Category: Speeches

Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to appoint the Chair of the review of the localisation of council tax benefit; and by what process he plans for that Chair and other people working on that review work to be selected.

Mr Marcus Jones

The details of the Chair and terms of reference for the independent review of local council tax support schemes will be published in due course. A Review team comprising four full-time equivalents staff has been set up to provide project and analytical support to the Chair.

The Review will be completed by the end of March 2016.

01/01/2023
Adam Holloway – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Holloway on 2015-12-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to reduce congestion at the northbound entrance to the Dartford Tunnel caused by lorries carrying dangerous cargo being stopped and investigated.

Andrew Jones

Highways England is continuing to work to reduce times for dangerous goods vehicles which are prohibited from entering the tunnels and need to be removed, or to release vehicles in escorted convoys to ensure smooth traffic flow while ensuring safety of users. Since the road layout changes at the Crossing were completed in 2015, fewer but larger convoys are used to minimise disruption with the number of convoys reducing to 70 – 80 per day from around 110 per day, which equates to a reduction of around a third.

Clear road signs already provide advance instruction for drivers of dangerous goods vehicles and are enforceable by regulations. Work is also underway with the freight industry to educate drivers of restricted vehicles what lane or route to take to avoid being stopped, which causes delays for other drivers.

01/01/2023
Stephen Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Phillips on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on how many occasions in each of the last two calendar years his Department has been notified by outside consultants or other third parties of breaches by employees or subcontractors of those consultants of document retention or security policies relating to confidential or secure materials.

Joseph Johnson

The Department for Business Innovation & Skills was notified of 16 breaches by employees of companies processing data on behalf of the Department in 2014 and 4 breaches in 2015. The last breach reported by an employee of a company processing our data was in April 2015.

01/01/2023
Diane Abbott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diane Abbott on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the contributions of the Minister of State for International Development at the International Development Committee, 27 January 2016, Question 28, and on 3 February 2016, Official Report, column 908, what the evidential basis is for the statements that export of arms by the UK to Saudi Arabia is not undermining her Department’s humanitarian work in Yemen.

Justine Greening

The UK is the fourth largest donor to the crisis in Yemen, committing £85million this year. Funding those agencies and NGOs who have the best access and ability to deliver humanitarian assistance in Yemen means we have been able to provide support to over 1.3m Yemenis. In recent weeks, UK food aid has also been delivered to some of the hardest to reach areas of Taiz.

Nevertheless, the conflict in Yemen does make it difficult for agencies to operate and deliver humanitarian aid to all those who need it. That is why a lasting ceasefire is so important. We are doing all we can to support the UN to convene a further round of peace talks over the coming weeks and to renew the ceasefire.

01/01/2023
Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-03-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many EU nationals were convicted of a criminal offence in the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Selous

The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database does not hold the nationality of offenders convicted of criminal offences in England and Wales. Obtaining this information would incur disproportionate cost.

As announced in the Prime Minister’s speech on 8 February, my officials have been working closely with the Home Office to introduce a legal requirement for defendants appearing in court to provide their name, date of birth and nationality. This will enable earlier identification of foreign national offenders and help with the removals process.

01/01/2023

Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much each local authority in England has received from the Adoption Support Fund since its creation.

Edward Timpson

The table below shows how much each local authority in England has received from the Adoption Support Fund since its creation:

