Category: Speeches

  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances he has received from Vauxhall that all owners of Zafira B models were informed about the changes to the vehicle safety recall relating to those cars.

    Andrew Jones

    To address the latest reported fires, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency told Vauxhall that a secondary safety recall (R/2016/104) was needed on Vauxhall Zafira B models equipped with manual control heating and ventilation systems. Under the requirements of the Code of Practice on vehicle safety defects and the General Product Safety Regulations, manufacturers are required to inform owners/keepers of vehicles that are affected by a vehicle safety recall of the risk and what action they are conducting to address the issue.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage professionals from the private sector to train as teachers.

    Nick Gibb

    Professionals are an important source of new teachers and bring relevant knowledge and skills from their previous employment. In 2015/16, 45% of new entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) courses were aged 25 or over. To attract more potential career changers, our marketing campaign, Your Future | Their Future, uses a range of media including television advertising, national newspaper advertising and targeted digital and print communications.

    We provide support specifically for career changers to make the transition to teaching, especially in the subjects where they are needed most, including:

    • The School Direct (salaried) route which is specifically targeted at career changers with three years’ work experience and allows them to earn a salary whilst they train to teach. We provide grant funding to schools to subsidise the costs of salary and training for trainees on this route.

    • Our new flexible routes pilot from September 2016, which will allow career changers to train as maths and physics teachers. The pilot, which is delivered by 18 School Direct lead schools, will test whether schools can attract more career changers by offering flexible training routes which meet the needs of different individuals.

    In addition, career changers can access extensive support that is available for all ITT candidates. This includes bursaries or scholarships of up to £30,000 tax-free; advice and guidance from the expert advisers on the Get Into Teaching Line; help with arranging school experience to assist with their ITT application; and access to our free Train to Teach events.

    Those who wish to teach secondary biology, geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, languages or computing are also eligible for our enhanced Premier Plus service. This includes tailored advice from a dedicated adviser, including the practicalities that often affect career changers, such as childcare funding. Applicants who wish to teach these subjects can also access funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses, through which they can boost or refresh their subject knowledge.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what loans have been issued for what purposes to Business Improvement Districts in each (a) region of the UK and (b) local authority area in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Percy

    The Government is committed to Business Improvement Districts and the impact they have on their local areas.

    We are keen to see the setting up of more Business Improvement Districts and we recognise that their development requires up front expenditure. In October 2013 we launched a £500,000 recyclable loan fund and have supported 20 areas with loans totalling £658,555. In the last two years the following loans have been issued to areas requesting support in setting up a Business Improvement District:

    Area

    Amount

    Region

    Local Authority

    Cheltenham

    £35,000

    South West

    Cheltenham Borough Council

    Eastbourne

    £41,000

    South East

    Eastbourne Borough Council

    Hastings

    £31,400

    South East

    Hastings Borough Council

    Hexham

    £40,000

    North East

    Northumberland County Council

    Leicester

    £50,000

    East Midlands

    Leicester City Cuncil

    Lichfield

    £20,000

    West Midlands

    Lichfield District Council

    Milton Keynes

    £35,000

    South East

    Milton Keynes Council

    Oxted

    £30,000

    South East

    Tandridge District Council

    Poole

    £42,000

    South West

    Poole Borough Council

    Purley

    £10,000

    Greater London

    London Borough of Croydon

    Runcorn

    £27,000

    North West

    Halton Borough Council

    Watford

    £49,822

    East of England

    Hertfordshire Borough Council

    York

    £30,000

    Yorkshire and Humber

    York City Council
  • Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Nokes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Nokes on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to (a) evaluate the piloting of 30 hours free childcare from September 2016 and (b) publish the outcome of such an evaluation.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    We have had 1793 expressions of interest for the pilots of the 30 hours of free childcare for working families. These will commence in September 2016. Innovative childcare providers are being asked to come forward as the first to deliver the offer. We plan to build a strong evaluation strand into the work of the early implementers focusing primarily on qualitative evaluation and capturing and sharing lessons learned and good practice.

  • Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Tyrie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Tyrie on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the effect on (a) the cost of passenger fares and (b) passenger demand of each of the Airports Commission’s three shortlisted schemes and the effect of that cost.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government is currently considering the large amount of very detailed analysis contained in the Airports Commission’s final report before taking any decisions on next steps.

    The Government will carefully consider all the evidence set out, including that on costs, when making a decision on additional runway capacity.

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department provides to promote tennis for children under 10 years.

    Tracey Crouch

    Government are committed to providing the best sporting opportunities for children. DCMS leads the School Games programme which involves the Youth Sport Trust and Sport England working with 38 of the National Governing Bodies of Sports, including the Tennis Foundation, to support schools in delivering competitions for all children. In addition, our Sports Strategy, published in December 2015, has enabled Sport England to fund sport for children from the age of 5 onwards.

  • Stella Creasy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stella Creasy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stella Creasy on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings (a) he or (b) others in his Department had with Innisfree Ltd in which public finance initiative funding for Barts Health NHS Trust was discussed in the last five years.

    Alistair Burt

    Two officials from the Department met Innisfree on one occasion in the last five years, in 2012, to discuss the Private Finance Initiative scheme for Barts Health NHS Trust.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the care industry of the implementation of the living wage.

    Alistair Burt

    Out of an estimated 1.52 million adult social care jobs in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage.

    More widely across the sector, higher productivity and better-quality care through efficiency would benefit employers and care home residents and there is potential for improvements in staff retention if higher wages engendered greater job commitment.

    The Department continues to work in collaboration with delivery partners to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the care workforce.

    Our assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage for the Spending Review drew on projections and data on pay including information from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of poverty of the proposed reforms to personal independence payment in the Budget 2016.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department’s Graduate Development Scheme will take place in 2016; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID will be running a Graduate Development Scheme for 2016. Recruitment is due to launch in May 2016.