Category: Speeches

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the immediate effect of the vote to leave the EU on UK research (a) in general and (b) funding.

    Joseph Johnson

    As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear, while the UK remains a member of the EU, current EU funding and collaboration arrangements continue unchanged, including those that apply to students, researchers, and businesses. I am in close contact with Commissioner Moedas on the topic of Horizon 2020 funding, and I met with the Italian Minister for Education, Universities and Research on 11 July.

    The UK is world-class in research and innovation and we play a leading role in major European and international collaboration, including ESA and CERN.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that consumers are adequately informed about the option to switch to gas and electricity tariffs with zero standing charge.

    Jesse Norman

    Tariffs with zero standing charge generally have a higher unit charge than tariffs with a standing charge, as the cost to supply is only recovered when energy is used. This tariff may benefit low energy using households but not others. Under the terms in the supply licence, suppliers must provide individual customers with details of their cheapest tariff and an estimate of annual savings. Customers can shop around for the best energy deal that suits their needs by using a price comparison company that operates in accordance with the Confidence Code, a code of practice managed by Ofgem for accredited price comparison companies.

  • David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2015-11-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has provided the Intelligence and Security Committee with copies of any national security directions made under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

    Mr John Hayes

    The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament has been briefed on the use of directions under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984.

    In accordance with section 94 subsection (6) of the Telecommunications Act 1984, money may be provided for the purpose of compensating for any losses that are sustained by reason of compliance with directions.

    On 13 January 2015, the Prime Minister asked the Interception of Communications Commissioner to oversee directions issued under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act. The Commissioner will report on his findings, including on the statistics and wider information that can be published about the use of the power without damage to national security, in his next report.

  • Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Brendan MacNeil – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Brendan MacNeil on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many non-UK (a) nations and (b) planes were flying combat missions in Syria against ISIS on the last date for which figures are available.

    Michael Fallon

    In addition to the UK, the other coalition partners that have flown combat missions in Syria against Daesh are the United States of America, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The number of aircraft that our coalition partners have in the region flying combat operations in Syria is not held by the MOD.

  • Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Charles Walker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Walker on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22143, for what reasons the Government has decided not to amend primary legislation to allow the number of private hire vehicles licensed in London or elsewhere to be restricted.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government supports choice for consumers, and wants to see both taxis and private hire vehicles prosper in London and elsewhere. The Government is prepared to continue discussing various options with the Mayor but does not believe legislation allowing him to cap the number of private hire vehicles is warranted. The Mayor has other ways of influencing the market that do not require new legislation.

  • David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many alerts were issued by the National Border Targeting Centre to the regional offices of Border Force relating to flights of potential interest in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The National Border Targeting Centre issue alerts to both police and Border Force officials at the UK border. The figures provided record those alerts raised for Immigration or Customs reasons at the Border, and do not include any police alerts.

    In 2013 Border Force implemented a quality assurance procedure of Border Force alerts which were being disseminated to the frontline. You will see that in 2012, alerts steadily dropped. Alert ratios reduced due to a more stringent alert framework being adopted by the agency. Alerts were of a higher quality and specifically directed to manage the threat to the Border depending on the priorities of the Border Control Strategy and threat assessment.

    Year Alert count

    2011 16,694

    2012 15,864

    2013 11,076

    2014 10,516

    2015 10,167

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, what the (a) ethnicity and (b) gender is of each staff member employed by hon. Members.

    Mr Charles Walker

    As at 9 March 2016, 3,161 individuals were employed by MPs and paid through IPSA’s payroll. Of these, 1795 were female and 1366 were male.

    IPSA does not collect or hold data on the ethnicity of MPs’ staff.

  • Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with other Government departments on how supported housing will be funded under universal credit.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The Department is working jointly with the Department for Communities and Local Government to develop a workable and sustainable funding solution for Supported Housing. An evidence review is underway which will inform a subsequent policy review, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including Government Departments and devolved administrations.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on staff away days in each of the last six years.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are committed to developing their staff and equipping them with the skills and knowledge to carry out their work. Away-days, other similar team-based development activities and very occasional residential training all make a contribution to such development. This type of development activity is typically arranged by individual teams within the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies. No central records of these events are held, and to collect this information would incur disproportionate costs.

  • Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jess Phillips – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many visits her Department’s teaching blog has received on average each week since that blog was established.

    Nick Gibb

    The teaching blog has received an average of 758 visits per week, and 15,938 visits in total. The costs are only in staff time and image usage of £2.50 per image as the blog is hosted on the GOV.UK platform. The blog is run by the Department’s social media team as a small proportion of one member of staff’s overall workload.