Category: Speeches

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the analysis by Credit Suisse that Britain leaving the EU could cause a snap recession and reduce GDP by up to two per cent.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in Britain – so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

    The Government notes wider evidence on an ongoing basis.

  • 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 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.205 of Budget 2014, HC 1104, when he plans to bring forward draft legislation to implement the increase in the rate of tax credits debt recovery from ongoing awards from 25 per cent to 50 per cent for households with an increase of over £20,000 a year planned for April 2016.

    Damian Hinds

    The Statutory Instrument implementing this measure is to be laid before Parliament in March.

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons appointments were cancelled by Maximus Health and Human Services Ltd in each local authority area in each month of that organisation’s contract with his Department.

    Priti Patel

    Work capability assessments are delivered by Centre for Health Disability Assessments (CHDA is a MAXIMUS company).

    Nationally, in the quarter from January 2016 to March 2016, the number of completed assessments was 417,143 and the number of cancellations was 10,143.

    Information is not available by local authority area.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) introducing a Standardised Means Test for Residence Order Payments and (b) making the use of such a test a statutory requirement for local authorities.

    Edward Timpson

    Local authorities have the legal responsibility for deciding what financial support should be provided to families supporting children under a Child Arrangements Order (previously known as a residence order). We do not propose to introduce a national standardised means test for Child Arrangements Order allowances.

  • Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Clive Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Lewis on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how much her Department spent on agency workers in financial year 2015-16; and how much was paid to each agency used in that year.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Department is in the process of finalising its Annual Report and Accounts – the information on total spend on agency worker will be available in public domain in July 2016.

    Information on cash amounts paid to agencies over £500 is available through the Department’s transparency reporting at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-of-energy-climate-change&publication_type=transparency-data.

    “

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS mental health trusts have been rated by the Care Quality Commission as (a) inadequate and (b) requiring improvement since the new rating system was introduced in April 2015.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Care Quality Commission has rated 28 National Health Service mental health trusts as ‘Requires Improvement’ and one NHS mental health trust as ‘Inadequate’ under the new rating system.

  • Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the concept of parity of esteem, as outlined in the Belfast Agreement 1998, applies to (1) members of the armed forces who served in Northern Ireland but reside in another part of the UK, (2) members of terrorist organisations who were active in Northern Ireland and reside there, and (3) members of terrorist organisations who were active in Northern Ireland but reside in the Republic of Ireland.

    Lord Dunlop

    This Government understands the concept of parity of esteem, as set out in the 1998 Belfast Agreement, as placing a general obligation on the UK Government to govern in the interests of the whole community and to treat people of different traditions fairly and with equal respect. In the Agreement it is clearly expressed and defined in relation to people living in Northern Ireland. As a general obligation there is no definition of particular circumstances in which it does or does not apply.

    The concept of parity of esteem does not absolve people from upholding the law: terrorism was wholly wrong. This Government will never accept any form of equivalence between members of the armed forces who upheld democracy and the rule of law and those who engage in terrorism or other forms of paramilitary activity.

  • Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Natalie McGarry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Natalie McGarry on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he he has made of the proportion of Government expenditure on pension credit which falls within the carer addition element of that credit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Glasgow and (d) Glasgow East constituency in the 2015-16 financial year.

    Justin Tomlinson

    Forecasts of expenditure as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit for 2015/16 are not available. However, estimates of the outturn expenditure (as a result of the carer addition element of Pension Credit) in 2014/15 are shown in the table below.

    Tables show expenditure for Great Britain, not the UK, as expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of Northern Ireland Executive.

    Pension Credit expenditure as a result of the carer addition, 2014/15

    £, million

    …as a percentage of total pension credit expenditure in that area

    Great Britain

    £364.7

    5.5%

    Scotland

    £39.6

    6.7%

    Glasgow (City)

    £6.4

    5.9%

    Glasgow East (constituency)

    £1.8

    9.4%

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the number of Vauxhall Zafiras which have caught fire in the last six months; and what discussions his Department has had with Vauxhall on the number of other such cars catching fire in a similar way.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) currently holds 45 reports, since January 2015, of fires on Vauxhall Zafira on its database.It holds 10 reports where owners of Vauxhall Zafiras have raised concerns regarding the issue but have not actually suffered a vehicle fire. DVSA is working with the manufacturer to investigate this serious safety issue and is aware that they hold additional reports of fires on the Zafira model; however, DVSA is not aware of how many. DVSA is not currently aware of any defect trends regarding vehicle fires on any other model of Vauxhall’s or any other make of vehicle.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to offer a discounted rate for dependents who apply for a Certificate of Entitlement for Right of Abode in the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    This Government has no plans to offer discounted rates for such dependants.

    Income from application fees helps provide the resources necessary to operate the immigration system, with the remainder of funding provided through general taxation. The Government’s aim is to reduce the overall contribution of funding that comes from general taxation.