Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to encourage an increase in migration to the UK from Australia to the levels of such migration prior to 2008.

    James Brokenshire

    We value our close links with Australia and are committed to further strengthening our ties. Across all visa categories, total visas issued to Australian nationals grew by 10% in the year ending September 2015.

    However, the Government is committed to reducing net migration to sustainable levels. We have capped the level of skilled economic migration from outside the EU, and have asked the Migration Advisory Committee to advise on restricting Tier 2 of the Points Based System for immigration to genuine skills shortages and highly specialist experts to ensure that we only grant visas to those who have the skills we really need in our economy. We have no plans to introduce specific targets for Australian migration to the UK.

  • Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Touhig – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of reservists who are able to serve at short notice in the event of a major conflict.

    Earl Howe

    Volunteer Reservists (VR) on the trained strength (26,560 as at 1 December 2015) are required to respond to a mobilisation call-out at 28 days’ notice and may then carry out additional training for an operation. The length of time required for this training will depend on the complexity of the operation, which may require familiarisation training on equipment which they will be required to operate, and procedural training to prepare for the environment they will encounter. Further preparations may be required, such as vaccinations, which depend on the environment of the operation and which will affect the length of time between mobilisation and deployment.

    For a medium scale intervention operation we would expect the period between mobilisation and deployment for VR to be around 180 days. However, the use of intelligent mobilisation means that willing and available VR are routinely mobilised in around 90 days for specific tasks and this can be significantly shortened in some circumstances.

    No estimate has been made of the number of Reservists who would be able to serve at short notice in the event of a major conflict.

  • John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    John Mc Nally – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mc Nally on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2015 to Question 17357, when in 2016 he plans to introduce the new reporting requirement to report on payment practices and performance.

    Anna Soubry

    The reporting requirement will come into force later this year. Further information on timings will be published in due course.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department has allocated to Kent County Council for local road maintenance for (a) 2015-16 and (b) 2016-17.

    Andrew Jones

    This Government is providing both tools and funding to local highway authorities in England, outside London, to tackle the condition of our local road network. In the Spending Review 2015, the Government announced that we are allocating a total of £6.1 billion funding for local highways maintenance between now and 2021. This funding includes an additional £250 million between 2016 and 2021 for a potholes action fund to improve local roads, to promote innovation within the sector and to ensure that taxpayers get greater value for money.

    For Kent we are providing the following funding for local highways maintenance for the financial years 2015/16 and 2016/17:

    Funding Stream

    2015/16 £m

    2016/17 £m

    Highways Maintenance Block Needs Element

    27.277

    25.006

    Highways Maintenance Block Incentive Element

    1.377

    Pothole Action Fund

    1.473

    Total

    27.277

    27.856

    Further details of the funding we are providing to all local highway authorities in England outside London can be found here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/6-billion-funding-to-tackle-potholes-and-improve-local-roads

    Local authorities are able to use revenue funding for maintaining their local highways and this is allocated by the Department of Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant.

    “

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had the Electoral Commission on ensuring that people are able to check whether they are registered on aboutmyvote.co.uk related to the EU referendum.

    John Penrose

    A registration look up tool that allowed electors to check their registration status would reduce duplicate applications. Technical and practical barriers prevent its implementation before the EU referendum.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2016 to Question 39519, what the whole life cost of the East Coast Main Line Intercity Express fleet is; and how much of that cost will be met by funding from his Department.

    Claire Perry

    Whole life costs of the East Coast Main Line fleet are part of the £2.7bn investment for the Intercity Express Programme East Coast which includes the design, finance and maintenance of the rolling stock and maintenance facilities over the 27.5 year term. It is not possible to break this cost down further.

    The Departments costs in support of this investment are supported through funding of infrastructure enhancements and agreement in the East Coast Franchise Agreements to ensure the benefits of the IEP trains are delivered.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with large employers on the effect on their take-up of apprenticeships of the new funding arrangements proposed for apprenticeships for 16 to 18 year olds, published on 12 August 2016.

    Robert Halfon

    We have engaged thousands of employers and training providers throughout the development of the apprenticeship funding reforms and continue to do so. This engagement helped to shape the funding policy proposals for England from May 2017, published on 12 August.

    A survey seeking detailed views from employers and providers closed on 5 September, and the feedback will inform the final policy, which we aim to publish in October.

    We expect that the introduction of the levy will mean that many more employers will offer many more apprenticeships opportunities to people of all ages and backgrounds than they would have otherwise done. Employers will have an incentive to employ apprentices to maximise the use of their levy funds and they will have control over funding for apprenticeships training. The generous co-investment rate will help them if they want to take on more apprentices than covered by their levy funds.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment Network Rail has made of the (a) available capacity on the Stalybridge to Stockport railway line and (b) feasibility of providing additional passenger services on that railway line.

    Paul Maynard

    1) Available capacity on the Stalybridge to Stockport railway line

    The single line sections limit the track capacity on this route, which is currently used for frequent freight services and empty stock moves for Northern Rail.

    Platform and track capacity at Stockport is also a constraint on service expansion in this area.

    2) Feasibility of providing additional passenger services on that railway line.

    Additional services on this route are not committed by Northern during the current franchise. To support expansion of services in the future, DfT and Rail North contracted a Service Option Fund through Northern’s Franchise Agreement that will be used from 2019 onwards to assist with the operating cost impact of running extra services.

    The assessment of which service options are the most beneficial will be done in consultation with stakeholders (through Rail North) and will include analysis of the business case for each route to ensure that all relevant factors are considered.

  • Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Smith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS (a) standalone midwife-led units, (b) midwife-led units situated alongside consultant-led units and (c) consultant-led maternity units there are in each region of England; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    Information on the number of standalone midwife-led units, midwife-led units situated alongside consultant-led units and consultant-led maternity units in each region of England is set out in the table below:

    Standalone midwife-led units

    Midwife-led units situated alongside consultant-led units

    Consultant-led maternity units

    North West, Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside

    4

    12

    20

    Cumbria, North East of England and Yorkshire and the Humber

    8

    8

    24

    NHS Midlands and East.

    14

    37

    44

    South East Coast and Wessex

    8

    12

    16

    South

    18

    10

    18

    London

    3

    22

    25

    Women can expect a range of choices over place of birth. As set out in the NHS Choice Framework for 2015/16, these choices include giving birth at home with the support of a midwife, in a midwifery facility with the support of a midwife, or in any available hospital with the support of a maternity team. Choices will depend on what is best for the woman and her baby, as well as what is available locally.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department’s timetable is for the implementation of the provision of postgraduate student loans of up to £10,000.

    Joseph Johnson

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to PQ UIN 18668.

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