Category: Speeches

  • Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Greg Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Knight on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to reduce congestion on the M25 motorway; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England is developing road schemes at several locations to help reduce congestion on the M25 including:

    • Upgrade of the M25 between junction 10 (A3) and junction 16 (M40) to a smart motorway, with start of construction before the end of 2019/20.
    • A far reaching study to look into the south-west quadrant of the M25 to address the increasing demand on this section.
    • An upgrade of junctions 10, 25 and 28 to have started construction by the end of 2019/20.
  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which former Deputy Prime Ministers have claimed expenses under the Public Duty Cost Allowance after leaving office.

    Ben Gummer

    The purpose of the Public Duties Cost Allowance is to assist former Prime Ministers with the costs of continuing to fulfil duties associated with their previous position in public life. Exceptionally, the then Prime Minister agreed that the former Deputy Prime Minister , the Rt Hon Member for Sheffield Hallam, should be able to have access to the allowance to recognise the special position he held in the Coalition Government. Other former Deputy Prime Ministers are not eligible for the allowance. The allowance is set at a maximum limit of £115,000 per annum. The amounts paid are a reimbursement of expenses, accounted for in the published Cabinet Office Annual Reports and Accounts. The former Deputy Prime Minister is eligible for the allowance from the date of leaving ministerial office for the duration of this Parliament.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the UK’s international aid budget has been allocated to multilateral aid, and primarily through which institutions, in each of the last five years.

    Lord Bates

    On average over the period 2010-2014, 40 per cent of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) was allocated to multilateral organisations. The table attached lists the top five multilateral organisations in terms of core funding.

    Figures for 2015 will be published later this year.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roger Godsiff – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received on the Open University’s plans to close regional centres across England.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Open University is an autonomous institution and it is for them to make decisions about how best to structure their workforce and meet the needs of their students.

  • Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will review the effect of the decision to discontinue GCSE and A-level qualifications in information communication technology on future levels of IT literacy skills for the workplace; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The rigorous new Computer Science GCSE and A level qualifications, backed by industry experts, will enable pupils to progress to further study and employment. The inclusion of Computer Science in the EBacc reflects its rigorous academic standards. The decision has therefore been made not to redevelop further IT qualifications in a related area of study.

    Through computer science, students will develop their computational thinking skills, learn to code and understand information technology topics such as cyber security, networking and data storage. There are also a number of vocational options for students at Key Stage 4 and opportunities for further specialism at Key Stage 5. For 14-16 year olds, technical awards have a focus on practical and technical subjects and offer an opportunity to gain experience and knowledge in areas such as digital literacy and web design. For 16-19 year olds, high quality vocational qualifications provide progression to higher education and employment and prepare students well for that purpose.

    This builds on our changes to the national curriculum where we have replaced the outdated ICT programme of study with a new computing programme of study. The new computing curriculum has been designed to facilitate innovation and creativity from both teachers and pupils and emphasise the importance of learning about the fundamentals of computer science.

  • Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Carolyn Harris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Carolyn Harris on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to support charities in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    Support for charities is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Government does however, support the Big Lottery Fund (BIG), which plays a vital role in supporting the charity sector in Northern Ireland.

    The Chancellor announced in the Spending Review that BIG’s funding will be maintained and Northern Ireland will receive £27.3m.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time of cases in employment tribunals related to non-payment of the National Minimum Wage was in each of the last five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The average clearance time of employment tribunal claims for non-payment of the National Minimum Wage1 in each of the last five years is as shown in Table 1 below:

    Financial Year

    Average time in weeks

    2010-11

    43

    2011-12

    41

    2012-13

    43

    2013-14

    32

    2014-15

    74

    source: ET Database February 2016

    1 "Suffer a detriment and/or dismissal related to failure to pay the minimum wage or allow access to records"

    In 2014-15 we reviewed outstanding cases and removed a backlog of very old cases from the case management system. The overall trend in average clearance time for single cases is improving and this can be seen in the Published Statistics at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.

    “

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many officials of his Department were employed specifically to assist with negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement

    Anna Soubry

    Prior to 1 April 2014 the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was handled alongside a number of other trade negotiations. On 1 April 2014 my Department established a Unit whose primary purpose is to assist with the negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership but which also handles certain other international matters. In April 2014 this Unit comprised 8 staff primarily working on TTIP and 4 working on other international matters. It currently comprises 10 staff working primarily of TTIP and 6 working on other international matters. Staff expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £793313, and in 15/16 is projected to be £916007. Total expenditure for this Unit in 14/15 was £886813 and in 15/16 is projected to be £926774.

    .

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he holds on the number of civilians (a) killed and (b) injured in the Yemen conflict to date.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The UN reports that between 26 March 2015 and 17 March 2016 there have been just under 9,000 casualties in Yemen including 3,218 civilians killed and a further 5,778 injured. The UK Government uses UN reports as one of its primary data sources.

  • Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Alan Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Brown on 2016-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2016 to Question 35018, how many funeral expense payments were processed by his Department in 2015-16; and what proportion of such applications were processed within (a) 15, (b) 20 and (c) 25 working days.

    Justin Tomlinson

    For 2015/16 the Department processed 45,467 applications for Funeral Expense Payments with 69.7% cleared within 15 working days and 83.4% cleared within 20 working days. We are unable to provide data on how many applications were processed within 25 working days as the Management Information system that the Department uses for Funeral Expenses does not provide this level of detail.

    Source:

    Number processed – Department for Work and Pensions – Management Information System Program (MISP) – Management Information Portal

    % processed – Department for Work and Pensions – Office Print Report Tool (OPRT) – Management Information Statistics