Category: Speeches

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Anne Marie Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of businesses in Newton Abbot constituency which have download speeds of 10Mb/s.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government has committed to achieving availability of superfast broadband to 95% of homes and businesses in the UK by the end of 2017. 88 per cent of homes and businesses in Newton Abbott are estimated to have coverage by the end of 2016, and additional funding sources, including the clawback funding that BT have offered in response to the high levels of take-up, will allow coverage to be extended further in Newton Abbot and the rest of the area covered by the Devon and Somerset broadband project. The Government will also launch a public consultation early next year in preparation for the implementation of a new broadband USO by 2020,with the ambition to give people the legal right to request a connection to broadband with speeds of 10 Mbps, no matter where in the country they live.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Caroline Lucas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2015 to Question 223992, how many applications were made to the Access to Elected Office Fund in each year following its establishment; how many of those applications were (a) granted and (b) refused; and what the total amount paid to successful applicants was.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The number of people who have applied to the Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund is in the table below:

    Financial Year

    Number of applicants (some applicants made more than one application)

    2012/13

    27

    2013/14

    34

    2014/15

    48

    The total amount claimed by successful applicants was £271,260 (out of awards totalling £418,733)

    An evaluation of the pilot fund is currently being undertaken and will be published in due course. An announcement regarding the future of the fund is anticipated early in 2016.

    The information on regional breakdown of expenditure and the diversity of candidates can be found in the tables below:

    Region (location of election seat)

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    East Midlands

    1,099

    East of England

    480

    Greater London

    89,399

    North East England

    4,382

    North West England

    20,567

    South East England

    69,474

    South West England

    21,260

    West Midlands

    20,281

    Yorkshire and Humberside

    17,882

    Total (rounded)

    271,260

    Political Party

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    Conservative

    32,361

    Democracy 2015

    350

    Green

    5,791

    Labour

    120,846

    Liberal Democrat

    32,601

    Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition

    276

    UKIP

    53,236

    Independent

    25,798

    Total (rounded)

    271,260

    Gender

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    Male

    139,524

    Female

    131,736

    Total

    271,260

    Ethnic Group

    Amount claimed and paid (£)

    White; all backgrounds

    218,117

    Mixed ethnic origin

    1,348

    Asian; all backgrounds

    26,680

    Black/African/Caribbean/Black British

    22,977

    Other ethnic group

    350

    Prefer not to say

    1,788

    Total

    271,260

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-01-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that all financial investment pledged for equal access to quality education at the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference will be backed by the necessary political will and policy changes.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region being held in London on 4th February, we want the international community to agree a new goal that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children are in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17. Equally, for inside Syria, it is our aim to increase access to good quality schooling or other learning opportunities such as self-learning and non-formal education. In neighbouring countries we will also increase access to vocational or skills training and higher education for children and youth.

    At the Conference our ambition is that international donors, governments from countries in the region hosting refugees, non-governmental organisations and the private sector come together to agree a set of reciprocal financial and policy commitments. The UK and co-hosts are working with donors and other partners to secure increased funding for education under the UN-led appeals for 2016 and longer term, multi-year education funding commitments to ensure sustainability. We are also working with refugee hosting governments in particular to agree the policy commitments necessary to turn increased funding into delivery on the ground.

  • Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Rushanara Ali – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rushanara Ali on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what proportion the rent for premises leased by Network Rail has increased for businesses based in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, (b) London and (c) England in each of the last five years.

    Claire Perry

    I am unable to provide this information as it is held by Network Rail and is commercially sensitive.

  • The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The Countess of Mar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Countess of Mar on 2016-03-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any other circumstances in which 2,500/100,000 serious adverse events and 3,300/100,000 cases of autoimmune disorders, as reported by the human papilloma virus vaccine manufacturers, would be accepted in order to try to prevent the occurrence of 10/100,000 cases of cervical cancer.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Thorough reviews undertaken by health authorities, most recently by the World Health Organization in December 2015, across the world have found no evidence to support a link between the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine and the development of autoimmune and chronic illnesses. The safety of HPV vaccines was thoroughly evaluated prior to being licensed. Around three million girls have been vaccinated so far in the United Kingdom, with more than 80 million people vaccinated worldwide. As with any vaccine or medicine, all reports of serious adverse events following HPV vaccination are taken seriously and remain under continual review. However, such events are not necessarily due to the vaccine and coincidence can also be a factor. The available scientific evidence does not suggest that HPV vaccines are associated with these rates of serious side effects.

    The aim of the vaccination programme is to prevent cervical cancer related to HPV infection and the best way to do this is to vaccinate girls and young women. The HPV vaccine has a good safety record, and surveillance shows it has contributed to a significant decrease in rates of infection with the two main cancer-causing HPVs. The UK programme is expected to eventually prevent hundreds of deaths from cervical cancer every year.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding his Department provided to each of its partner organisations in each year from 2010; and what the (a) type and (b) sector of those organisations is.

    Joseph Johnson

    Table 1 sets out the total funding provided to the Department’s partner organisations for each financial year since 2009-10. Funding includes grant-in-aid funding or an increased equity investment.

    Table 2 sets out these partner organisations according to type and sector.

    Since 2010 the Department has significantly reduced its number of partner organisations down to 44. We committed to further reductions as part of the BIS2020 programme of departmental transformation to make the Department cheaper and simpler, and to deliver better services to users.

  • Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Peter Dowd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Dowd on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s consultation on fee proposals for grants of probate, what safeguards his Department plans to provide to enable applications to be filed for grants of probate in respect of estates which do not have sufficient liquid funds to enable payment of the fee before a grant has been issued.

    Dominic Raab

    The information requested can be found in the consultation document, published at: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/fee-proposals-for-grants-of-probate/consult_view

    “

  • Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Rachael Maskell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rachael Maskell on 2016-07-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of future tariffs on trade with EU countries on the food and farming industry.

    George Eustice

    Until we leave the EU, current arrangements will remain in place. The nature of our future trading relationship with the EU will be a matter for the new Prime Minister and their Cabinet.

  • Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Finlay of Llandaff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff on 2016-10-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to change the current duty structure for cider in the light of their statement that alcohol duties should be directly proportional to alcohol content.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    Current rules require that cider duty is structured in bands according to the strength of the product.

    The government continues to keep all taxes under review, and in that context is considering the views of stakeholders.

  • Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Stewart McDonald – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stewart McDonald on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to encourage energy providers to join the Warm Home Discount Scheme.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Participation in the Warm Home Discount Scheme is mandatory for energy suppliers with 250,000 or more domestic customer accounts. The scheme includes a provision which allows non-obligated energy suppliers to voluntarily provide rebates to a Core Group of low income pensioners.