Category: Speeches

  • Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Liz Kendall – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Kendall on 2016-01-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people of each gender work in his Department.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Gender and Diversity information can also be found in the Annual Report and Accounts. Please see link below:-

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-annual-report-and-accounts-2014-to-2015

  • Lord Darling of Roulanish – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Darling of Roulanish – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Darling of Roulanish on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact of payment protection insurance payments made since 2010 on UK gross domestic product.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The most recent figures available from the FCA show that a total of £393.8m was paid in November 2015 to customers who complained about the way they were sold PPI. This takes the amount paid out since January 2011 to £22.2bn.

    The most recent analysis of the impact on GDP is the Office for Budget Responsibility’s 2012 Economic and Fiscal Outlook report, which stated that its economic growth forecast of 0.8% over 2 years would be mainly due to the impact of PPI fee repayments.

  • Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Michael Dugher – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Dugher on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the level of installed capacity was for (a) wind and (b) solar energy in Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last 10 years.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The level of installed capacity for wind and solar PV in Yorkshire and the Humber, for the ten years to 2014, is given in the attached table. Data for 2015 will be available on 29 September, 2016.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-03-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure mental health service user groups are consulted in advance about arrangements for mental health conferences organised by his Department or NHS England.

    Alistair Burt

    The second mental health Crisis Care Concordat national summit was held on 24 November 2015, hosted jointly by the Department and Mind.

    The event concentrated on progress with improving crisis care since the launch of the Concordat in February 2014. The Summit was full, with 250 delegates and speakers. All delegates were Concordat activists – either involved in their local Crisis Concordat groups or representatives from national signatory and supporter organisations. People with lived experience and carers attended, as well as members of the National Survivor User Network. Some attendees will have been present representing their organisations but also will have had lived experience, and it is therefore not possible to calculate the number of those attendees who were mental health service users.

    All Departmental conferences involve stakeholders and service users as part of the preparation process.

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

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

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average value was of payments made under the Financial Assistance Scheme to former members of Allied Steel and Wire pension scheme in each of the last six years.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 May 2016 to Question 37977, what estimate his Department has made of future levels of passenger travel (a) to and (b) from Coventry railway station in each of the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    Analysis is being undertaken on future levels of passenger demand at Coventry for the West Midlands franchise competition to prepare for the Invitation to Tender, as well as for the InterCity West Coast franchise.

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the cost to the Exchequer was of providing free television licences to people over 75 years of age in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16 for qualifying residents in (i) Glasgow South West constituency, (ii) Glasgow City local authority area and (iii) Scotland.

    Richard Harrington

    The summer budget 2015 announced a number of fundamental changes relating to the BBC and free TV licences for those aged 75 and over. DWP will cease to fund free TV licences from 2019/20 and the BBC will absorb the cost of this and take responsibility for the policy which currently sits with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. It is estimated that the provision of free TV licences for 2016/17 will cost £629m and DWP will continue to make a transfer to the BBC during the phasing period, as set out in the table below.

    2018/19

    2019/20

    2020/21

    HMG transfer for free TV licences (£m)

    468

    247

    0

    DWP resources currently assigned to the provision and collation of data relating to the free television licence scheme for people aged 75 and over is 12 staff days per annum. Any plans for the future role of employees and contractors will be determined following detailed discussions between my Department and the BBC nearer the time the BBC take full responsibility for funding and policy.

    In 2014/15 the cost of providing free TV licences to those 75 and over in Scotland was £49m and it is estimated the cost for qualifying residents in Glasgow South West constituency and Glasgow City local authority area was £0.7m and £4m respectively.

    The cost of the free TV licences to those aged 75 and over in Scotland for 2015/16 will be published on 21 September on the DWP website. Breakdowns by Local Authority and Parliamentary Constituency use that Scotland expenditure estimate and are therefore not currently available.

    Savings to the Exchequer resulting from the future transfer of responsibility for funding television licences for people aged 75 or over were set out in the summer budget 2015.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding the Gulf Strategy Unit has received in each of the last 15 years.

    Ben Gummer

    The Gulf Strategy Integrated Delivery Team was established in 2015.

    Its remit is to coordinate the Government’s strategic approach to UK engagement with the Gulf States as set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015.

    It employs three full-time and one part-time Government employees. One is military and three are civilian.

    Administration costs were £70,004 in the 2015-16 financial year and the budget for administration costs in the 2016-17 financial year is £423,000. The 2015-16 figure reflects the fact the unit was established later in the financial year.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of drugs available on the NHS for the treatment of people diagnosed with (a) MS and (b) Alzheimer’s disease.

    George Freeman

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body which makes decisions on the clinical and cost effectiveness of drugs based on a thorough assessment of the best available evidence. National Health Service commissioners are required to fund drugs and treatments recommended by NICE technology appraisals.

    NICE has recommended a number of drugs as treatment options for multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease and further information is available at:

    www.nice.org.uk/guidance/conditions-and-diseases/neurological-conditions

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

    Caroline Ansell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Ansell on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support the Goverment is providing for mature students who wish to enter the teaching profession; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    Mature students are an important source of new teachers and bring relevant knowledge and skills from their previous employment. In 2015/16, 21 per cent of new entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) courses were aged 30 or over. To attract more potential career changers, our marketing campaign, ‘Your Future, Their Future’, uses a range of media, including television advertising, national newspaper advertising and targeted digital and print communications. As part of this we will be running the ‘New Year New Career’ sub-campaign, which is dedicated to attracting career changers, throughout January 2016.

    We provide support specifically for career changers to make the transition to teaching, especially in the subjects where they are needed the most, including:

    • The School Direct (salaried) route is specifically targeted at career changers with three years’ work experience and allows them to earn a salary whilst they train to teach. We provide grant funding to schools to subsidise the costs of salary and training for trainees on this route.
    • For ITT 2016/17, we are working with 18 School Direct lead schools to develop and recruit to part-time and abridged School Direct (salaried) courses in maths and physics starting in September 2016. The aim of this pilot is to test whether schools can attract more career changers by offering flexible training routes which meet the needs of different individuals.

    In addition, career changers can access extensive support that is available for all ITT candidates. This includes bursaries or scholarships of up to £30,000 tax-free; advice and guidance from the expert advisers on the Get Into Teaching Line; help with arranging school experience to assist with their ITT application; and access to our free Train to Teach events.

    Those who wish to teach secondary biology, geography, maths, physics, chemistry, languages or computing are also eligible for our enhanced Premier Plus service. This includes tailored advice from a dedicated adviser, including the practicalities that often affect career changers, such as childcare funding. Applicants who wish to teach these subjects can also access funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses, through which they can boost or refresh their subject knowledge.