Category: Speeches

  • Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim McMahon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim McMahon on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities have requested (a) the removal of and (b) increased flexibility for trades union facilitation time since 2010.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    There is no requirement for local councils to request such flexibility. However, to ensure that local taxpayers can see and compare the level of funding and support, including facility time, given to unions, the Government now requires councils to annually publish this information on their websites.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent from the public purse on industrial tribunals in the last 12 months.

    Mark Lancaster

    The cost of Employment Tribunals can be found within the HM Courts and Tribunals Service annual accounts published at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433948/hmcts-annual-report-accounts-2014-15.pdf.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on the level of child poverty in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire.

    Nick Boles

    The Government has made no such assessment.

    The Government is committed to working to eliminate child poverty and improving life chances for children. This includes making work pay, in which the National Living Wage has an important part to play, and also through our wider reforms to support parents to move into work, increase their earnings, and keep more of what they earn.

    The National Living Wage will benefit over 1 million low paid workers this year and 2.9 million directly by 2020. The introduction of the National Living Wage will mean that a full-time worker aged 25 or over previously on the National Minimum Wage will see their annual earnings increase by £910.

  • Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Owen Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Smith on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the under-occupancy penalty on families with severely disabled children.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The rules allow severely disabled children who are normally expected to share a bedroom with another child to have a bedroom of their own.

    This easement applies when a severely disabled child is in receipt of the middle or higher rate care component of Disability Living Allowance and their disabilities would mean that they would disturb the sleep of the other child; or there is a potential threat of violence. This easement applies across both the private and social rented sectors.

    Discretionary Housing Payments are available for those who do not satisfy these conditions.

  • Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Wendy Morton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wendy Morton on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) eviction notices and (b) legal action related to the clearance of sites of unauthorised encampments in England in 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    Enforcement action against unauthorised encampments is primarily a matter for local authorities, landowners and the police. The Department does not collect information centrally on the total costs of such clearances.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many coastguard rescue teams have been deployed to inland flooding incidents in the past two years; and how many times those teams were called out to such incidents in the past two years.

    Mr John Hayes

    The capability to specifically record inland flood/civil contingencies flooding incidents has only been available in Her Majesty’s Coastguards Incident Management System since September 2014 as Coastguard Operations Centres transitioned incrementally into its national network. On the basis of the records available, at least 31 teams on 13 occasions have been deployed to inland flooding incidents in the past two years.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the process used by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments in drawing up its advice on appointments to be taken by former Ministers and former civil servants.

    Ben Gummer

    I refer the honourable gentleman to my answer of 17th October, given in response to PQ 47620.

  • Baroness Afshar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Afshar – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Afshar on 2015-11-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, and (c) 2014.

    Lord Faulks

    Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

    Year

    Female

    Male

    Not Specified

    2012

    41

    62

    4

    2013

    41

    60

    7

    2014

    33

    45

    11

    It should be noted that there are a few cases where the gender of the defendant has not been specified and these have been shown separately in the table above.

    These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics

    In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).

    It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2015-11-30.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will introduce legislation to ratify the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government remains committed to bringing forward legislation to ratify the Hague Convention and accede to its two Protocols at the first opportunity.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-12.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Carbon Price Floor tax on energy intensive industries.

    Damian Hinds

    The government recognises that the increased cost of electricity in the UK, as a result of the Carbon Price Floor (CPF), has an impact on the competitiveness of energy intensive industries that operate in international markets. This is why the most energy intensive industries are compensated for up to 85% of the indirect costs of the Carbon Price Floor – this is greatest amount currently allowed under EU law.