Category: Speeches

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on public safety of placing the regulation of (a) drones and (b) unmanned aerial vehicles within the purview of the Civil Aviation Authority.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the independent statutory authority responsible for regulating civil aircraft, including RPAS and small drones. However, the Department recognises that there are types of offenses relating to drones that are not aviation specific or pose an aviation risk and are more social, so the degree to which the CAA should be involved is currently under review.

    We are currently developing a Memorandum of Understanding between the DfT, the CAA, the Home Office and Police to better establish where responsibility lies for enforcing breaches of drone related regulations

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Legionnaires’ disease incidents have been reported in each prison since May 2010.

    Ben Gummer

    Due to small numbers involved and risk of deductive disclosure, the number of cases of Legionella pneumonia in people in prisons in England cannot be provided.

  • Baroness Kramer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Kramer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kramer on 2016-03-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) poster boards, (2) bus advertisements, (3) television advertisements, (4) magazine or print advertisements, and (5) other forms of advertising, they are using to promote the Married Couple’s Allowance; and what is the cost of each form of advertising.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As of March 24 2016, 585,487 couples had successfully applied for Marriage Allowance, including apporoximately 181,00 who applied in March.

    The campaign ran until 31 March and final figures are not yet available.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much has been paid out by his Department in statutory entitlements as a result of the collapse of Comet; how many people have been so compensated to date; and what estimate he has made of the total cost to the Exchequer of meeting all arising liabilities in this case.

    Anna Soubry

    The Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service has paid out a total of £23,687,320.37 in statutory entitlements to 4,918 former employees of Comet Group Plc.

    It is not possible at present to estimate the total cost to the Exchequer of meeting all liabilities in this case. Further payments will depend on the findings of the Employment Tribunal regarding the employees covered by the protective award judgment, and any associated costs. Consideration of this matter is ongoing and expected to be resolved this year.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress his Department is making on tackling aggressive fundraising activities by charities.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    Last year the Government accepted the recommendations made in a sector-led review of fundraising regulation to support the setup of a new independent regulator with stronger sanctions and control of the code of practice.

    Since then there have been several positive changes. The Code of Fundraising Practice has already been strengthened in several areas. The law has been changed in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 to better protect vulnerable individuals and encourage greater accountability. The Charity Commission has published updated fundraising guidance that emphasises trustees’ role in over-seeing fundraising. Many charities and their representative bodies are already taking their own steps to improve fundraising practices.

    The new Fundraising Regulator is due to open in July and will proactively ensure that charities fundraise to the high standards the public expect.

  • Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Justin Tomlinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Tomlinson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the value of the video games industry to the UK economy.

    Matt Hancock

    Latest estimates from the DCMS Creative Industries Economic Estimates (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-economic-estimates-january-2016 ) show that Gross Value Added for the computer games industry in the UK was £426m in 2014.

    Research by Nesta and trade association Ukie (http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/map-uk-games-industry ) seeks to include the contribution of micro-businesses together with official statistics and this suggested that the contribution of video games could be substantially higher. We look forward to seeing the next iteration of this research which is due to be revealed this month and aims to further reflect the fast growing nature of the UK’s digital businesses.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a mechanism to ring-fence mental health funding.

    Nicola Blackwood

    Funding decisions legitimately rest with clinical commissioning groups as the appropriate accountable organisations to their local populations.

    Nevertheless, 2016-17 NHS England planning guidance states that funding allocations may be retracted, if there is evidence that additional mental health allocations are not being used for the purpose for which they were intended.

    The Mandate to NHS England in 2016-17 sets a clear objective that, in order “to close the health gap for people of all ages, we want to see a system-wide transformation in children and young people’s mental health”.

    Clinical commissioning groups are required to increase their spending on mental health each year at least in line with the growth in their overall funding allocations.

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the amount received by his Department in VAT payments from further education and sixth form colleges in (a) the UK, (b) the North West and (c) Warrington in each of the last five years.

    Mr David Gauke

    No estimate has been made. Data is not available on the VAT received from further education and sixth form colleges in the United Kingdom, the North West or Warrington in the last five years.

  • Martin Vickers – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Martin Vickers – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Vickers on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that all young people who wish to participate in the National Citizen Service are able to do so.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    We are committed to expanding NCS, which is why the Chancellor announced our ambition that 300,000 young people participate in NCS every year by 2019/20 so that they can learn new skills and give back to their communities.

    We take great care to ensure that all young people, regardless of background, can take part, providing bursaries and additional support where necessary.

  • 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 2016-01-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) establishment and (b) strength personnel of (i) 6 SCOTS and (ii) 7 SCOTS have failed a medical in each year from 2012 to 2015.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Army medicals result in the allocation of a graded "medical deployability standard" reflecting those active roles for which personnel are declared fit. It is not a simple pass or fail. Unlike their regular counterparts, Army Reserve personnel do not undertake annual medical assessments. The only mandatory medicals are during the recruitment process and during mobilisation. The medical care of Reserve personnel lies with their General Practitioners and the National Health Service unless they are mobilised at which point the medical care responsibility transfers to the Defence Medical Services.