Category: Speeches

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that the manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland is able to contribute to the UK aerospace industry.

    Anna Soubry

    We continue to work closely with the aerospace industry in Northern Ireland through the UK wide Aerospace Growth Partnership to tackle barriers to growth, boost exports and grow high value jobs. This work is integral to the Northern Ireland growth implementation strategy ‘Partnering for Growth’ led by Invest Northern Ireland and supported by the industry body ADS. It includes action to support industry in innovation and technology development, strengthening the competitiveness and manufacturing capability of suppliers and raising skills levels

    The steps taken to back this work include a £1.95 billion commitment by the Government, over 13 years to 2026, for new aerospace research and development projects supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute

    My Department and the Northern Ireland Executive are also investing a total of almost £135 million in the development of the C Series aircraft supporting hundreds of jobs in Belfast at Bombardier Aerostructures and Engineering Services and its UK supply chain.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential economic benefit of High Speed 2 to Easington constituency.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The North East and County Durham will benefit from direct HS2 services to the West Midlands and the South East when Phase Two is opened in 2033. Economic analysis was published in business case for Phase Two in October 2013, and updated at time of command paper last autumn. A route decision will be made on rest of route, including to the North East this autumn, at which point an updated economic case will be published.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the Government plans to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2016.

    Amber Rudd

    The UK will ratify the Paris Agreement together with the EU and Member States as soon as possible. The Commission is planning to publish a proposal on EU and Member States ratification alongside legislative proposals for the Non-Traded Sector of the EU2030 Framework this summer.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has received representations from the police on increasing resources related to criminal record check disclosure requests.

    Sarah Newton

    The Disclosure and Barring service works directly with each police force to agree a budget annually based on the expected numbers of local checks and considers any requests for additional resources as part of these discussions.

    In 2015/16 the Disclosure and Barring Service had a target of processing 85% of all applications within 21 days. Some of the over four million applications received each year need to be referred to one or more police forces for further checks and the Disclosure and Barring Service funds Police disclosure units.

  • Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Nic Dakin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to undertake a formal evaluation of the new Cancer Drugs Fund.

    Nicola Blackwood

    NHS England’s standard operating procedures for the appraisal and funding of cancer drugs from July 2016 (including the new Cancer Drugs Fund) state that NHS England will keep the operational mechanisms of the new arrangements under continuous review. In addition, NHS England will look to undertake a more formal evaluation of the overall operation of the scheme, no later than autumn 2017.

    The standard operating procedures are available at:

    www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cdf-sop.pdf

    “

  • Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Seema Malhotra – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Seema Malhotra on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish a Digital Transformation Plan.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    As part of the Government’s Productivity Plan, we are developing a cross-Government Digital Transformation Plan that will be published in due course. This will set out how we will support theadoption of digital technologies andtackle the barriers to new businesses entering and creating new markets.

  • Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Burden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on bilateral relations of recent decisions by China to construct new islands on coral reefs in disputed waters.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Whilst the UK takes no position on the underlying sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, we are concerned about the impact of any unilateral actions, such as large scale land reclamation, and the risk these may pose to freedom of navigation and regional stability.

    We have raised these issues with China through our regular bilateral dialogue. We have also called on all parties to exercise restraint and pursue the settlement of disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to refrain from activity likely to raise tensions.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many judges or magistrates have reported receiving threatening correspondence related to hearings they have presided over in the last five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    There are around 20,000 judges and magistrates in England and Wales. The number of judges or magistrates who have reported receiving threatening correspondence related to hearings is as follows:

    Year

    Number of Judges or Magistrates

    2011

    20

    2012

    12

    2013

    19

    2014

    18

    2015

    31

    We have a robust security and safety system in place to protect all court users. Any threats to judges or magistrates are taken extremely seriously and within Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service there is a security team to co-ordinate effective judicial security and incident investigation, working closely with senior judiciary and police agencies to provide the necessary support.

  • Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jeff Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeff Smith on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of implications for her policies of the finding in the Fair Admissions Campaign’s report, An unholy mess, published in October 2015, that schools which are their own admission authorities are consistently failing to comply with the School Admissions Code.

    Nick Gibb

    Many of the findings of the report echo those reported by the Chief Schools Adjudicator in her Annual Report for the 2013/14 school year. The Government will shortly consult on a package of changes to the School Admissions Code which will both respond to concerns from parents and to the findings in the Chief Adjudicator’s Annual Report. That package will include measures to improve fairness and transparency.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gerald Kaufman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2016-03-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he intends to answer the letter dated 12 January 2016 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms Sara Lyons, transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions.

    Harriett Baldwin

    HMRC officials are looking into this case and the Right hon. Member will receive a reply in due course.