Category: Speeches

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-07-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effect on financial markets of (a) his announcement on 15 July 2016 of plans to introduce an emergency Budget in the event of the UK voting to leave the EU and (b) his oral contribution of 4 July 2016, Official Report, column 625 announcing that there would not be an emergency Budget.

    Mr David Gauke

    The Chancellor of the Exchequer set out his assessment of recent developments in financial markets during his oral contributions on the 4 July.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-09-15.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of companies investing in projects located in the Palestinian territories currently governed by the State of Israel.

    Lord Price

    The Government’s Palestinian Market Development Programme (PMDP) works with Palestinian companies to improve their competitiveness and ability to attract investment and create jobs. PMDP also supports the Palestinian Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA) to deliver better services to potential investors including UK investors. PIPA offers a package of incentives to investors.

    PMDP provides technical assistance to support the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy to improve the environment for trade and investment, and is working on an initiative to encourage UK businesses to outsource business in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially in the IT outsourcing sector.

    No specific assessment has been made of companies investing in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs), or those parts of the West Bank, known as ‘Area C’, under full Israeli security and administrative control.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason the qualifying threshold for baseline assessment providers was set at 10 per cent of primary schools.

    Nick Gibb

    The reception baseline contracts contained a number of criteria for approving suppliers.

    The 10 per cent threshold was set to ensure a statistically reliable sample size for each supplier when determining the relative progress measure for each pupil.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2015-12-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many children move schools each month because of bullying, and what assessment they have made of the implications of such moves for the education system and the children affected.

    Lord Nash

    The Department does not collect information on the number of children who move school each month because of bullying.

    All bullying is unacceptable and every school is required to have a behaviour policy including measures to tackle all forms of bullying. They are held to account by Ofsted and inspectors will look at records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour.

    In 2015-16, the Government is providing £3.3m to charitable organisations to help tackle bullying and to provide support for those who are bullied. This is further to the £4m provided over the period 2013-15.

    Levels of bullying have reduced as a consequence of the efforts of schools and anti-bullying charities. The Longitudinal Study of Young Peoplein England published by the Department in November 2015 compared experiences of bullying among two cohorts of 14 year olds (year 10 students)from 2004 and 2014. It found that 30,000 fewer people in year 10 in 2014 said they had been bullied in the last twelve months. This represented a decrease from 41 per cent in 2004 to 36 per cent in 2014.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will introduce a National Defence Medal; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 December 2015 to Question 19127 to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Melanie Onn).

  • Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how it is planned that the Apprenticeship Delivery Board will interact with the Institute for Apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    It will be for the Chair of the Institute for Apprenticeships, when appointed, to determine through discussions with Government and the Apprenticeship Delivery Board, how they should interact. The permanent Chair will be appointed through a public appointments process in 2016.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential benefit to the local economies of North, East, South and West Yorkshire of a devolution deal.

    James Wharton

    The specific details of any devolution deals agreed with North, South, East or West Yorkshire would be contingent on the outcome of engagement between the Government and local leaders.

    The benefits to areas that have agreed devolution deals with the Government will be significant and far-reaching. Local leaders will be given direct control over the levers of growth in their economies, with the most ambitious deals including new powers over adult skills and transport budgets, and substantial, long-term investment funds. By providing local partners with greater control over key policies and resources, devolution deals offer places more of the tools they need to drive forward growth for the benefit of the whole local economy.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Barry Sheerman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding will be available for third-sector training providers to support young people who are not in education, employment or training once the Youth Contract comes to an end.

    Nick Boles

    Local authorities have a duty to track, support and encourage young people to participate in education and training, with a particular focus on those who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). The Department for Education supports local authorities in meeting this duty by: providing a secure portal for them to exchange data about young people’s activities; collating and publishing data about young people’s activities; sharing good practice; and publishing a NEET Scorecard to help local authorities manage their performance.

    Local authorities decide how they will work with and support education and training providers, the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), and other agencies in meeting these requirements.

    Local authorities receive funding from central government to enable them to meet their statutory obligations including this duty, but it is up to them to determine exactly how much they spend on these activities, and whether and how much funding should be provided to VCS organisations to help with this. Reflecting its continued commitment to supporting young people NEET, the government has allocated £30 million for the Youth Engagement Fund and Fair Chance Fund Social Impact Bond (SIB) schemes, and the recent Spending Review settlement saw over £100 million for further SIBs, tackling issues such as youth unemployment, homelessness and mental health.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nicholas Soames – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government’s strategy is for litter and fly-tipping.

    Rory Stewart

    Defra has announced plans for a new litter strategy and we are working with industry, experts and councils across England to improve the way we all tackle the scourge of litter. The litter strategy will promote affordable and replicable ways to influence littering behaviour – and reduce littering. It will encourage innovation in physical infrastructure and cleansing methods, and in product design, and will help to make a compelling and engaging case for investment in work to tackle litter and littering.

    To develop the strategy we will seek the views of, among others, representatives from local government, campaign groups and independent experts, as well as voices from the packaging and fast-food industries. As part of this process we will also establish a number of working groups on specific issues, such as roadside litter, data and monitoring and enforcement.

    We are committed to tackling fly-tipping as set out in the Government’s manifesto. Subject to Parliamentary approval, we will give local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small-scale fly-tipping. Regulations were laid in Parliament on 11 March. These new enforcement tools will be available to local authorities from 9 May, providing them with an alternative to prosecutions and will assist them to take a proportionate enforcement response. This will build on other actions, including:

    • Cracking down on offenders by strengthening the Sentencing Council’s

      Guideline for sentencing for environmental offences, which came into force on 1 July 2014.

    • Making it easier for vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime to be

      stopped, searched and seized.

    • Continuing our work with the Defra-chaired National Fly-Tipping Prevention

      Group to promote and disseminate good practice in the prevention, reporting,

      investigation and clearance of fly-tipped waste.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the suitability of the UK’s existing (a) road infrastructure and (b) skills in the workforce for the anticipated rise in the number of autonomous vehicles.

    Andrew Jones

    Autonomous vehicles could potentially have significant impacts on congestion, safety, and efficiency. The Government recognises that this is an important issue and needs to be better understood to properly inform long-term policy and investment decisions. For this reason, the Department for Transport is currently engaging with interested parties and conducting research and development to understand the specific requirements on the road infrastructure needed for the deployment of these technologies.

    The Transport Systems Catapult is developing a report on current and future skills for the fast-growing Intelligent Mobility sector, which includes autonomous vehicles. This report will be complete in early summer.

    This work is ongoing, and forms part of a much wider programme of research and development that the Government is supporting to examine the issues associated with these technologies.