Category: Speeches

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on claimants of no longer being eligible to receive employment and support allowance payments at the assessment rate when undergoing a mandatory reconsideration of a work capability assessment.

    Penny Mordaunt

    ESA claimants who are found fit for work and are waiting for their mandatory reconsideration application to be decided, are eligible to claim JSA. This is the right benefit for those who are capable of work, with Jobcentre work coaches fully supporting these claimants during this period – and the statistics released on 8 September show that this period is now a relatively short one – the median average being around 9 days.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to include in the proposed Education for All Bill a contractual obligation on schools to provide sex and relationships education.

    Edward Timpson

    We want schools to provide all young people with a curriculum that equips them for success in adult life. High-quality sex and relationship education (SRE) and personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education have a vital role to play in this.

    SRE is compulsory in maintained secondary schools. Academies and free schools do not have to teach SRE, but many choose to do so as part of their statutory duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum.

    When teaching SRE, all schools, including academies through their funding agreement, must have regard to the Secretary of State’s Sex and Relationship Education guidance. The existing SRE guidance was last updated in 2000. We have received requests about updating the guidance which we will consider carefully.

    Schools and teachers have the freedom to design lessons that meet their pupils’ needs, taking account of pupil and parent views. Teachers are encouraged to develop their practice with the support of specialist organisations and expert professionals. Many of these specialist organisations have produced resources that can be used and adapted by schools.

    We hold regular meetings with Ofsted about a range of matters. As the Secretary of State said at the Education Select Committee hearing in September 2016, we need to look again at how schools deliver high-quality PSHE, including SRE. We are considering all the options, including the need for any statutory powers, and will come to a view soon.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many convictions there have been relating to forced marriage under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

    Karen Bradley

    We made forced marriage a criminal offence last year to better protect victims and send a clear message that this abhorrent practice is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the UK.

    Data on convictions is not collated centrally. However, the first successful prosecution under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 was secured in June 2015, and the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) most recent violence against women and girls report shows that the volume of forced marriage prosecutions completed in 2014-15 rose to 46 from 45 in 2013-14, the highest volume ever. 63% of those prosecutions were successful.

    In addition, to date, over 800 civil Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made to prevent people from being forced into a marriage and to assist in repatriating victims.

  • Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Rehman Chishti – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rehman Chishti on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the Government is doing to assist small businesses to recover debts.

    Anna Soubry

    Late payment remains an important issue for small businesses in the UK. The Government is taking significant steps to assist small businesses to recover late payment debts.

    Through the Enterprise Bill, currently before Parliament, we will legislate to establish a Small Business Commissioner to help small business resolve disputes with large companies, tackling, in particular, late payment. The Commissioner will act as a disincentive to unfavourable payment practices, and build the confidence and capabilities of small businesses to help them to assert themselves in contractual disputes and negotiate more effectively with larger businesses.

    This is part of a package of measures to tackle late payment. We have also legislated for new transparency measures in the public and private sectors. This will allow full public scrutiny of payment performance.

    We have also strengthened the Prompt Payment Code to ensure it is a recognised and demonstrated beacon of best practice, and we recently consulted on proposals to give representative bodies wider powers to challenge grossly unfair payment practices.

    Tackling late payment is about creating a responsible payment culture where larger companies recognise the benefit of having a sustainable and robust supply chain, and smaller businesses feel able to challenge poor behaviour. Once implemented, the Government is confident that these measures will lead to significant changes in the UK’s payment culture.

  • Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Harry Harpham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harry Harpham on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many days of gas supply are available from the gas storage facilities.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The UK has a high level of gas security, provided through our diverse range of gas supplies, including domestic production, pipeline imports from Norway and mainland EU, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from global markets and storage. It is therefore misleading to talk about gas storage in terms of ‘days available’ because of this mix. Both physical system constraints and market processes mean storage could only be one part of the overall gas mix on any winter’s day.

    Total gas infrastructure in GB can currently deliver around 700 million cubic meters a day, which is more than double average winter daily demand. Average winter demand is 290 million cubic meters a day and while storage amounts fluctuate, it is currently around 3500 million cubic meters.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time to wait is for a reconsideration of a decision by (a) his Department and (b) a tribunal hearing in (i) Brighton and Hove and (ii) the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The only published statistics in relation to reconsideration clearance times in the UK are in the link below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/mandatory-reconsiderations-of-dwp-benefit-decisions-data-to-october-2014

    Information is not available in relation to Brighton and Hove.

    The latest information in relation to clearance times for appeals in the UK is in the link below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015 – see Table 4.3

    Information for Brighton and Hove is as follows:

    April- September 2015

    Brighton

    20 wks

    UK

    18 wks

    Source: SSCS Reports September 2016

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the total number of students enrolled in the English Baccalaureate in each year since its inception; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    Information on the percentage of pupils entered for the components of the English Baccalaureate between 2009/10 and 2014/15 is published in the Statistical First Release “Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2014 to 2015”. [1]

    [1] 2014/15 revised table can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/494052/SFR01_2016_National_Tables.xlsx. (Table 1b)

    “

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.293 of Budget 2016, which areas of criminal justice services he plans to devolve to Greater Manchester; which bodies will assume overall governance of such services; what legal framework he plans to put in place for the governance of service providers; and how such (a) governing bodies and (b) service providers will be funded.

    Mike Penning

    In the Budget, the Government announced that it will work with Greater Manchester to strengthen its role in commissioning joined up criminal justice services and in developing flexible local services.

    No services or budgets have been devolved. The Government is considering options in conjunction with Manchester.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average reduction in benefits was for claimants subject to the under-occupancy penalty in each of the last three financial years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The average weekly reduction for claimants subject to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy for each of the last three financial years was as follows:

    • £14.42 in 2013/14;
    • £14.92 in 2014/15; and
    • £15.25 in 2015/16.
  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many civil servants in his Department are paid through limited companies.

    Justin Tomlinson

    No Civil Servants in the Department for Work and Pensions are paid through limited companies.