Category: Speeches

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answers of 21 July 2015 to Question 7583 and 9 September 2014 to Question 207819, how many (a) military, (b) civilian and (c) liaison personnel are now stationed at each of those sites in Saudi Arabia; how many of each of those personnel are in locations where Saudi Arabia plans and executes military operations in Yemen; and how many (i) military, (ii) civilian and (iii) liaison personnel are in the command and control centre for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Further to my answer of 21 July 2015 the UK currently has:

    11 personnel providing mentoring and advice to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, as part of the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

    19 military and 37 civilian personnel working on the Saudi Arabia National Guard Communications Project to acquire and support, modern communications capabilities for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

    72 military and 42 civilian personnel working on the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Projects, supporting the United Kingdom’s commitment to the defence of Saudi Arabia through the supply of modern military aircraft, naval vessels, weapons and associated support services to the Saudi Armed Forces.

    We have a small number of liaison personnel who work at the Saudi MOD and Operational Centres to provide insight into Saudi operations. They remain under UK command and control. There are no other UK military or civilian personnel working at these headquarters.

    British personnel in Saudi Arabia are not involved in carrying out strikes, directing or conducting operations in Yemen or selecting targets and are not involved in the Saudi targeting decision-making process

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether it is planned that the BIS 2020 programme will make greater savings than the savings required under the Spending Review 2015 set by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Department has committed to reduce total operating spending by £350m a year by 2020, which is consistent with Spending Review 2015 outcomes. The BIS2020 programme aims to achieve the agreed savings by focusing on maximising efficiency so as to prioritise front line activity.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time on the organ waiting list for a kidney transplant was for people in Teesside in each year from 2010; and what that average such waiting time was for people from BAME backgrounds in that area in each of those years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on waiting times is provided by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). This is provided by transplant centre rather than area.

    Patients in Teesside who require a kidney transplant are likely to be referred to the Newcastle Transplant Centre, where the average waiting time for a kidney transplant is 583 days. This is lower than the national average of 979 days. These averages are based on patients registered from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2012.

    NHSBT does not hold waiting time figures broken down by ethnicity for each transplant unit.

    Note:

    The average is drawn from a median formula.

  • Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Carmichael on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to stimulate economic growth in Northern Ireland.

    Kris Hopkins

    The Government’s long-term economic plan is working for Northern Ireland. Last year legislation was passed to allow the devolution of corporation tax rate-setting powers which has the potential to boost investment and could bring benefits for an estimated 34,000 companies of all sizes in Northern Ireland.

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total budget is for dental care in England in each of the next five years; and how much of that budget is allocated to dental care education in (a) schools and (b) the community.

    David Mowat

    NHS England has a legal duty to commission primary care dental services to meet local need and therefore does not have a specified dental budget. Local teams commission dentistry based on the local oral health needs assessment undertaken in partnership with local authorities, which identifies the level of dental need for a particular community.

    Health Education England is responsible for funding dental education. Information on funding for dental education is only available for 2016/17 and can be found in the table below.

    Training Category

    2016/17
    Total Cost
    £

    Undergraduate Dental training

    122,296,360

    Postgraduate Dental – Foundation Level

    80,998,539

    Postgraduate Dental – Specialist Level

    14,328,506

    Dental Nurses

    8,455,506

    Dental Technicians

    1,495,340

    Dental Hygienists

    8,110,376

    Dental Therapists

    7,454,032

    Total

    243,138,660
  • Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Madeleine Moon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Prime Minister, (a) whether the RAF Voyager aircraft being refitted for ministerial travel has been leased to the Government, (b) what the capacity of that aircraft was before it was refitted and (c) what the cost of Prime Ministerial air travel has been since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr David Cameron

    Details about the RAF Voyager aircraft being refitted for ministerial travel can be found on page 32, section 4.49, of the National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, copies of which are available in the Vote Office.

    Details about Ministerial overseas travel are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via gov.uk website.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ruth Smeeth – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress the Infrastructure Commission has made in its work as it relates to Northern Ireland.

    Greg Hands

    The National Infrastructure Commission has been established to provide expert impartial analysis of the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs. To do this the commission will conduct an infrastructure needs assessment every five years, with its findings articulated in the National Infrastructure Assessment. As part of the infrastructure needs assessment the commission will review areas of Northern Irish infrastructure that are the responsibility of the UK government, and its findings will be made public once the report is completed.

  • Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what strategy they have in place to increase retention of teachers in the profession.

    Lord Nash

    Teacher retention rates have remained stable for over a decade and the turnover rate in teaching is lower than for the economy as a whole. Approximately 90% of all teachers are still in service in the year after they qualify and 72% of those who qualified in 2009 were still in teaching five years later. Over 60 percent of teachers remain in service 10 years after qualifying.

    The Government recognises that it is vital for schools to be able to retain good teachers. That is why we have made policy interventions in areas such as improving pupil behaviour and reducing unnecessary workload.

    The Department has appointed behaviour expert Tom Bennett to lead a review to ensure new teachers are fully trained in managing behaviour in 21st century schools.

    Three groups have been established to address the biggest concerns that teachers raised in the workload challenge: marking, planning and data management. All three groups are due to report in Spring 2016 and the Department is commissioning a biennial survey to track teacher workload, starting in Spring 2016.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many charities in receipt of government grant funding were found to be in breach of provisions preventing use of taxpayers’ money for political activity in each of the past three years.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    This information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • 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 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans she has to improve the protection of areas of outstanding natural beauty in marine areas.

    George Eustice

    Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty do not cover marine areas. However, this Government has made a commitment to complete a ‘Blue Belt’ of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around our coasts. These sites will also contribute to an ecologically-coherent network of MPAs in the North East Atlantic.

    Over 17% of UK waters and almost a third of English inshore waters are now within MPAs. This includes 50 Marine Conservation Zones created since 2013. We are continuing to work towards designating further MPAs to complete the ‘Blue Belt’.