Category: Speeches

  • Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gavin Shuker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Shuker on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the operational readiness of St Helena Airport; and when she expects commercial operations at that airport to commence.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    The St Helena Airport was certificated by Air Safety Support International on 10 May 2016 and is open. As a result of turbulence and wind shear identified on the northern approach, the certification confirms the airport is classed as Category C, which requires certain conditions to be met by airlines and aircraft proposing to use the airport. Work is underway to establish commercial air services.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hate crimes were committed against disabled people in each of the last five years.

    Sarah Newton

    The Home Office has collected disability hate crime data from the police since 2011/12.

    In 2011/12, the police recorded 1,748 disability hate crime offences, 1,911 in 2012/13, 2,006 in 2013/14 and 2,508 in 2014/15.

    Further information on hate crime can be found in Hate Crimes, England and Wales, 2014/15, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2014-to-2015

    Data for 2015/16 are due to be published in October 2016.

    As stated by the Office for National Statistics, action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Recording Standard has led to improved recording of crime over the last year, especially for violence against the person offences. Together with a greater awareness of disability hate crime, and improved willingness of victims to come forward, this is likely to be a factor in the increase in disability hate crimes recorded by the police.

    This Government is committed to tackling hate crime. The UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to tackle hate crime. We are working across Government with police, (including National Community Tensions Team), the Crown Prosecution Service and community partners to send out a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated and we will vigorously pursue and prosecute those who commit these crimes.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 12 October (HL Deb, col 1996), whether they will clarify when the noble Lords can expect to receive written responses to the points they raised during the debate.

    Lord Ashton of Hyde

    A letter was sent to the Noble Lord and deposited in the House of Lords Library on Thursday 21st October.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the retesting of Volkswagen vehicles being carried out by the Vehicle Certification Agency includes testing for carbon dioxide emissions.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen (VW) Group extremely seriously. As we investigate what went wrong and what we can do to stop it happening again, the priority of course remains to protect the public. We expect VW to take every step necessary to protect its UK customers, but it is right that the Government carry out their own thorough and independent investigation.

    A written statement was made today (10 November) informing the House of the latest developments on the Department for Transport’s vehicle emissions testing programme, following the revelations that VW had fitted defeat devices to some of its vehicles.

    The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is working to confirm that this issue is not industry wide. They have tested two VW group vehicles known to contain a defeat device and will rerun laboratory tests on popular cars sold in the UK to compare real world driving emissions against laboratory performance. This will include measuring CO2 .

    The Secretary of State spoke to Dr Herbert Deiss of VW on 4 November to discuss CO2 emissions, seeking information on those vehicles affected in the UK and the extent of the discrepancy. VW have stated that they are working hard to clarify the situation and are liaising with relevant approval authorities.

    The Secretary of State has written jointly with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to VW seeking clarification on several issues. Separately, officials from the Department for Transport, and its Agencies have held a number of discussions with VW regarding the recall of affected vehicles.

    The Department for Transport has not made a specific assessment of on road emissions in relation to type approval requirements, but officials are aware of the findings in published reports suggesting significant differences.

  • Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Nia Griffith – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nia Griffith on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many meetings he has held with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2015-16 session of Parliament to date.

    Stephen Crabb

    I have regular meetings with my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer along with all other Cabinet Ministers.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many defibrillators are provided in each building her Department manages.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department is based at two locations; one in Belfast and one in London. There is no defibrillator on site in Belfast. The London office is situated in a building which is shared between several Government departments and there are 10 defibrillators on site.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year An Unholy Mess that a significant number of religiously selective schools are not making clear in their admission arrangements the process by which children with statements of special educational needs are admitted; and what steps they are taking to ensure that all schools have clear guidance regarding that.

    Lord Nash

    Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.

    Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant without undue delay. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.

    We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.

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

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2016 to Question 22740, what steps his Department is taking to encourage and facilitate the supply of steel from UK sources for the (a) Type 26 and (b) Type 31 frigate programmes.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    In the main, Ministry of Defence (MOD) requirements for steel are sourced by our prime contractors taking into account cost, time and quality. The MOD has issued new policy guidance to ensure, as far as we are able to within EU procurement legislation and the Government’s overarching priority of value for money, that we are addressing the barriers that prevent UK steel suppliers from competing on a level playing field with international suppliers. This emphasises the importance of increased pre-market engagement, including industry days and the signalling of future requirements for steel, bringing prime contractors and steel producers together to facilitate supply chain opportunities. I have also written to our main defence contractors to highlight the new policy guidelines and seek their assistance and support in implementing them.

    No steel suppliers have yet been selected or orders placed for the Type 26 Global Combat Ships or Light General Purpose Frigates. The sourcing of steel for these programmes will take account of the new policy.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the quality of information and data used to inform his Department’s investment prioritisation process; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is committed to ensuring that all of its key policies and programmes are based on high quality evidence and subject to robust monitoring and evaluation. The foundation for this vision was set out in the Department’s Evaluation Strategy published in December 2014 and the first update – BIS Evaluation Plan 2016.

    A substantial amount of work is undertaken across the Department to better understand, and develop, the evidence underpinning investment options. For example, in preparation for Spending Review 2015, the Department thoroughly reviewed its evidence base, through Evidence Challenge Panels (ECP) and an Investment Gateway (IG) process. The ECP membership consisted of Directors of spend areas and provided senior peer review of work underway to address the key evidence gaps and to support longer term planning to develop BIS’ evidence base. The IG was set up to support prioritisation of spend and ensure investment decisions are based on robust business cases consisting of strategic, economic, financial, management and commercial assessments. The IG panel includes the chief analyst and DG finance. The ECP and IG in turn fed into the Department’s submissions to HM Treasury for the Spending Review.

  • James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    James Cartlidge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by James Cartlidge on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress the Government has made on Food Enterprise Zones.

    George Eustice

    All 17 of the pilot areas are making steady progress towards establishing their Food Enterprise Zones (FEZ). Some have secured their Local Development Orders (LDO) which are the planning bases for establishing FEZ. As soon as an LDO is established, FEZ can then take forward plans to encourage businesses to make investment decisions to benefit local communities.

    In Suffolk, there will be three LDOs within two FEZ to reflect the different needs of local food related businesses. These include the FEZ in South Suffolk at Orwell where LDOs will support the growth of existing businesses as well as attracting new inward investment.