Category: Speeches

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times the Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy has visited each region in the last year.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Minister of State for Culture and the Digital Economy has visited the following local authorities since Feburary 2015: ​Southampton City Council, City of Cardiff Council, Norwich City Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Watford Borough Council, Northampton Borough Council, Corby Borough Council, Brighton & Hove City Council, Coventry City Council, Bristol City Council, Sheffield City Council, Hull City Council, City of York Council, Leeds City Council, Chichester City Council, Guildford Borough Council, Manchester City Council, Liverpool City Council, Peterborough City Council, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, and Birmingham City Council. DCMS ministers make sure to experience the excellent work being carried out by their sectors across the country, whilst balancing their parliamentary and departmental duties in Westminster.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much funding the BBC World Service’s Russian language service received in each year from 2008 to date.

    Mr David Lidington

    The BBC World Service advises that the Russian language service received the following funding from 2007/2008 to 2013/2014:

    2007/08: £4.3 million
    2008/09: £5.2 million
    2009/10: £5.3 million
    2010/11: £5.2 million
    2011/12: £3.6 million
    2012/13: £3.4 million
    2013/14: £3.4 million

    The figures from April 2014 are not available.

    The BBC World Service will receive up to £85 million per year until 2020 to fund additional services to their existing programmes, in addition to licence fee funding.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government will make it its policy to allocate revenue raised from the soft drinks industry levy to maintain the grant for summer schools.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Government has no plans to use the soft drink levy to maintain the grant for pupil premium summer schools. The 2016 budget statement identified that the soft drinks industry levy would be used to double the amount of funding to £320m per annum that we dedicate to sport in every primary school and to make it easier for up to a quarter of secondary schools to extend their school day to include a wider range of activities, including extra sport.

    The Government has protected the pupil premium at current per pupil rates for the rest of the Parliament, providing schools with around £2.5 billion per year of additional funding to support their disadvantaged pupils. Schools have the choice to continue running summer schools and can use their pupil premium allocation to fund places for their disadvantaged pupils.

  • John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    John Glen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Glen on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on British farming of the Plan for Public Procurement, published in July 2014.

    George Eustice

    Total spend on public sector food and catering services is around £2.4 billion. The Plan for Public Procurement launched a new approach to the way the Government and its catering providers buy food. It provides a transparent set of criteria that allow contracting parties to reach agreement about the quality and value of products and services. British farmers are well placed to meet these standards and to compete for a further £400 million of business that the Plan opens up.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department supports related to children and religious fundamentalism; and if she will make a statement.

    Justine Greening

    If there is a face of poverty, it is often a young face, and young people are at the heart of DFID’s agenda. We combat poverty, and religious fundamentalism, by investing in young people and their future, which is why our focus on education is so important.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    David T. C. Davies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what factors Ministers in his Department took into account when signing a memorandum of understanding with Aventa Capital in 2014.

    Greg Hands

    A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a high-level arrangement, which is not legally binding, and enables the participants to work together toward a desired outcome. Between the period April 2014 to October 2015, the Regeneration Investment Organisation (RIO) negotiated MoUs with seven companies. Only one of those MoUs remains in place.

    Aventa is a regeneration investor and comprises a regulated asset management company and a vehicle for managing early stage development and construction risk. The Regeneration Investment Organisation and Aventa Capital MoU was developed in October 2014 to support Aventa’s work in seeking to develop a regeneration fund and thereby encourage institutional investment into UK regeneration projects. The Department felt the proposal covered by the MoU was viable given Aventa’s sector and management experience.

    There was no commitment on the part of RIO to provide any capital or resource in connection with the agreement. In addition, any recommendation from Aventa would have been reviewed and subjected to due diligence by the developer as a commercial partner. The MoU was concluded, by mutual agreement, following meetings with officials during December 2014.

  • Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Lord Donoughue – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Donoughue on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that cost-effectiveness in spending improves as the International Climate Fund scheme expands.

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) report published in December last year assessed the ICF as Green-Amber, meaning that it “performs relatively well overall against ICAI’s criteria for effectiveness and value for money”, noting that it “built up significant momentum and is now well placed to deliver on its ambitious objectives”.

    The Government’s response to the report was published in November 2014 and sets out the steps that we are taking to improve further the impact and cost-effectiveness of the International Climate Fund (link attached).

    We will continue to learn from and improve the robust approach to programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation within the ICF to ensure continued cost-effectiveness as the ICF expands in the next Spending Review period.

  • Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Julian Lewis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Lewis on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which roles currently fulfilled by HMS Ocean will be carried out by HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales when they enter service; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    As stated in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (Cm9161), we will enhance a Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carrier to support our amphibious capability. Together with existing amphibious ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, this will provide the capacity and capability to deploy our amphibious forces.

    HMS OCEAN can carry up to 690 Embarked Military Forces (EMF) – Royal Marines and Aviation Group personnel – in addition to her ship’s company. She can deploy a variety of helicopter types in multiple combinations as required by her mission and role.

    The QEC aircraft carriers can embark up to 900 EMF, in addition to their ship’s company, in support of their missions and tasks and a flexible mix of helicopters subject to the operational tasking.

  • David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Winnick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Winnick on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide the private office telephone numbers for the ministerial offices of her Department to hon. Members; and for what reasons those numbers are not available to hon. Members.

    Nick Gibb

    The Cabinet Office publishes the list of Ministerial responsibilities, which includes contact details for all Ministers. For Ministers at the Department for Education, the switchboard number is given, and Members will always be put through to the relevant Private Office. Copies are provided to all Members upon publication, and are available in the Vote Office and the Libraries of both Houses. It is also available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-ministers-and-responsibilities

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  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, under what criteria the 2016 to 2017 local government funding settlement was decided; and if he will publish the distributional effect of that settlement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Local Government Finance Report (England) 2016/2017 sets out the basis of distribution for funding provided through the local government finance settlement. The Report was laid before the House of Commons on 8 February 2016. The results of that distribution have been published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/final-local-government-finance-settlement-england-2016-to-2017.

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