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Category: Speeches

  • William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the National pupil projections statistics release, published on 22 July 2015, how many people were defined as (a) migrants and (b) children of migrants from (i) other EU member states and (ii) non-EU member states in the principal population projection in each year between 2015 and 2024.

    Nick Gibb

    The national pupil projections are only produced for the whole of England and do not break down projected pupil numbers by local education authority or region. They are derived from the 2012-based national population projections for England produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)[1] who used assumptions which were considered to best reflect demographic patterns at that time.

    The ONS uses assumptions on the levels of future fertility, net migration and life expectancy in the production of their population projections. They use central assumptions for the principal projections and alternative high and low assumptions to produce variant projections.

    New national pupil projections, based on the ONS’s mid-2014 national population projections[2], are scheduled to be published on 14 July 2016. The timing and content of National Statistics releases are a matter for the Head of Profession for statistics. The month of publication was pre-announced in 2015 and the specific date of publication was pre-announced on 26 February 2016.

    [1] Mid-2012 ONS national population projections available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/bulletins/nationalpopulationprojections/2013-11-06

    [2] Mid-2014 ONS national population projections available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/bulletins/nationalpopulationprojections/2015-10-29

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  • Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Charlotte Leslie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlotte Leslie on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what advice her Department provides to people living in Approved Premises who have (a) an addiction, (b) a mental health condition and (c) other health conditions.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Offenders required to reside in Approved Premises are entitled to the same health provision as ordinary members of the public.

    Approved Premises staff are not medically qualified and so cannot give clinical advice. They do have a general duty of care and Approved Premises staff are trained in identifying and working with people with addictions or mental health problems. All residents are obliged to be registered with a GP, and many Approved Premises have arranged provision such as on-site GP attendance and run healthy living programmes.

  • Baroness Eaton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Eaton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Eaton on 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation in the recent report from the charity Sense, Realising Aspirations for All, to break the link between welfare benefits and access to employment by making support voluntary and available to all disabled people, regardless of the benefits they claim.

    Lord Freud

    We welcome the Sense report, Realising Aspirations for All and its findings. We want all disabled and people with a long term health condition to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations.

    We will soon publish a Green Paper on work and health and conduct a consultation to understand how every individual can have the opportunity to work and share in the economic and health benefits that work brings, regardless of their health condition or disability. We will continue to engage with Sense and other key stakeholders as part of the Green Paper consultation.

  • Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Higgins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Higgins on 2015-10-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the effect on air pollution of the construction and use of bicycle lanes, particularly in London.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Department for Transport has not completed any estimates specifically on the effect of construction and use of bicycle lanes on air pollution. But we recognise that encouraging car users to switch to alternative, more sustainable, forms of transport like cycling can generally have both health and carbon reduction benefits as well as improving local air quality.

    When we appraise cycle schemes for funding, we apply WebTAG unit A5-1. This appraisal looks at outcomes only and does not consider impacts during the construction phase of a scheme. Where a scheme includes shifts away from mechanised modes and changes in congestion levels, we use marginal external costs, including air pollution. This is done at an individual scheme level and reported in the appraisal of each case; therefore no holistic study has been undertaken. This appraisal does not take account of potentially complex changes to motorists behaviour (such as speed and route choice) resulting from the introduction of cycle lanes.

    Transport for London state that during the construction phase some localised short-term slight impacts on local air quality can be expected from the use of plant and vehicles. However, contractors are required to minimise dust and emissions to air and comply with the Greater London Authority and London Councils’ Control of Dust and Emissions from Construction and Demolition Best Practice Guidance.

    Transport for London undertake air quality modelling to ascertain the impacts during operation. Schemes such as the East-West Cycle Superhighway show that the likely impact of the introduction of cycle lanes and changes to the road layout on air quality ranges from adverse to beneficial. The study shows that changes in traffic will redistribute emissions across the study area but will not increase overall emission levels.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has for the future of the homelessness prevention grant.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Decisions around locally funded services will be set out in the provisional Local Government Settlement, which we intend to announce before recess.

  • Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Wes Streeting – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wes Streeting on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Prime Minister, what contingency planning the Civil Service is undertaking to prepare for the possibility of a leave vote in the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Mr David Cameron

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom – so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to work with schools and local authorities to promote awareness of mental health issues for young people.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department of Health is investing £700,000 this financial year to fund the largest ever campaign for teenagers and the first of its kind for parents, to raise awareness and reduce stigma about mental health issues. This was done through Time To Change, a partnership between Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and Public Health England.

    A key part of this work included activities within schools. Free resources were made available to teachers to deliver sessions and social contact events, supported by online contact, where young people shared their personal experiences and promoted by local areas. The campaign is being refreshed this week as part of Time To Talk Day on 4 February, which aims to get as many people as possible around the country talking about mental health.

    The Government will continue to support Time To Change campaigns on young people mental health in coming years.

    Work is also underway in partnership with the Department for Education and NHS England to pilot single points of contact in schools so that young people in school have improved access to mental health advice and support. These pilots will include joint training across children and young people’s mental health services and schools to raise awareness of mental health issues, support early identification and highlight potential interventions.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what checks his Department has in place to ensure that credit reference firms do not sell-on electoral roll data.

    John Penrose

    Under the Regulation 115 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales)(Amendment) Regulations 2002, anyone who is supplied with the full register is not permitted to sell a copy to any person, disclose any information contained in it, or use it for anything apart from the specified purpose for which the full register has been supplied. In contravening this provision, a person would be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, which currently stands at £5000.

  • Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sue Hayman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sue Hayman on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 4.10 of his Department’s response to its consultation on aids and appliances and the daily living component of personal independence payment, published in March 2016, if he will publish the raw data referred to in that paragraph; and whether that data was subject to peer review.

    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.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many adult learners participated in government-funded (a) mathematics and (b) English courses in each of the last three years.

    Nick Boles

    Information on the number of adult learners participating in government-funded further education, and specifically English and maths, in each of the last three years is published as part of a Statistical First Release.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/learner-participation-outcomes-and-level-of-highest-qualification-held

    Information on Skills Funding Agency spending on the Adult Skills Budget is outlined in their Annual Report and Accounts which can be found at the following links:

    2014-15: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

    2013-14: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-funding-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-2013-to-2014

    2012-13: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-skills-funding-agency-annual-report-and-accounts-for-2012-to-2013

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