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Category: Speeches

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel from 75 Engineer Regiment were deployed to Germany on training operations in each of the last six years.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The following table shows the number of personnel from 75 Engineer Regiment who have deployed to train in Germany in each of the last six years.

    Year

    Number of personnel

    2010

    0

    2011

    0

    2012

    0

    2013

    115

    2014

    136

    2015

    132

    These figures do not include personnel from the Regiment who are permanently based in Germany.

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he plans to require non-levy paying employers wishing to recruit an apprentice from April 2017 to make a compulsory cash contribution to the cost of training.

    Nick Boles

    The Government will help employers who are not paying the levy to meet the costs of apprenticeships training by providing generous financial support. We will ask these employers to make a small contribution. Further detail on funding rates will be published shortly.

  • Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kate Osamor – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre detainees were held in the Kingfisher Isolation Unit on the weekend of 10 September 2016.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Kingfisher Unit at Yarl’s Wood is managed by Serco, the service provider, in accordance with Rules 40 (removal from association) and 42 (temporary confinement) of the Detention Centre Rules 2001. Detainees may only be separated from others for reasons of safety, either their own or for others, for security reasons or when an individual is being refractory or violent. There is no provision in the Rules for separation to be used as punishment.

    Provisional management information from Serco shows that no detainees were re-located to Kingfisher Unit on either 10 or 11 September. There is no record of any complaints having been made by detainees alleging that they have been threatened with placement on Kingfisher Unit in connection with the demonstration on 10 September.

    Detainee Custody Officers must not threaten detainees in order to manage their behaviour but may advise detainees that they may be separated if their behaviour is judged to risk compromising the safety and security of the centre, themselves or others.

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kirsten Oswald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what legislative provision exists to ensure that directors responsible for misconduct can be appropriately dealt with.

    Anna Soubry

    Where companies enter formal insolvency, there are powers under the Company Director’s Disqualification Act for the Secretary of State to apply to the court for the disqualification of directors who are found to be responsible for misconduct. Disqualification is a civil restriction which bars an individual from being appointed as a director, or being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company for a period of between 2 and 15 years. Contravention of a disqualification is a criminal offence which may lead to prosecution and civil penalty.

    That Act provides other grounds for disqualification of up to 15 years following misconduct in relation to companies not necessarily subject to insolvency proceedings, including disqualification on conviction of an indictable offence, for repeated breaches of company legislation and following investigations under the Companies Act.

    In addition to disqualification, there are a number of criminal offences in the Insolvency Act for misconduct related to Insolvency, and other offences particularly in the Companies Act and Fraud Act.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sarah Wollaston – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department plans to allocate to (a) increasing the number of journeys undertaken by bicycle and (b) reducing the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on roads over the next five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government remains committed to its manifesto targets to double cycling and make cycling safer.

    The Government recently reaffirmed its commitment to cycling and walking, with SR2015 announcing funding support of over £300m. This includes delivering the Cycle City Ambition programme in full, and funding the Bikeability cycle training programme, which increases cycle proficiency amongst school children.

    The Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, to be published in summer 2016, will explain the Government’s investment strategy for cycling and walking.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-01-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) employees and (b) employers have taken advantage of savings to National Insurance contributions from salary sacrifice schemes for occupational pensions in each of the last five years.

    Damian Hinds

    Department for Work and Pensions has published estimates on salary sacrifice available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-pension-provision-survey-2013 Estimates are not available for the number of active members who take advantage of these schemes or the loss to the National Insurance Fund.

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  • Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gregory Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the total public expenditure on the UK space industry over the course of this Parliament.

    Joseph Johnson

    The allocation for the UK Space Agency for 2015/16 is £370.5 million with £302 million to be invested through the European Space Agency, £65 million to be invested on international programmes and £3.5 million on administration. In addition, £37 million was invested on space with the Met Office. Future allocations up to the end of the Parliament will be published in due course alongside the wider allocations of the science and research budget.

  • Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Greaves – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Greaves on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what submissions they have made to the Bank of England’s consultation Establishing Shari’ah compliant central bank liquidity facilities.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government has not made any submissions to the Bank of England’s consultation: Establishing Shari’ah compliant central bank liquidity facilities.

  • 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 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s current projections are for Government annual spending on the (a) Cycle City Ambition Grant, (b) Bikeability cycle training, (c) Highways England Funding, (d) Access Funds and (e) any other under the cycling and walking strategy programmes for each of the next five years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The projected budgets for the next five years for the (a) Cycle City Ambition Grant, (b) Bikeability cycle training, (c) Highways England Funding and (d) Access Funds are as follows:

    Programme

    Total

    Cycle Cities Ambition grant

    £99m

    Bikeability cycle training grant

    £50m

    Highways England Fund

    £85m

    Sustainable Travel Transition Year / Access Fund

    £80m

    Much more widely, however, other Government funding streams will also contribute to projects which will deliver improved cycling and walking. Through the Local Growth Fund, an investment of at least £476m is planned by local enterprise partnerships for cycling infrastructure.

    From the Integrated Transport Block funding, local authorities will use £194m to invest in cycling and walking.

    Regarding highways maintenance, from 2018/19 the plan is to change the formula used to allocate local highways maintenance capital funding so that it also takes into account footways and cycleways as well as the roads, bridges and street lighting, which it is currently based on. Once implemented, around 9% of the funding for local highways maintenance will be based on footway and cycleway lengths and equates to £196m.

    In addition, a record £6bn will be spent on tackling potholes and improving local roads between 2015 and 2021, which will benefit all road users, including cyclists.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34910, what qualifications are required by his Department for English and mathematics tutors who teach functional skills in numeracy and literacy.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence general policy on the provision of Functional Skills (FS) training is that tutors employed to teach English and mathematics to Service Personnel are required to have a minimum Level 4 teaching qualification prior to employment. Once employed, all tutors must then successfully complete the ‘Defence Train the Trainer Course’.

    Armed Forces training establishments follow more detailed criteria on the standard of qualification for tutors employed to deliver FS training. Two principal groups provide Functional Skills education within the Army. Basic Skills Development Managers (BSDMs) are employed across the Army Educational Services and are required to hold a nationally-recognised teaching qualification and a Adult Basic Skills Subject Specialisation Award (ABSSA) at a minimum of Level 4 in literacy or numeracy. The Army also contracts out FS delivery completed on the Army Apprenticeship Programme. Tutors on the various apprenticeships are required to hold an overall Level 5 teaching qualification and have appropriate subject matter expertise.

    All Royal Air Force (RAF) English and Mathematics FS tutors are required to have a minimum Level 4 ABSSA teaching qualification in their respective subject prior to employment. The Royal Navy also have minimum entry Level 4 FS qualifications requirement for all its tutors. The RAF and Royal Navy also expect an ABSSA teaching qualification in English and maths for tutors on the various apprenticeships as well as appropriate subject matter expertise.