Category: Speeches

Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-09-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the contribution of Scottish Gaelic language to British culture and the creative industries.

Matt Hancock

We recognises the important contribution Gaelic language makes to British culture and the creative industries. The Heritage Lottery Fund recently provided £4 million funding to reopen Lews Castle where over 20 community heritage societies have come together to shape the way the story of the Outer Herbrides is celebrated and shared. Interpretation is in Gaelic first with English subtitles throughout the museum.

UK Government and its agencies are committed to working with the Scottish Government to help the creative industries continue to grow in Scotland, through the provision of broadband and mobile infrastructure, fiscal incentives, export promotion, advocacy and facilitation and the provision of official statistics.

January 1, 2023
Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of any correlation between the size of a school sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted for its sixth form provision.

Robert Halfon

The Department for Education has not made any assessment of the correlation between the size of a school’s sixth form and the grade awarded by Ofsted to that school with respect to its sixth-form provision. We continue to monitor school and sixth form performance on an ongoing basis using a range of metrics, including Ofsted inspection outcomes, minimum standards and performance table data.

January 1, 2023
Lord Laird – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2015-11-09.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 5 November (HL2965) concerning public inquiries that they have instigated into the death of a single individual since 1988, which of the individuals specified have not had a full coroner’s inquest.

Lord Faulks

A coroner’s inquest was not completed into the deaths of the following individuals:

Victoria Climbié, Robert Hamill, Dr David Kelly, Alexander Litvinenko, Baha Mousa, Zahid Mubarek, Rosemary Nelson and Azelle Rodney.

The only occasion when an inquest has been adjourned under section 17A of the Coroners Act 1988 because a non-statutory inquiry was to be held was following the death of Dr David Kelly. The Lord Chancellor established an inquiry to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death on 18 July 2003, the day that Dr Kelly’s body was found.

January 1, 2023
Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effects of zero-hour and uncertain hour contracts on the mental health of people holding such contracts.

Alistair Burt

The Department has no plans to make any such assessment.

Research undertaken by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that, compared to the average employee, zero hours contract workers are just as satisfied with their job (65% versus 63%) and happier with their work-life balance (62% versus 58%).

January 1, 2023

Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-14.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many applications for mandatory reconsideration of a tax credits decision are awaiting determination by Concentrix.

Mr David Gauke

The number of requests for mandatory reconsideration of a decision about a tax credits award that Concentrix have received since the commencement of their contract with HM Revenue and Customs in November 2014 is as follows:

Month	Number of MRs
November 2014	0
December 2014	2
January 2015	6
February 2015	38
March 2015	29
April 2015	137
May 2015	100
June 2015	45
July 2015	71
August 2015	108
September 2015	1221
October 2015	925
November 2015	871
December 2015	2371

The total is about 1.6% of all decisions Concentrix made in the same period.

As of 15 January 2016, there are 566 mandatory reconsiderations in progress that have been opened and Concentrix are waiting for customers to provide further evidence. Concentrix have 30 further mandatory reconsiderations that are awaiting determination.

The average length of time taken between Concentrix starting to work a mandatory reconsideration and making a decision is 24 days. This includes the time needed for customers to provide any further evidence.

January 1, 2023

Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the report by the Social Market Foundation on the effect of single parents of a relaxation of Sunday trading hours.

Anna Soubry

In formulating its final proposals, the Government has carefully considered all the evidence submitted during the consultation process.

January 1, 2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to assist local authorities renegotiating public-private partnerships.

Mr Marcus Jones

The Department offers advice and support directly to individual local authorities and collectively through sector briefings on renegotiation matters. The Department has also worked with Local Partnerships to help them provide advice and assistance to local authorities across a range of Private Finance Initiative Public Private Partnership sector projects.

January 1, 2023
Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what measures she is taking to assist humanitarian agencies in distributing food and supplies to people affected by the conflict in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The UK is the 4^th largest donor to the crisis in Yemen and has more than doubled its humanitarian support over the last year to £85 million for 2015/16. We have so far helped more than 1.3 million Yemenis who have been affected by the conflict with food assistance, medical supplies, water, and emergency shelter, as well as supporting refugees and migrants in Yemen.

We work through International Non-Governmental Organisations and the United Nations agencies, including the World Food Programme who provide emergency food to over 570,000 people, either through direct delivery of food or providing cash or vouchers to enable people to buy food. These distributions are prioritised to the areas of greatest need. We are also funding the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism to improve the supply of essential commercial goods, including food, into Yemen.

January 1, 2023
Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has plans to hold an international donor conference for the humanitarian response in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne

The top priority for the present has to be ending the conflict and ensuring aid can reach those in need. We are focused on supporting the UN-led peace talks, increasing commercial imports of food, fuel and medical supplies, and improving humanitarian access.

We will monitor progress against the 2016 UN appeal closely and consider whether a conference is helpful later this year.

January 1, 2023
Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will request that the UN Human Rights Council establishes an international commission of inquiry to investigate alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Yemen by all parties to the conflict in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK supported a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2015, which called on the UN to provide technical assistance to the Government of Yemen, assist the Yemeni National Independent Commission of Inquiry, and report back to the next session of the Human Rights Council in September. The UK welcomes Yemen’s commitment to cooperate with the UN on protection of human rights

We are aware of reports of alleged violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) by actors in the conflict and take these very seriously. It is important that all sides conduct thorough and conclusive investigations into all incidents where it is alleged that IHL has been breached. We regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law with the Saudi Arabian Government and other members of the military Coalition. The Saudis have their own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents of concern on 31 January.

January 1, 2023