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Category: Speeches

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-10-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to safeguard access to the Erasmus student exchange programme (a) until and (b) after the UK leaves the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations.

  • Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Steven Paterson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on maintenance aboard HMS (a) Torbay, (b) Trenchant, (c) Talent and (d) Triumph in each of the last five years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The cost of maintenance onboard submarines is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures his Department has put in place to ensure that conditionality requirements for jobseekers who are in receipt of universal credit, as set out in each individual’s Claimant Commitment, take into account whether the individual may be homeless.

    Priti Patel

    Work Coaches regularly discuss a range of issues and circumstances with claimants. Where homelessness is raised, and is a barrier to employment, work coaches can temporarily lift or vary work search and availability requirements to help support in finding accommodation. Conditionality requirements reflect reasonable expectations given the claimants circumstance. These are recorded in the Claimant Commitment and regularly reviewed.

  • Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Stoddart of Swindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon on 2016-01-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Verma on 10 December 2015 (HLWS370) concerning plans to tackle violence against women and girls overseas, whether the plans will be financed through the overseas aid budget or by separate financial provisions, and what measures will be put in place to ensure that the finance provided is used exclusively to assist the victims of violence.

    Baroness Verma

    The UK Government is proud of the leadership role that it is taking to tackle violence against women and girls at home and overseas, including domestic violence, sexual violence, FGM and child, early and forced marriage. Plans outlined in the Written Ministerial Statement to address violence against women and girls overseas are financed through the overseas aid budget. This covers a range of interventions, all of which are necessary, to eliminate violence against women and girls. It includes the essential activities providing support to survivors of violence; programming to actively prevent violence; research to test and understand what works to stop violence in different contexts, and efforts to strengthen the international system to deliver results at scale.

  • Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Heidi Alexander – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 January 2016, Official Report, column 18, what the baseline year is for the commitment to train 10,000 more nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals over the course of the Parliament.

    Ben Gummer

    The Government has committed to remove the cap on the number of students studying nursing, midwifery and the allied health professions from 2017/18. This will enable universities to offer up to 10,000 additional places for students to start these courses by the end of the parliament.

    The Department of Health, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with health and education partners will work together prior to implementation in 2017 to determine how these additional places are appropriately baselined (and monitored) against those commissioned for National Health Service workforce planning purposes.

  • Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Wasserman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wasserman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many staff, including part-time workers and workers under a contract for services, are presently employed in each of the 41 offices of the Police and Crime Commissioner in England and Wales, and how many full-time equivalent posts each office has.

    Lord Bates

    The Home Office does not hold this information.

    The Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are statutorily required to recruit a Chief of Staff (Chief Executive) and a Chief Financial Officer. However, it is then for the PCC to determine what further staff they require to support them in their duties.

    Under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011, PCCs are obliged to publish certain staffing information, including an organisational chart showing the structure of their office.

    This level of transparency enables the public to effectively hold them to account in a way that was not possible under the police authority governance model.

    The Home Office does not hold further information centrally.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much each local authority received from the Planning Enforcement Fund in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department received six applications for enforcement grants before the deadline for submitting applications and all were successful.

    Two grants were made in the financial year 2014-15 to Staffordshire County Council (£8,010) and Stratford-on-Avon District Council (£3,200).

    Four grants were made in the financial year 2015-16 to Bath and North East Somerset Council (£7,993.75), London Borough of Camden (£8,184.50), Chelmsford City Council (£2,755) and South Gloucestershire Council (£3,291.66).

  • Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Paula Sherriff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paula Sherriff on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a minimum unit price for alcohol.

    Karen Bradley

    An impact assessment of a minimum unit price for alcohol was published before a consultation on the Government’s Alcohol Strategy proposals in 2012.

    The consultation raised questions concerning possible unintended consequences of minimum unit pricing, such as the impact on responsible drinkers on low incomes. The Government continues to monitor the research being carried out by the University of Sheffield and others on the potential effects.

    The Government has also noted the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union on the proposed introduction of minimum unit pricing in Scotland and will continue to monitor the legal proceedings.

  • Simon Hoare – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Simon Hoare – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Hoare on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions Public Health England had with child nutrition organisations on the development of the revised Eatwell Guide.

    Jane Ellison

    The Eatwell Guide is suitable for everyone over the age of five years to follow and intends to assist the population in choosing a varied and balanced diet to meet government dietary recommendations (such as those for calcium).

    Departmental officials were observers on the External Reference Group that advised Public Health England on methodological approaches to refreshing the Eatwelll Guide. Government advice continues to encourage consumption of dairy products as part of a healthy, balanced diet for all age groups.

    An external reference group was convened to consult with stakeholders during the development of the Eatwell Guide. This group comprised representatives from health, dietetic and nutrition professions (including those with expertise in child nutrition). It also included the voluntary sector and industry (including the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board who represented the dairy industry). The group advised on potential methodologies to inform the sizes of the food group segments in the new Eatwell Guide whilst also providing routes for wider engagement.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2016 to Question 42107, on Islamic State, what factors would need to change for a referral to the International Criminal Court to be considered practical; what discussions the Government has had with (a) Russia, (b) China and (c) other permanent members of the UN Security Council on securing their vote for a referral; and what the Government’s latest assessment is of (i) Russia’s and (ii) China’s policy on that issue.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We expect that any Security Council resolution at this time seeking to refer the situations in Iraq or Syria to the International Criminal Court (ICC) would be blocked, as it was when efforts were made to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC in 2014. We continue to work with our international partners, including other permanent members of the UN Security Council, to look at every available option to assist the victims of Daesh and bring those responsible for crimes to justice.