffing levels will remain in line with anticipated volumes.

    As announced on 4 May we are now looking to transfer children who were already present in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal came into force on 20 March, where it is in their best interests. It is important that we ensure we fulfil our obligations to children who are already in UK, as well ensuring we have the right support for those who may be brought to the UK from Europe. We are working with the relevant Member States, the UNHCR and other Non-Governmental Organisations and local authorities to establish the best way to implement the provisions of the Immigration Act 2016 for the transfer of unaccompanied refugee children from Europe to the UK.