Category: Speeches

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the English Housing Survey Headline Report 2014 to 2015, published in February 2016, did not contain a breakdown of the nationality of the Households Representative Person by tenure; and if he will publish the data held on the nationality of the Households Representative Person by tenure for each of the last 10 years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The department collects details on the nationality of all household reference persons in the English Housing Survey. However, the sample size of the English Housing Survey does not permit us to report detailed nationality statistics.

  • Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Sarah Wollaston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Wollaston on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many unanswered telephone calls the National Maritime Operations Centre has each day.

    Mr John Hayes

    Her Majesty’s Coastguard does not record the number of unanswered routine telephone calls at the National Maritime Operations Centre or at any of the Coastguard Operations Centres within the national network.

    It should be noted that there is a robust system, in line with the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) Code of Practice, to ensure that ‘999’ calls to Centres within the network are answered. This is through a cascade system across the network and if necessary to other emergency services.

  • Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Temple-Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Temple-Morris on 2016-10-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 October (HL1831), how many arrests of illegal immigrants, and how many arrests for immigration offences, there were in each of the last five years; and how many of those arrested in each year (1) were deported from the UK, (2) remained in custody, and (3) were released within the UK.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    It is not possible to provide information specific to the number of arrests for illegal immigrants because immigration offences cover a wide range of activities and the data specific to arrests for illegal immigration cannot be separated from arrests for other immigration offences. Additionally, an individual may be arrested for committing more than one offence, but as only one offence per arrest is recorded in a format that can be reported on centrally it is not possible to provide complete figures on arrests by individual offences type.

    Information on arrests – either by an Immigration Enforcement or Police Officer – for committing an immigration offence is available. For the period 2011/12 to 2015/16, our records indicate that there were 119,730 arrests.

    Data on the custody or detention status of those arrested cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost because checks of individual records would be required.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment Network Rail has made of the (a) available capacity on the Stalybridge to Stockport railway line and (b) feasibility of providing additional passenger services on that railway line.

    Paul Maynard

    1) Available capacity on the Stalybridge to Stockport railway line

    The single line sections limit the track capacity on this route, which is currently used for frequent freight services and empty stock moves for Northern Rail.

    Platform and track capacity at Stockport is also a constraint on service expansion in this area.

    2) Feasibility of providing additional passenger services on that railway line.

    Additional services on this route are not committed by Northern during the current franchise. To support expansion of services in the future, DfT and Rail North contracted a Service Option Fund through Northern’s Franchise Agreement that will be used from 2019 onwards to assist with the operating cost impact of running extra services.

    The assessment of which service options are the most beneficial will be done in consultation with stakeholders (through Rail North) and will include analysis of the business case for each route to ensure that all relevant factors are considered.

  • Carol Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Carol Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carol Monaghan on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to amend the three month rule for the habitual residence test to allow access to income based jobseeker’s allowance for UK nationals returning to the UK after a period away who have retained financial commitments at home.

    Priti Patel

    It has always been the case that any UK national who returns to this country after an extended period must demonstrate they are habitually resident to be eligible for income-related benefits. Since 1 January 2014, most jobseekers must also have been living in the UK for three months before any consideration can be given to whether they are habitually resident to be eligible to receive income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance.

    Regulations were amended from 9 November 2014 to exempt from the three month residence requirement members of the Armed Forces and Crown servants who were serving abroad and others who had paid certain types of UK national insurance contributions during their absence abroad. We have no plans to introduce further exemptions from the three month requirement.

  • Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many soldiers of the Lancashire Regiment were deployed in tackling recent flooding; how many reserve soldiers of that Regiment were involved; how long that deployment lasted; and what assessment he has made of the effect of those soldiers’ contribution to the wider recovery and rescue operation.

    Penny Mordaunt

    2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (2 LANCS) were the UK Standby Battalion throughout the period of the recent flooding. They were deployed as follows:

    13-15 November 2015 – Three Liaison Officers (planners) were deployed: two in Penrith, Cumbria and one in Hutton, Lancashire. A company of around 100 troops were deployed constructing flood barriers at Braystones, Cumbria and Ribchester and Whalley, Lancashire. A further two companies of around 100 troops each were at 12 hours and 24 hours notice to support, but did not deploy.

    6-16 December 2015 – Around 300 troops, 200 of whom were from 2 LANCS, deployed to conduct tasks across two counties; around 10 troops deployed to Lancaster Hospital, the remainder deployed throughout Cumbria to tasks at Carlisle, Patterdale and Glenridding, Appleby, St Michael on Wyre, Keswick, Cockermouth, Garstang and the clearance of the A591. In addition, there were around 300 troops held at notice in unit lines 200 of whom were from 2 LANCS.

    28 December 2015 – 8 January 2016 – Around 400 troops from 2 LANCS deployed, as did around 100 troops from other Regiments. These troops conducted tasks within this period across four counties at: Croston, the River Douglas, Ribchester and Whalley in Lancashire, as well as locations across North and West Yorkshire and Cumbria. There were further around 1050 troops from other Regiments held at notice.

    Although around 35 Reservists were employed during the December and January periods of support, and around 5 Reservists were held at short notice, none of them were from 2 LANCS.

    The Armed Forces, particularly 2 LANCS as the UK Standby Battalion, were heavily involved in the emergency response in what was a very dynamic situation and they played a significant role in helping local authorities and the Environment Agency respond to the floods. I would like to take this opportunity again to thank all those involved in the response to the floods across all the affected areas, from troops on the ground to air crews and those in command roles.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value is of the tax relief granted through the patent box in each year since 2013.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information is not held in the form requested. The estimated amounts of Patent Box relief can be found at the link below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487119/Dec15_expenditure_reliefs_Final.xlsx.pdf

    “

  • Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the military threat to the UK posed by Russia.

    Penny Mordaunt

    As noted in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, Russia is mid-way through a programme of major investment to modernise and upgrade its military, including its nuclear forces. Its behaviour will continue to be hard to predict, and, though highly unlikely, we cannot rule out the possibility that it may feel tempted to act aggressively against NATO Allies.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many disabled people joined the workforce in each sector in (a) 2013, (b) 2014 and (c) 2015.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Andrew Percy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government is taking to promote trade between the UK and other Commonwealth countries.

    Anna Soubry

    Her Majesty’s Government is represented across the Commonwealth and, as one of its priorities, is committed to helping UK business succeed overseas. UK Trade & Investment itself is represented in around half of all Commonwealth countries. There is therefore a range of services that business can benefit from, dependent on the scale of the opportunities in each country.

    My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has recently made further appointments of designated Trade Envoys to Commonwealth countries which now include; Bangladesh, Ghana, Mozambique, Brunei, Malaysia, Nigeria, Canada, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.