Category: Speeches

  • Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590, whether his Department has received a request from the Kurdistan Regional Government for replacement ammunition rounds for British-gifted heavy machine guns; and if he will make a statement.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The Kurdish Regional Government has made a number of recent requests to Her Majesty’s Government for further assistance, including for ammunition. These requests are currently under consideration and as set out in my Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 25590. Should a decision be taken that we can provide further assistance, this would be notified to Parliament in the normal way.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2016 to Question 25741, what criteria the Government plans to use to allocate the funds secured from the European Social Fund for the period 2014-2020.

    Anna Soubry

    EU regulations require the United Kingdom to spend at least 45.9 per cent of its national allocation for structural funds for the period 2014-2020 on the European Social Fund (ESF). The United Kingdom’s Partnership Agreement with the European Commission, which can be found on GOV.UK at ‘European Structural and Investment Funds: UK Partnership Agreement’, sets out how the requirement was met.

    Within England, notional allocations for the European Regional Development Fund and ESF were made on the basis of Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas. The total allocations to each LEP area for the 2014-2020 period can be found on the GOV.UK website at ‘EU Structural Funds: UK allocations 2014 to 2020’. Each LEP area was asked how much it wanted to devote to the ESF, drawing on guidance issued by Government to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements at national level. The guidance can also be found on the GOV.UK website. Iinformation on the Strategies for 2014-2020 prepared by each LEP area can be found on the website ‘The Network of LEPs-LEP Network’, searching by European funding. These set out how much each proposed should be spent on ESF in their area.

    Management of EU structural funds is devolved. The Devolved Administrations decide the criteria for allocation of ESF within their remits, taking account of the need to meet EU regulatory requirements.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the specification for the Work and Health Programme to provide specialist support for long-term unemployed and claimants with health conditions and disabilities will require (a) autism and (b) other conditions of claimants to be recorded by both providers and Jobcentre Plus; and what discussions he has had about which conditions will be recorded.

    Priti Patel

    Development of the Work and Health Programme design is well underway, including engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. The Department has commenced the commercial process for the programme by releasing the Prior Information Notice for potential providers on 28 April.

    Decisions on what the information reporting requirements will be for people with a disability or health condition are yet to be made.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much was spent on non-payroll staff in his Department in 2015-16.

    Guto Bebb

    The Wales Office spent £56,561 on non-payroll staff in 2015-16.

    In 2015-16, the Department used non-payroll (agency) staff to cover for staff on maternity leave and for vacant posts.

  • Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julian Sturdy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure assessment centres for work capability assessment and personal independence payment consultations are fully accessible to people using different kinds of mobility assistance devices.

    Penny Mordaunt

    All assessment centres meet accessibility standards under the Equality Act 2010.

    Before attending an assessment, claimants are given the opportunity to alert the assessment provider to any additional requirements they may have and the providers will endeavour to meet any such reasonable requests.

    If a claimant is unable to travel to, or access an assessment centre as a result of their health condition or impairment, a home visit may be offered.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Attorney General

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Attorney General, how many complaints to the Crown Prosecution Service proceeded to formal Stage 2 during each of the last three years.

    Robert Buckland

    The following table shows the number of complaints escalated to Stage 2 in the past three years:

    Year

    Stage 2 Complaints

    2013/14

    245

    2014/15

    264

    2015/16

    254
  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to support more programmes or competitions for university students and recent graduates to encourage them to embrace entrepreneurship.

    Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

    This Government fully supports the promotion of entrepreneurship in higher education. In 2013/14, the Higher Education – Business and Community Interaction survey found that there were over 4,600 new graduate start-ups, up from 2,357 in 2009/10.

    The Government is championing closer collaboration between universities and business through the National Centre for Universities and Business which is supported by HEFCE, the Research Councils and Innovate UK. Higher Education Innovation Funding, delivered by HEFCE, also supports university collaboration with industry, the commercialisation of research, and promotes entrepreneurship, enterprise education and broader knowledge exchange.

  • Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nick Hurd – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Hurd on 2015-11-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the direct and indirect cost to the UK economy of disability through blindness and visual disorders.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has not made a recent estimate of the direct and indirect cost to the United Kingdom economy of disability through blindness and visual disorders.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions the Government has had with the devolved administrations on increasing social mobility since May 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Government is committed to increasing social mobility throughout the UK. We hold regular discussions with the devolved administrations on a wide variety of topics many of which affect social mobility.

    It should also be noted however, that many key levers for improving social mobility such as apprenticeships, traineeships and higher education have some degree of devolution across the UK and so policy decisions on these issues should be referred to the relevant devolved administration.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with the Scottish Government about the future electrification of the East Coast Main Line between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

    Lord Dunlop

    UK and Scottish Government officials have regular discussions regarding transport policy, and the rail industry is undertaking studies to identify the best value cases for further route electrification in Scotland, England and Wales. The introduction of bi-mode intercity express trains on East Coast Scottish services from 2018 is expected to help the business case for electrification between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.