Category: Speeches

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with HM Revenue and Customs on the level of prosecutions relating to cross-border fuel smuggling and laundering.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Prosecutions relating to cross-border fuel smuggling and laundering are a matter for HM Revenue and Customs, whose policy is to arrest individuals where there is evidence that they have been involved in fuel fraud, as long as this is proportionate.

    The Northern Ireland Executive, under the Fresh Start Agreement, is implementing additional measures aimed at tackling the impact of criminality and paramilitarism in Northern Ireland. That includes the establishment of a new cross-jurisdictional joint agency task force with a focus on a range of crimes, including fuel smuggling and laundering.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to encourage better customer service in insurance companies that allow for consumers to make free claims.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government is determined that insurers should treat customers fairly and firms are required to do so under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules.

    The FCA’s Insurance Conduct of Business Sourcebook (ICOBS) sets the conduct standards required of insurance firms in relation to their business which aim to ensure consumers are treated fairly. This includes provisions relating to the handling of claims by insurers. ICOBS states that insurers must handle claims fairly and promptly; provide reasonable guidance to help a policyholder make a claim, and appropriate information on its progress; not reject a claim unreasonably; and settle claims promptly once settlement terms are agreed.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many people working for his Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    Sir Alan Duncan

    No member of staff of the Foreign and Commonwealth (FCO) or its Executive Agencies who is directly employed is paid less than the living wage.

    The FCO defines zero-hours contracts as a contract of employment which does not specify a fixed number of hours per week, and has no guaranteed minimum number of hours. The FCO uses this type of contract to cope with fluctuating demand and/or retain specialist expertise no longer available in the current workforce. For example, we bring back retired FCO officers with relevant skills/experience to act as sensitivity reviewers or VIP visit liaison officers.

    Our centrally held records do not enable us to differentiate between staff on zero-hours contracts and those on contracts with a fixed number of hours. To provide this information would incur disproportionate cost.

    We do not hold a record of contract status for staff employed by companies providing outsourced services to the FCO.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to (a) support the development of an effective market in cyber insurance products for small businesses and (b) encourage the establishment of standards within that insurance industry.

    Matt Hancock

    The Government is committed to making the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online and we recognise the role cyber insurance can play in helping to raise security levels in all businesses, including SMEs.

    In March 2015 we published a report on joint initiatives between Government and the insurance sector to tackle cyber risk. The report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cyber-security-insurance-new-steps-to-make-uk-world-centre

    The Government also chairs an insurance industry working-group to look at key issues around supporting the development of the cyber insurance industry.

  • David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Amess – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 27 October 2015 to Question 13645, (a) how and (b) by whom each head teacher was selected to work with her Department on improving the provision of PSHE in schools; and if she will make a statement.

    Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education regularly speaks to a wide range of head teachers, academy chief executives, teachers and subject associations. We invited a group of headteachers and PSHE practitioners to work with us on improving the quality of PSHE.

    These individuals were selected because of the high quality provision in their schools. The list of contributors will be known when the report is published.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the work plan of the National Resilience Review is; and how often the Review team plans to meet.

    Rory Stewart

    Work has already started on the National Resilience Review, which is considering forecasting and modelling, resilience of key infrastructure and the way we make decisions on flood expenditure.

    The Review is being delivered by a cross-Government team and will be published in the summer. It will be led by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Letwin, and include the Government’s Chief Scientist, Defra, DECC, DCLG, HM Treasury and the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency.

  • Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Jo Stevens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) assaults and (b) serious assaults by prisoners on other prisoners were recorded at HMP Swansea during each of the last three years.

    Andrew Selous

    Statistics for assaults on prisoner on prisoner are published on an annual basis by calendar year in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin annual assaults tables (see table 3.15 at the link below). https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/495430/safety-in-custody-assaults-dec-2014.xls.

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  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many concerted indiscipline incidents of each type have occurred in each prison establishment in each month since May 2005.

    Andrew Selous

    Violence in prisons has increased in recent years. The nature of offenders currently in custody and the widespread availability of new psychoactive substances have both contributed to making prisons less safe. There is no single, simple solution to the problems we face but we are making progress.

    We have launched a two year Violence Reduction project to help us to gain a better understanding of the causes and characteristics of violence. We are also trialling the use of body worn cameras in prisons, training sniffer dogs to detect new psychoactive substances and have made it an offence to smuggle new psychoactive substances into prison. However, ultimately the only way to reduce violence in our prisons is to give governors and those who work in prisons the tools necessary to more effectively reform and rehabilitate offenders.

    Many Concerted indiscipline incidents vary widely in nature and duration and many of these incidents are relatively minor and of short duration and cause little disruption to the prison regime.

    Note: The figures included in the table attached, have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although the figures are shown to the last case the figures may not be accurate to that level.

  • 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 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many permanent secretaries are from a lower socio-economic background.

    Matthew Hancock

    Data on the socio-economic background of Permanent Secretaries is not available. We are introducing a metric of social mobility as part of our 2016 Talent Action Plan and this is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/talent-action-plan-2016-removing-the-barriers-to-success.

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  • Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alex Chalk – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Chalk on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he supports the expansion of centres such as Travel for London’s planned cycling superhub to other parts of the UK.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    We support the development of cycle hubs that have all the facilities a cyclist needs in one place and are providing funding for a number of these hubs. We have already financed a number of these innovative hubs which have contributed towards the number of cycle parking spaces across England trebling since 2012.

    We are monitoring with interest the development of the cycle superhub at Waterloo Station which will provide cycle parking on a much larger scale to ascertain the effectiveness of such a facility at other cities across England.

    Cycling is a devolved responsibility for Scotland and Wales.