LA	ASF Total Spend to Date (£)
Barking and Dagenham	44,196.20
Barnet	166,813.26
Barnsley	29,235.00
Bath and North East Somerset	40,261.47
Bedford	81,340.50
Bexley	70,451.00
Birmingham	160,325.87
Blackburn with Darwen	81,696.80
Blackpool	57,601.98
Bolton	55,920.00
Bournemouth	28,727.76
Bracknell Forest	21,444.10
Bradford	309,173.00
Brent (prev Herts)	43,973.00
Brighton and Hove	123,200.90
Bristol	199,771.70
Bromley	12,314.00
Buckinghamshire	205,907.10
Bury	70,376.30
Calderdale	102,775.50
Cambridgeshire	251,323.18
Camden	93,988.70
Central Bedfordshire	88,479.91
Cheshire East	184,035.96
Cheshire West and Chester	151,425.46
City of London	–
Cornwall	260,491.05
Coventry	66,094.00
Croydon	37,369.65
Cumbria	362,150.10
Darlington	25,810.00
Derby	58,166.80
Derbyshire	301,734.86
Devon	458,850.32
Doncaster	182,252.82
Dorset	19,004.00
Dudley	77,882.90
Durham	145,119.27
Ealing (prev Herts)	387,675.71
East Riding of Yorkshire	147,132.67
East Sussex	374,962.27
Enfield	95,085.44
Essex	276,241.07
Gateshead	8,984.00
Gloucestershire	1,213,955.86
Greenwich	91,407.75
Hackney	165,218.00
Halton	32,759.50
Hammersmith and Fulham	35,313.56
Hampshire	244,384.30
Haringey	203,142.10
Harrow (prev Herts)	57,459.50
Hartlepool	17,631.96
Havering	1,170.00
Herefordshire	58,998.20
Hertfordshire	293,849.02
Hillingdon (prev Herts)	8,301.84
Hounslow (prev Herts)	5,640.25
Hull	116,738.65
Isle of Wight	36,944.00
Isles of Scilly	–
Islington	78,032.34
Kensington and Chelsea	18,535.01
Kent	367,991.20
Kingston	56,034.14
Kirklees	294,390.30
Knowsley	30,508.70
Lambeth	75,001.00
Lancashire	440,242.16
Leeds	199,474.72
Leicester	105,823.75
Leicestershire	189,426.69
Lewisham	139,396.50
Lincolnshire	109,876.35
Liverpool	50,392.10
Luton	19,413.60
Manchester	263,742.75
Medway	113,923.40
Merton	121,835.40
Middlesbrough	24,273.84
Milton Keynes	129,924.42
Newcastle upon Tyne	132,122.00
Newham	29,051.00
Norfolk	472,360.80
North East Lincolnshire	169,037.20
North Lincolnshire	3,603.50
North Somerset	82,103.50
North Tyneside	61,443.20
North Yorkshire	612,921.58
Northamptonshire	209,503.74
Northumberland	28,498.90
Nottingham	172,346.00
Nottinghamshire	97,291.97
Oldham	20,030.50
Oxfordshire	34,818.65
Peterborough	51,391.02
Plymouth	221,433.97
Poole	13,321.38
Portsmouth	77,709.42
Reading	26,652.00
Redbridge	54,632.80
Redcar and Cleveland	16,840.00
Richmond	320,954.40
Rochdale	61,243.50
Rotherham	201,774.40
Rutland	–
Salford	89,485.40
Sandwell	26,059.00
Sefton	29,383.92
Sheffield	300,284.78
Shropshire	92,774.00
Slough	16,578.00
Solihull	247,751.00
Somerset	144,238.40
South Gloucestershire	90,356.73
South Tyneside	86,296.60
Southampton	42,207.80
Southend-on-Sea	69,489.25
Southwark	264,437.46
St. Helens	17,909.80
Staffordshire	248,092.20
Stockport	37,947.87
Stockton-on-Tees	42,182.60
Stoke-on-Trent	131,143.67
Suffolk	390,301.42
Sunderland	165,319.14
Surrey	302,995.50
Sutton	52,715.00
Swindon	58,167.50
Tameside	127,575.59
Telford and Wrekin	–
Thurrock	21,901.60
Torbay	51,134.40
Tower Hamlets	16,004.00
Trafford	59,046.76
Wakefield	260,394.68
Walsall	30,730.00
Waltham Forest	5,552.00
Wandsworth	273,035.42
Warrington	63,546.60
Warwickshire	344,023.10
West Berkshire	40,060.00
West Sussex	400,439.03
Westminster	38,383.88
Wigan	30,686.85
Wiltshire	69,687.65
Windsor and Maidenhead	59,604.50
Wirral	8,334.40
Wokingham	51,360.90
Wolverhampton	63,073.60
Worcestershire	201,224.60
York	188,133.45
TOTAL	19,892,053.92

* Shropshire provides Telford and Wrekin’s Adoption Service

* Leicestershire County Council provides Rutland’s Adoption Service

* Cornwall make applications on behalf of the Isles of Scilly

* City of London have had no adoptions from care during the relevant period.

01/01/2023

Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the total number of agency supplied staff supplied to secondary schools in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb

Supply teachers provide a valuable role for schools, and schools themselves are best placed to make staffing decisions to reflect their individual needs. It is up to head teachers and governors to decide who is required for the job and this includes how best to cover absences.

The Department for Education collects details of all teachers working in state funded schools through the annual School Workforce Census. However, this census does not separately identify agency teachers from those employed by schools.

01/01/2023
Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of people being diagnosed with enlarged prostates.

David Mowat

In the majority of men, the prostate grows larger with age, and patients usually present to a general practitioner with symptoms of an enlarged prostate after the age of 50. Symptoms can include: weak urine flow; needing to urinate more often, especially at night; a feeling that your bladder has not emptied properly; and, difficulty starting to urinate. Some men find their symptoms are manageable and cause few problems, other find their symptoms worsening, which can impact on wellbeing and quality of life.

For patients who need treatment, there are a number of approaches available including lifestyle and dietary adjustments, medicines and surgery.

01/01/2023
Edward Leigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Leigh on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce differences in urban and rural school funding.

Justine Greening

The government is committed to a national funding formula that will deliver fairness to all parts of the country – rural and urban, north and south.

In the first stage of our consultation, we proposed including a sparsity factor which would help rural schools, as well as a lump sum factor which would help small schools everywhere.

We will both respond to the first consultation and launch the second stage consultation later in the autumn.

01/01/2023
Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the agreement signed with China to fund Hinckley Point C nuclear reactor includes funding from China for (a) decommissioning costs and (b) emergency clean-up costs.

Andrea Leadsom

The basis on which Chinese companies will invest in the Hinkley Point C project is set out in the strategic investor agreement agreed between EDF and CGN in October. The terms of this agreement are a matter for EDF.

Operators of new nuclear power stations are required to have a Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) approved by the Secretary of State before nuclear related construction can begin. The FDP sets out how a new nuclear operator will make secure financial provision for decommissioning their power station and managing and disposing of its waste without recourse to the taxpayer.

Operators of nuclear power stations are also required to put in place insurance or other financial security to meet their nuclear third party liabilities.

01/01/2023