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Category: Speeches

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to implement the measures in the Skills Plan.

    Robert Halfon

    The Post-16 Skills Plan sets out our plans to radically reform technical education provision and the wider skills system in England to ensure they match the best in the world, tackling long-standing issues which have harmed our nation’s productivity and international competitiveness. We are committed to taking forward this ambitious programme in full, implementing the reforms in a lasting and coherent way.

    We have already started work to identify pathfinder technical education routes; design the new functions within an expanded Institute for Apprenticeships; map the occupations within each route to identify what technical qualifications should be included within their scope; design the employer panels that will develop new standards where required; and develop ‘transition year’ arrangements for young people not ready to progress into mainstream technical or academic provision at 16, or later if their education has been delayed. In addition, we are continuing to implement those reforms which are already in train, such as the programme of locally led area reviews of post-16 provision.

    Later in the autumn, we will publish an implementation plan, setting out in greater detail how we will deliver the Post-16 Skills Plan and how we will engage with key stakeholders, including colleges and employers, on the ongoing design and delivery of our proposals.

  • Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on how many occasions the Reducing Regulation Sub-Committee has met.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    We do not generally disclose information about proceedings of Cabinet Committees.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the proportion of people identified as having experienced child abuse who are diagnosed with a mental health condition as a young person or adult.

    Alistair Burt

    This information is not held centrally.

    The Department with its partners are taking forward a series of actions set out in ‘Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation’ March 2015 to create a culture where the health service and medical professionals are spotting the signs of child sexual abuse and exploitation early and are supported in sharing information with others, which includes improving available data on the prevalence of child abuse using the population-wide children and adolescent mental health survey.

  • Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Hylton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effectiveness of EU aid to developing countries.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK continues to work hard to ensure EU development aid focuses on the poorest and most fragile countries and that the EU becomes more open and transparent about the challenges it faces in implementing aid projects. The EU has taken important steps to improve gender equality; to communicate better what its aid programmes are achieving; and for its aid to be more closely linked to countries’ own development priorities and more in line with other EU policies including trade, investment and the environment.

  • Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Nigel Dodds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Dodds on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what representations she has received on the effect on Northern Ireland of proposals for new runway capacity in the London area.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I have discussed the importance of air connectivity between Northern Ireland and London and the work of the Airports Commission with Ministers in the Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and airport operators.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what changes his Department has made to the collection of data on bus fares and punctuality since 2010.

    Andrew Jones

    The department operates two surveys to collect data on bus fares and bus punctuality. Bus fares information is collected from bus operators every quarter and bus punctuality is collected from local authorities every year, both via online surveys.

    In 2012 and 2015 the sample of operators from whom the Department collected data on bus fares was revised.

    For the 2012/13 bus punctuality data collection the following voluntary questions were added to the survey:

    • Do you continue to collect/record data on bus patronage in your area?
    • If yes, can you please enter the number of passenger journeys on local bus services?
    • Please indicate if you are able to share figures for individual operators with DfT (solely for use in validation of figures we collect directly from operators)
    • If possible, please provide a contact name/email for any queries on the patronage data and any relevant notes in the box below (for example, if figures are not yet available but will be later)
    • The Department is also interested in learning more about the number of passengers carried on flexible or demand responsive modes of transport, including community transport. If you are able to supply any information on these for your area (such as number of passengers, nature of service) please enter brief details below
  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who was responsible for appointing the NHS Sustainability and Transformation Plan Footprint Leaders.

    George Freeman

    Sustainability and Transformation Plan areas have been determined by local health and care services coming together in ways that make sense for their local areas, in order to transform the way that health and care is planned and delivered for their populations.

    Following local discussions about who is best placed to play the role of footprint leaders, together with discussions with national bodies, 41 of the 44 planning areas have identified and agreed leaders.

    They are mostly a mix of trust chief executive officers, clinical commissioning group leaders and local government executives.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the likely effect of the extension of right-to-buy and the sale of council properties on the total cost of housing benefit in each year to 2020.

    Brandon Lewis

    The voluntary Right to Buy will give 1.3 million housing association tenants the opportunity to purchase a home.

    For every home sold through the voluntary Right to Buy or the sale of higher value vacant housing, at least one additional home will be built and for every higher value property sold in London, two will be built, increasing overall supply.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of an escalation of border clashes between Eritrea and Ethiopia on refugees in that region.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    We are concerned over recent reports of fighting between Ethiopian and Eritrean forces along the border near Tsorena. My colleague the Minister for Africa, Mr Duddridge, has called on both countries to exercise restraint and said that they should engage in meaningful political discourse to seek a resolution to the ongoing border issues.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed to DFID that the recent border clashes between Eritrea and Ethiopia have had no discernible impact on refugees in the border region. Services for refugees in the camps in Tigray region (which borders Eritrea) have not been disrupted by the clashes.

    Refugees have continued to cross from Eritrea to Ethiopia at a rate of around 2,000-3,000 per month in 2016 and there has been no change to this pattern.

    According to its global policy, UNHCR sites refugee camps ‘at a reasonable distance’ from international borders. The closest refugee camp to the Eritrean border is around 25 km away. Others are further away from the border.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36103, whether the Government has requested access to any post-activity operational reports of air strikes by Saudi Arabia in Yemen.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    There are a small number of UK Liaison Officers based in the Saudi Air Operations Centre that have access to Coalition reporting data. These are fast jet post mission reporting data only. These liaison officers are not embedded personnel taking part in the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition operations and are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process. All UK personnel remain under UK command and control.