Category: Speeches

Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-05-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for social and community cohesion of people living in poverty.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

Building a strong economy and increasing employment are the surest way to lift people out of poverty and build strong and cohesive communities. The latest figures show a record 31.6 million people are now in work making a real difference to families on the ground with the number of children in workless households at a record low.

Britain has a claim to be the most successful multi-faith, multi-racial democracy in the world. The Community Life Survey 2014-15 shows a well-integrated society with 87 per cent of people reporting they belong strongly to Britain and 86 per cent that their local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together. But we know deep seated inequalities remain between some minority groups and the majority population, and have set in train work to address these inequalities:
- a review by Louise Casey into boosting opportunity and integration in the most isolated and deprived communities to inform a major new Cohesive Communities Programme;
- a 2020 vision to increase Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic opportunities, such as take up of apprenticeships and employment; and
- plans to publish a Life Chances Strategy, announced in January, setting out a comprehensive plan to fight disadvantage and extend opportunity.
January 1, 2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-07-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many British citizens who have entered into early forced marriage have been charged with the cost of repatriation to the UK in the last four years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not provide financial assistance to British nationals overseas, but is sometimes able to provide an emergency loan from public funds for pay for a repatriation. The FCO aims to support all vulnerable British Nationals overseas and this includes victims of forced marriage who receive specialist support from the Forced Marriage Unit. The Forced Marriage Unit work with colleagues overseas to repatriate forced marriage victims and arrange post-repatriation assistance which includes finding suitable emergency accommodation where needed and providing advice and support. The Forced Marriage Unit gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,220 cases in 2015, 1,267 in 2014, 1,302 in 2013, and 1,485 in 2012. To provide more information on the nature of the assistance provided over the last 4 years, including repatriation, would involve a disproportionate cost.

January 1, 2023
Andrew Gwynne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2015-11-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the value of stationery that has been (a) lost and (b) stolen from her Department in each of the last five fiscal years; and what the cost was of replacing such stationery.

George Eustice

No estimate of value has been made as there were no reported losses or thefts of stationery from the Department in the last five fiscal years.

January 1, 2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2015-11-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the performance of the West London Mental Health NHS Trust in combatting bullying in that organisation.

Lord Prior of Brampton

We are advised by the NHS Trust Development Agency (NHS TDA) that the West London Mental Health NHS Trust is aware of long standing concerns relating to staff engagement and bullying within the organisation. These concerns were highlighted in recent inspections of the Trust by the Care Quality Commission.

We are assured by the NHS TDA that the trust has put in place a comprehensive staff engagement programme aimed at improving working culture and staff morale. The Trust has also introduced a number of additional staff support mechanisms to enable staff to raise any concerns they may have around bullying and harassment.

January 1, 2023
Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Government has made to the new Argentinian government to emphasise the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and the right of self-determination.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government has engaged with both President Macri and Foreign Minister Malcorra. Whilst we are eager to improve relations with the Argentinian government we continue to make it clear that this does not, and will not, change our position on the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination.

January 1, 2023
Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what action he intends to take against employers who neglect their responsibilities for occupational road safety; and whether he plans to support an extension of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 to include work-related road casualties.

Andrew Jones

The main regulatory aspects of driving for work are enforced by the Police. They take the lead in the investigating road traffic incidents and can refer cases to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) if they believe there are clear employer management failings contributing to the incident.

In our British Road Safety Statement, published in December, we highlighted helping employers to reduce road related collisions at work as a priority. We will start this process by evaluating existing safer driving for work schemes to understand what works, with a view to promoting existing good practice to employer networks and other occupational drivers.

The government has no plans to extend the scope of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations [RIDDOR] to cover work related road incidents.

January 1, 2023
Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the (a) policy and (b) other responsibilities are of each special adviser in his Department.

David Mundell

I refer the hon Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General on 29 February 2016.

January 1, 2023
Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what definition his Department uses for cyber warfare.

Penny Mordaunt

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) (through its Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre) does not seek to define terms or elements of terms, particularly those applied in compound form, that are already in common use (i.e. "warfare").

The MOD defines cyber activity as: "To operate and project power in and from cyberspace to influence the behaviour of people". The OECD defines "warfare" as: "engagement in or the activities involved in war or conflict".

The MOD describes the active engagement in the conduct of "cyber operations" within our lexicon as being: "the planning and synchronisation of activities in and through cyberspace to enable freedom of manoeuvre and to achieve military objectives." This term applies to activities that include those conducted in war or conflict.

January 1, 2023
David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to encourage transport operators to provide services that are accessible to disabled people.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport is committed to building transport networks which work for everyone, ensuring that disabled people have the same access to transport services as non-disabled members of society

Compliance with bus accessibility Regulations was 89% in England in 2015; while 60% of rail vehicles, up from 46% in 2013, were built or fully refurbished to modern access standards.

By the end of this year Access for All will have completed more than 150 step-free routes at rail stations against a target of 125. More than 1,200 stations have received smaller scale improvements. To build on this success £160m has been allocated to another 68 stations to be delivered by 2019.

We plan to require that taxi and private hire vehicle drivers provide assistance to wheelchair users and refrain from charging extra by commencing sections 165 and 167 of the Equality Act 2010 by the end of the year.

The Department works closely with its statutory advisors on the needs of disabled people, the Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee, such as on a project to develop best practice guidance on the delivery of disability awareness training for bus and coach drivers.

January 1, 2023
Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate his Department has made of the value of the higher education sector to the economy.

Joseph Johnson

Higher education is an important source of productivity growth. It equips individuals with the skills and abilities they need to succeed in the workforce, and helps drive innovation by strengthening the economy’s knowledge base, as well as enriching our cultural and intellectual life. The BIS research paper The relationship between graduates and economic growth across countries (2013) provides an estimate of the sector’s contribution, and is available online at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/229492/bis-13-858-relationship-between-graduates-and-economic-growth-across-countries.pdf

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January 1, 2023