Category: Speeches

  • Craig Mackinlay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Craig Mackinlay – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Mackinlay on 2015-11-04.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will (a) consider legal action to recover tax due from Volkswagen as a consequence of carbon dioxide outputs and nitrogen dioxide levels and (b) commit to not reassessing tax payments for an additional benefit in kind as a result of higher carbon dioxide outputting vehicles.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government takes the unacceptable actions of Volkswagen extremely seriously and is taking robust action to get to the bottom of the emissions sandal.

    The Government has announced that no UK taxpayers will be penalised by higher taxes if their existing vehicles are found to be affected by the emissions testing scandal.

    The Government continues to monitor the actions of Volkswagen closely and will consider all options once the facts are fully clarified.

  • Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department carries out of the needs of Syrian refugees who are admitted to the UK to ensure they receive the support they need.

    Richard Harrington

    The UNHCR identifies refugees for potential resettlement under the Syrian VPR scheme using their vulnerability criteria. Once our security processes have been completed, a full medical assessment is conducted by the International Organisation for Migration in the host country. Local Authorities are provided with case details of all referrals so they can consider whether they have the infrastructure and support networks needed to ensure appropriate care and integration of refugees.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-01-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department currently uses for the cost of rolling stock for High Speed 2.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The current estimate for High Speed 2 rolling stock is approximately £7.0bn (in 2015 prices).

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times debt repayments to his Department have been written off in each year since 2010; and what the value of such debts were in each such year.

    Alistair Burt

    The number and value of debt repayments written-off in each year since 2010* is outlined in the table below.

    Year debt written-off

    Value of Debt written-off

    Number of cases written-off

    2014/15

    £682,428

    9

    2013/14

    £47,909

    4

    2012/13

    £155,615

    8

    2011/12

    £344,897

    3

    2010/11

    £1,806,698

    8

    *2015/16 data is still being audited and will be available when the final accounts are published later this year.

    Debt repayments written off occur when income due was not collected and deemed not recoverable.The value of debt written-off can vary year on year as they relate to largely external factors. There can be a variety of reasons, but mainly where companies enter liquidation and are unable to pay. This is known in the Departmental Annual Report and Resource Account publication as claims waived or abandoned. Some of the detail of significant claims waived and abandoned (above the reporting threshold of £250,000) are reported separately in the Annual Report and Resource Account Publication and further details are shown below.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on the care industry of the implementation of the living wage.

    Alistair Burt

    Out of an estimated 1.52 million adult social care jobs in England, up to 900,000 people are expected to benefit from the introduction of the National Living Wage.

    More widely across the sector, higher productivity and better-quality care through efficiency would benefit employers and care home residents and there is potential for improvements in staff retention if higher wages engendered greater job commitment.

    The Department continues to work in collaboration with delivery partners to support effective recruitment practices and improved retention of the care workforce.

    Our assessment of the effect of the National Living Wage for the Spending Review drew on projections and data on pay including information from the Office of Budget Responsibility and Skills for Care.

  • Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Cheryl Gillan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cheryl Gillan on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assurances he has received that (a) construction of a new station in Curzon Street and (b) other construction activity in Birmingham will comply with air quality limit values for nitrogen dioxide.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Environmental Statement and Supplementary Environmental Statements for the Phase One hybrid Bill fully assessed the impact on air quality from HS2 construction activity for the proposed Curzon Street Station and for other areas in Birmingham. That assessment concluded that there would be no significant effect on the air quality in these areas.

  • Graham Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Graham Evans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Evans on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of potential steps to increase provision of (a) court time and (b) relevantly skilled members of the judiciary to ensure the timely management of legal proceedings on complex planning disputes.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Planning Court was established in 2014 and has greatly increased the speed in which planning cases are dealt with.

    A dedicated cadre of lawyers and judiciary have been appointed to deal expediently with all significant planning cases.

    The Criminal Courts and Justice Act 2015 introduced a permission stage in applications for statutory review, to remove unmeritorious statutory challenges to planning decisions as early as possible.

    Current statistical data shows that the average time taken for a planning case to be dealt with in the Planning Court has reduced from 46.9 weeks in February 2014 to 25.9 weeks in March 2016.

  • 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 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has carried out a rural proofing assessment of the likely effects of measures contained in the Bus Services Bill.

    Andrew Jones

    The general and specific impacts of the Bill’s provisions are included in a number of Impact Assessments, which will be published shortly. The impact assessments include a ‘rural proofing assessment’.

  • Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Stephen Gethins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff vacancies remain to be filled in his Department.

    Mr David Jones

    The department now has over 180 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and is still growing rapidly with first class support from other government departments.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-10-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to work with the waste and coatings industries on making better use of leftover paint.

    Dr Thérèse Coffey

    The Government has been engaging constructively with the British Coatings Federation on making better use of leftover paint, including identifying potential regulatory barriers to its recycling and remanufacture and how these might be overcome.

    The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) encourages consumers to recycle and re-use household paint by providing information through the Recycle Now website. This includes a postcode locator which helps pinpoint local Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) that accept leftover paint. The Government’s Innovation in Waste Prevention Fund has also supported a pilot paint re-use project in Cheshire involving local charities, working with HWRCs and housing associations to increase paint donation and minimise disposal. WRAP will publish a summary of the project, lessons learned and a video case study later in the year.

    In terms of public procurement, it is for each Government department to consider sustainability and put this into practice in its own procurement activity. Government Buying Standards do not currently include remanufactured paint. WRAP has recently published a guide on ‘How to Include Re-use in Local Authority HWRC Procurement’.