Category: Speeches

  • Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Toby Perkins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to UK Defence in Numbers, published by his Department in August 2015, how many of the 125 Tornado Combat aircraft referred to in that document are combat ready.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Defence in Numbers booklet is a snap shot of the UK’s Defence capability and how we are spending the fifth largest Defence budget in the world. As well as giving details on civilian and personnel numbers and current operations, it also includes a list of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment holdings, the vast majority of which are in service and deployable. We will continue to review the Defence in Numbers booklet to ensure that it best reflects the breadth of defence equipment.

    The pieces of equipment listed in the Defence in Numbers booklet that are not capable for use on the front-line are: Jet provost aircraft, BAE-125 aircraft, Wessex helicopters, Challenger 1 battle tanks, FH70 Towed Howitzers and Chieftain Armoured Vehicles. These platforms are used in either a training or ceremonial capacity.

    Currently 90 Tornado aircraft remain in the operational fleet and are, or could be, returned to combat ready status; this number includes aircraft undergoing periodic deep maintenance and modification which are not immediately available for operational use.

  • Lord Dobbs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Dobbs – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dobbs on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees how many peers receive the daily press coverage service of the House of Lords Press and Media Team.

    Lord Laming

    63 members of the House of Lords currently receive the House of Lords Press and Media Team’s daily media summary, in addition to 6 Members’ staff and 180 staff of the House of Lords Administration. Any Member who wishes to receive the summary should contact the Press and Media Team (lordspressoffice@parliament.uk).

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  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many police officers from the British Transport Police were deployed in (a) London and (b) the rest of the UK in each year from 2009-10 to 2014-15.

    Claire Perry

    The table below sets out the number of officers deployed in each year since 2009-10.

    Year

    Deployed Officers in B Division (London)

    Deployed Officers in the rest of the UK

    2009-10

    1,518

    1,360

    2010-11

    1,541

    1,379

    2011-12

    1,534

    1,364

    2012-13

    1,541

    1,305

    2013-14

    1,507

    1,350

    2014-15

    1,531

    1,359

    As at January 2016, the total number of deployed officers both in London and across the rest of the UK is 3046, which is the largest number of officers since the creation of the British Transport Police Authority in 2004.

  • Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Tugendhat – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Tugendhat on 2016-01-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to measure the annual cost of commission and other charges levied on individual private pension plans by financial advisers in the last five years.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Adviser remuneration is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Through the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), introduced at the end of 2012, the FCA has taken a number of steps to ensure that adviser remuneration on retail investment business is disclosed in advance of any services required. Product providers no longer have any influence over the remuneration received for advising on investments. Where commission remains on investments sold prior to the RDR, this will have been disclosed as required by the rules in force at the time the product was sold.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, when he expects the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to next review the (a) ward and (b) councillor arrangements in metropolitan districts in West Yorkshire.

    Mr Gary Streeter

    The Local Government Boundary Commission for England informs me that arrangements for both wards and councillors are recommended through its electoral review procedure.

    The Commission further informs me that Leeds City Council is in the early stages of an electoral review to consider the number of councillors elected to the authority in the future and the ward boundaries which will accommodate those elected members. None of the other metropolitan districts in the West Yorkshire area are part of the Commission’s programme of electoral reviews for the next twelve months. The Commission’s programme of reviews for the following year will be agreed in autumn 2016.

    There are three reasons why a local authority could become part of the Commission’s programme of electoral reviews. First, the Commission assesses levels of electoral inequality across all local authorities in England on an annual basis. Where the Commission determines that there are high levels of variances between wards or electoral divisions, namely where some councillors represent many more – or many fewer – voters than the average for the authority, it will initiate an electoral review to address the imbalances.

    The Commission will also carry out a review at the request of a local authority. Since 2011, the Commission has carried out 48 electoral reviews of councils that have asked the Commission to intervene. The majority of requested reviews have been initiated by authorities that have asked the Commission, in particular, to consider the total number of councillors elected to the council.

    Thirdly, the Commission will intervene where it believes that an electoral review will help an authority deliver effective local government. Such reviews have been conducted in Stoke-on-Trent, Doncaster and – currently – in Birmingham where an independent report recommended that an electoral review should take place.

  • Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tom Pursglove – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Pursglove on 2016-03-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the potential benefits and costs of a business rates holiday for the steel industry.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Government has worked hard to deliver on the steel industry’s key asks. We (a) secured state aid approval to compensate for energy costs, (b) secured flexibility over EU emissions regulations, (c) published guidance so that the true value of UK steel can be taken into account in major procurement decisions, and (d) continue to tackle unfair trading practices at an EU and an international level.

    Further, Budget 2016 confirmed that the annual indexation of business rates will switch from the Retail Price Index to be consistent with the main measure of inflation, currently the Consumer Prices Index, from April 2020 for all ratepayers, including the steel industry. This represents a cut every year from 2020 worth £370 million in 2020-21 and growing significantly thereafter.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-04-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will retender the existing NHS Whistleblowing Helpline; and if so, on what basis, and when.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    We are committed to improving openness in the National Health Service and ensuring whistleblowers receive proper support. Every NHS trust will have a ‘Freedom to Speak up Guardian’ who will support whistleblowers and foster an open and honest culture. The National Guardian will lead, advise, and support the local guardians in carrying out investigations on how concerns are being handled, share good practice, report on national or common themes, and identify any barriers that are preventing the NHS from having a truly safe and open culture.

    The Whistleblowing Helpline was established in 2003 by the Department of Health to provide advice to NHS staff and employers on the raising of concerns and on the protection of employees who do raise concerns. The Department holds regular meetings with the provider of the Helpline, Mencap, to keep its performance under review.

    In the context of changes in the broader health and care system, such as the establishment of the National Guardian and the local guardians network, the Department is considering what role the Helpline should play in ensuring support for whistleblowers. The Department extended the existing contract to allow the Helpline facility to continue operating while future options for the Helpline are considered.

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on e-cigarettes as a potential gateway to smoking.

    Jane Ellison

    The Government has set a regulatory framework in place that aims to prevent the take up of e-cigarettes by children and non-smokers whilst making them freely available to smokers who wish to use them to quit tobacco use. Gateway effect is difficult to prove or disprove but to date, in the United Kingdom, we have not seen any significant use of e-cigarettes outside of existing smokers and ex-smokers.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans her Department has to ensure that environmental standards currently enforced by the EU are written into UK law.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 21 July 2016 to PQ UIN 43235.

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has made to the Prime Minister on the Apprenticeships Adviser role since the current Prime Minister took office.

    Robert Halfon

    Please refer to the answer given by the Prime Minister to PQ 46313 on 10 October 2016. This is available at: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2016-09-13/46313/

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