Category: Speeches

Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the operator of last report provisions are for each franchise agreement for passenger rail services currently in operation.

Paul Maynard

There are a number of provisions throughout each franchise agreement that relate to the continuity and preservation of rail services by a Successor Operator which could include the Operator of Last Resort under the provisions of Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993. Schedules 1.6, 10, 14 and 15 of the National Rail Franchise Terms and Conditions are of particular relevance in this regard.

01/01/2023

Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of its annual income has been held in reserve by Thames Valley Constabulary in each of the last five years.

Mike Penning

It is up to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Chief Constables to decide how to allocate their resources, including the efficient use of reserves, based on local priorities. The total amount of revenue funding received by each PCC (formerly Police Authorities) and the total amounts of usable reserves, taken from publically available force area accounts are included in the table below. This includes total core Government funding area from the Home Office, Legacy Council Tax Grants and locally raised precept income. It excludes specific grants such as the Innovation Fund and other locally raised income.

Hertfordshire Police Authority/PCC reserves

Year	Reserves £m	Total revenue funding £m	Reserves as % of government grant+precept
31 Mar 2011	19.4	197.4	9.8%
31 Mar 2012	24.9	191.5	13.0%
31 Mar 2013	28.0	189.7	14.8%
31 Mar 2014	36.7	185.2	19.8%
31 Mar 2015	47.9	181.1	26.5%

Lancashire Police Authority/PCC reserves

Year	Reserves £m	Total revenue funding £m	Reserves as % of government grant+precept
31 Mar 2011	20.1	285.6	7.0%
31 Mar 2012	26.3	273.5	9.6%
31 Mar 2013	27.5	273.5	10.1%
31 Mar 2014	35.8	266.0	13.4%
31 Mar 2015	49.3	258.9	19.1%

Thames Valley Police Authority/PCC reserves

Year	Reserves £m	Total revenue funding £m	Reserves as % of government grant+precept
31 Mar 2011	41.1	395.0	10.4%
31 Mar 2012	48.2	383.4	12.6%
31 Mar 2013	45.8	382.2	12.0%
31 Mar 2014	49.1	375.9	13.1%
31 Mar 2015	51.4	369.7	13.9%

01/01/2023

Lord Falconer of Thoroton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions the fire brigade has been called to an incident at a migrant detention centre in each of the last five years.

Lord Bates

Information for the complete data period requested is not held centrally.

Provisional management information available on the number of attendances by the fire brigade for fires at immigration removal centres from January 2013 is provided below in line with the period for published statistics:

Jan to Dec 2013 – 12 incidents

Jan to Dec 2014 – 10 incidents

Jan to Sep 2015 – 8 incidents

Attendances by the fire brigade for incidents other than fires during the same data period could only be provided by examination of individual records so this information cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.

01/01/2023
Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-01-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.143 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, what assessment he has made of the extent of a fraud and claims culture in the motor insurance industry; and what evidence of such a culture he provided to HM Treasury before publication of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

Dominic Raab

The Government received and analysed data from numerous sources when formulating the announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. The quoted figures were arrived at by combining published industry estimates along with data from government and other sources.

Government data, compiled by the Compensation Recovery Unit at the Department for Work and Pensions, indicates that claims volumes remain at historically high levels, some 50% higher than in 2006. Over the same period motor accident rates have fallen by around 26%. This is clear evidence that the system is in need of further reform, which is why on 25 November, in his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced tough new measures to control costs and reduce the number of unnecessary whiplash claims.

The Government will consult on the detail of the new reform package in due course and the consultation document will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

01/01/2023
Mrs Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve children’s character and resilience.

Edward Timpson

All schools should develop character traits like self-confidence, motivation and resilience in their students. These traits support academic attainment, are valued by employers, and encourage young people to make a positive contribution to British society.

At the Character Symposium in January 2016[1], the Secretary of State for Education outlined her vision for character education. She announced that the Department intends to promote character education through the building and strengthening of our evidence base. We will facilitate this via an online digital platform which will share evidence, innovation, and examples of best practice in character education. We will also promote character education to schools and organisations through a new round of character awards.

To support schools in this, we are already investing £5 million in character education. This figure includes £3.5m of grants for 14 projects and £1m to the Education Endowment Foundation to build research the most effective ways that character can be developed.

Of course, many schools and organisations are already supporting children to develop their character, through programmes such as National Citizen Service. We will be investing over a billion pounds over the next four years to make NCS a rite of passage and to ensure that 60% of 16 year olds can take part by 2021.

School sport can also help children and young people develop positive character traits such as fair play, leadership and resilience. It can teach them how to bounce back from defeat, how to respect others and how to work together in teams to achieve a goal. PE remains a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the new national curriculum which came into force in September 2014.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nicky-morgan-opens-character-symposium-at-floreat-school

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01/01/2023
David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-02-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to all-weather football pitches at grassroots level.

David Evennett

In partnership with the Football Association and the Premier League, the government is continuing to invest significant sums in grassroots football facilities every year. In addition to the £10million we give to the Football Foundation each year, this Government has dedicated £8million per year to the new ‘Parklife’ project that will double the number of 3G pitches and enable over 3,500 community sports matches to be played per week.

01/01/2023
Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 33 of the Budget 2016, how much of the £520 million estimated to be raised by the new sugar levy she expects to be allocated to sporting initiatives through her Department’s budget or arms length bodies in each of the next four years.

Edward Timpson

As announced in Budget 2016, a new soft drinks industry levy is expected to raise £520 million in the first year.

In England, revenue from the soft drinks industry levy will be used to double the Physical Education (PE) and sport premium for primary schools from £160 million a year to £320 million from September 2017. Primary schools will be able to make further improvements to the quality and breadth of PE and sport they offer, including introducing new activities, after school clubs and hiring specialist coaches to work alongside teachers.

Revenue generated from the levy will also be used to provide up to £285 million a year to give 25% of secondary schools increased opportunity to extend their school day to offer a wider range of activities for pupils. This can include sports clubs.

01/01/2023
Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-04-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32350, how many compliance visits have been carried out on Tier 2 ICT visa recipients employed by Tata Consulting Services in the UK over the last 12 months; and what aspects of employment were assessed on those compliance visits.

James Brokenshire

We routinely monitor all licensed sponsors to ensure they are meeting their duties and responsibilities. This includes undertaking visits to sponsors to inspect their compliance with the sponsor guidance. All visits to sponsors are undertaken according to published guidance which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/points-based-system-sponsor-management

We are, however, unable to comment on specific cases.

01/01/2023
Stewart Malcolm McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart Malcolm McDonald on 2016-05-23.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department have received from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on the list of addresses of British entities registered with the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama published by the ICIJ on their website on 9 May 2016.

Mr David Gauke

We welcome the statement from the source of the Panama Papers that they are willing to speak to law enforcement bodies. Tax evasion and money laundering are global issues, which is why the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and National Crime Agency (NCA) taskforce is working with international tax and law enforcement partners to take up this offer, and develop as many leads as possible from the data that is currently available.

HMRC has been in regular contact with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), who have refused to share their full data with HMRC, stating that their policy is not to hand over such material. While we welcome the steps the ICIJ has taken in exposing this issue, its decision not to release the full set of information is disappointing.

HMRC has begun analytical work on all the data published by the ICIJ, in addition to a wide range of other intelligence. As a result of this, the HMRC and NCA taskforce has opened a number of detailed and forensic enquiries.

01/01/2023
Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support is available in West Lancashire for children with autistic spectrum disorders.

David Mowat

The provision of local health services is a matter for the local National Health Service. This information can be obtained from the West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group.

01/01/2023