Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the care industry of the implementation of the living wage.

    Alistair Burt

    Out of an estimated 1.52 million adult social care jobs in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage.

    More widely across the sector, higher productivity and better-quality care through efficiency would benefit employers and care home residents and there is potential for improvements in staff retention if higher wages engendered greater job commitment.

    The Department continues to work in collaboration with delivery partners to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the care workforce.

    Our assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage for the Spending Review drew on projections and data on pay including information from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on levels of poverty of the proposed reforms to personal independence payment in the Budget 2016.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to PIP will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department’s Graduate Development Scheme will take place in 2016; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    DFID will be running a Graduate Development Scheme for 2016. Recruitment is due to launch in May 2016.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with inflammatory bowel disease as their main disabling condition granted a personal independence payment between April 2013 and October 2015 were (a) new claimants, (b) expiring time-limited claimants and (c) claimants whose circumstances had changed.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The available data on the number of claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP), by main disabling condition and whether they are new claimants or reassessment claimants, are published on Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/. Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

    Data on the circumstances leading to a reassessment is not published and could only be produced at disproportionate cost.

    “

  • David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make representations to the Competition and Markets Authority on investigating the price of milk at major supermarkets.

    George Eustice

    The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as the UK’’s competition authority can carry out investigations where there is evidence of abuse of a dominant position or market abuse. Whilst the Government does not generally intervene in what businesses charge consumers for their goods and services we do recognise concerns about transparency and trust in the dairy supply chain. A number of supermarkets have pledged to pay a premium over and above the current market price. This is welcome and gives some respite to farmers. Some retailers have also taken steps to increase the number of dairy products they source from the UK and improve country of origin labelling on cheese.

    The Groceries Code which has been in operation since 2010 and the Adjudicator which came into force in 2013 have had a positive impact on the relationship between retailers and suppliers in the dairy chain. The Code was a specific remedy recommended by the Competition Commission following an extensive investigation into the UK grocery market. A review of the Adjudicator is due this year and will include a Call for Evidence on the case for extending the Groceries Code Adjudicator’s remit in the UK groceries supply chain and, as part of this, we will look at how this can further help the farming industry.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what further steps he plans to take to give councils greater flexibility and control over budgets; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    We have already given councils greater control by offering a 4-year settlement, and by the end of the Parliament, local government will retain 100% of business rates raised locally. Devolution Deals have awarded Mayoral Combined Authorities with greater flexibilities over investment funding through the Single Pot; this local control will only increase with devolution of the Adult Education Budget from 2018/19, subject to readiness conditions in Deal agreements. The Government believes that these policies fundamentally change the way local government operates, to give councils greater flexibility and control over budgets.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether she has made an estimate of what the change in electricity bills will be as a result of the withdrawal of market support mechanisms for onshore wind; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government will reintroduce measures for the early closure of the Renewables Obligation (RO) for new onshore wind in Great Britain, when the Energy Bill is in the Commons. The measures will close the RO from 1 April 2016 – a year earlier than originally planned.

    As set out in the impact assessment, it is estimated that the proposed early closure of the RO to onshore wind will reduce household electricity bills.

    The impact assessment is available here:

    http://www.parliament.uk/documents/impact-assessments/IA15-007F.pdf

    “

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-11-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how her Department took into account the planned Chinese government involvement in the construction of new nuclear energy facilities in its impact assessment on removal of market support mechanisms for wind and solar energy.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Chinese investment in new nuclear power stations was not a factor in our assessment of the impact of changes to government support for renewables.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the security of data transmission between the F35B Lightning II fighter and remote monitoring and control stations.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Autonomous Logistics Information System is part of the ground based information system and is not fitted on board the F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft. Both the Autonomous Logistics Information System and the F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft have been subject to a comprehensive independent programme of penetration testing.

    Risk assessments of the Autonomous Logistics Information System and its interfaces with the F-35B Lightning II fighter are conducted continuously throughout the test programme. All classified data transmissions to and from the F-35B Lightning II fighter aircraft are fully encrypted.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the Government’s humanitarian budget was allocated to education in emergency situations in each of the last three years.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The amount of bilateral ODA spent on education programmes in fragile or conflict-affected states where humanitarian programming is also active for the last three years is: £143.9 million in 2012, £226.3 million in 2013 and £199.9 million in 2014. Between 2010 and 2015 DFID supported 11m children in school, of which 7.5m were in fragile or conflict-affected states. DFID has again pledged to support 11m girls and boys with a decent education between 2015 and 2020.

    DFID is supporting improvements to how the international community provides education in emergencies, including leadership to establish the ‘No Lost Generation’ Initiative to provide over 251,000 Syrian children with education inside Syria and in the region. At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region on 4th February we were instrumental in getting the international community to agree that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children should be in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17.