Category: Speeches

Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to commemorate the First World War in 2016.

David Evennett

Since the Prime Minister set out plans for the Centenary in October 2012 the Government has delivered highly successful commemorative events for the start of the First World War and the Gallipoli Campaign.

In May 2016, commemorative events will be held for the Battle of Jutland, and in July 2016, we will mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by holding national events at the Thiepval Memorial in France, at Manchester Cathedral, and at Heaton Park. In addition, a national vigil will be held in June at Westminster Abbey, and there will also be vigils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Season Two of the 14-18 NOW culture programme has been announced and this – together with Centenary Partnership events, Heritage Lottery funded projects and local commemorative activity – will ensure people right across the UK have the opportunity to participate in commemorative events.

Other centenary activities such as the UK Tour of the “poppies” and the national repair and conservation of War memorials also continue, more details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-world-war-centenary

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01/01/2023
Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects are terminated after the 20 week scan.

Jane Ellison

Information on the socio-economic group for women having abortions is not collected centrally.

In 2014, 442 abortions were performed because of neural tube defects; 34% of these were performed at 20 weeks gestation or over.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) unsuccessful and (b) successful applications there were for planning permission for residential homes in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis

We publish statistics on our website concerning dwellings. In the results attached we have used figures from ‘Table 2.5 s78 planning appeals – dwellings decided & allowed’ on the Planning Inspectorate Statistics page. Below is a link to this page.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planning-inspectorate-statistics

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01/01/2023

Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government Equalities Office is taking to implement the actions identified for it in the Government’s Ending Violence against Women and Girls 2016-2020, published in March 2016; and when a member of staff from the Government Equalities Office last attended a Violence against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting chaired by the Home Office.

Caroline Dinenage

The Government is committed to delivering the Strategy published in March. The table below shows the progress made in delivering the actions allocated to the Government Equalities Office (GEO).

REF	ACTION	PROGRESS
1	Develop new guidance in consultation with teachers for PHSE lessons specifically about gender equality (Apr 2016).	GEO has been working with the PSHE Association to consult teachers on how best to deliver this commitment.
2	Fund the Freedom Charity to expand the ‘Train the Trainers’ project…. (Apr 2016).	GEO funded the Freedom Charity to expand their ‘Train the Trainers’ project to reach a greater number of communities and empower teachers to deal with the topic of forced marriage sensitively and confidently. This funding enabled an additional 3,620 students and 1,230 staff to learn about forced marriage with Freedom.
5	Launch the second phase of the national prevention campaign to challenge abuse in teenage relationships and promote understanding of health relationships and consent – including among LGB&T teenagers (Feb 2016).	GEO, in partnership with the Home Office, launched Disrespect Nobody, the second phase of the national prevention campaign to challenge abuse in teenage relationships. This included a TV advert, along with a dedicated website, blogs and guidance for teachers.
8	Update Media Smart resources (with the Advertising Association) to help teachers and parents improve primary school children’s understanding of how gender is represented in the media and their resilience to negative content (Sep 2016).	GEO commissioned the charity Media Smart to develop a new resource to help teachers and parents improve primary school children’s understanding of how gender is represented in the media and their resilience to negative content. The resource was published in August 2016 and will be disseminated to schools this term.
10	Conduct or commission mapping of the evidence base and initiatives that engage men, boys and bystanders in VAWG prevention to identify how Government can build on these initiatives to further social change (Apr 2017).	GEO is currently mapping the evidence base and initiatives that engage men, boys and bystanders in VAWG prevention, as well as meeting with stakeholders working in this area.
28	Establish an official Government working group to map out current issues, prevalence, initiatives and barriers to addressing gendered online abuse to improve understanding and coordinate the response to online manifestations of VAWG (Dec 2016).	In partnership with the Home Office, GEO has established an official Government working group to do this. This work is ongoing.
30	Continue to ensure victims of revenge pornography have access to bespoke support and advice about their right to have the images removed from websites (review Apr 2017).	GEO has funded the Revenge Porn Helpline for a further year to continue its important work supporting victims of revenge porn and working to have such images removed from websites.

GEO officials attend the Home Office-chaired cross-government working group on VAWG, the last of which took place on 23 June 2016. In addition, GEO officials have attended a number of Home Office-led consultation meetings with VAWG stakeholders, the last of which was in February 2016. Such discussions run alongside inter-ministerial meetings, the most recent of which I attended in June.

01/01/2023

Chris Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Green on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effects on traffic flow and congestion of the omission of the planned Junction 7 from the M61; and what representations his Department has received on how to mitigate those effects.

Andrew Jones

The most recent assessment of the M61 was undertaken by the Highways Agency between 2012 and 2015 as part of the South Pennines Route Strategy. This utilised the advice and expertise of local councils and stakeholders. The final report was published in 2015 and is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416749/South_Pennines.pdf.

It identified traffic flow and congestion issues on the M61 where it merges with the M6 to the north and also where it approaches the M60 to the south. However no particular traffic flow and congestion problems were identified between Junctions 6 and 8.

Highways England will revisit the evidence for the M61 as part of preparing the next iteration of Route Strategies.

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01/01/2023
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2015-12-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to support the #iwill campaign to meet its aim of having an additional 1.5 million young people involved in social action by 2020.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Cabinet Office has pledged to support the #iwill campaign by ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to engage in meaningful youth social action opportunities.

We have also invested £1.2 million to support the development of youth social action opportunities in low socio-economic and rural areas and the East of England and £10 million of LIBOR fines to create over 15,000 places in uniformed youth groups in the UK.

01/01/2023
Baroness Massey of Darwen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Massey of Darwen on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children’s centres have closed in the last year, and how many will close in 2016.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park

In 2015, 144 children’s centres closed. The Department does not routinely collect data on the number of anticipated closures but expects local authorities to fulfil their duties under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure sufficient children’s centres to meet the needs of local families. Local authorities must consult fully before any significant changes are made to children’s centre services.

01/01/2023
Douglas Carswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Carswell on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises in Essex that will have access to superfast broadband by completion of phase two of the superfast broadband programme.

Mr Edward Vaizey

By the end of phase two of the Superfast Broadband Programme approximately 93% of homes and businesses in Essex will have access to superfast broadband.

01/01/2023
Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) availability of meningitis B vaccine stocks across the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison

Current availability of the Meningococcal B vaccine for the national immunisation programme is adequate with a central buffer of stock being maintained (and monitored) to ensure security of supply. The vaccine continues to be delivered to eligible infants as part of the National Health Service childhood immunisation schedule. However, the manufacturers of Bexsero, GlaxoSmithKline, have confirmed that they have supply constraints for the private market due to unexpected Global demand.

01/01/2023
Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-03-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department issues guidance to schools on how to identify and manage incidences of parental alienation.

Edward Timpson

Protection from abuse and neglect is a fundamental right of all children and young people, regardless of their family situation, and the government will continue to review how schools, police, social services and other agencies work together to protect all children.

The Department published updated statutory guidance in 2015 on Keeping Children Safe in Education and Working Together to Safeguard Children. Schools and colleges must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. All school and college staff should be aware of the various forms of abuse, including emotional harm, so that they are able to identify children in need of help and support and know what action to take. This would include recognising where children are suffering as the result of family relationship breakdown.

01/01/2023