Category: Speeches

  • Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Roger Mullin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Mullin on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he has taken to promote the take-up of employee ownership schemes by small and medium-sized businesses in each nation of the UK.

    Anna Soubry

    In 2012, the previous Government asked Graeme Nuttall to advise on what more could be done to increase the number of businesses with employee ownership. The Nuttall Review identified 28 recommendations to address three main constraints: lack of awareness of the concept; lack of resources to support the model; and actual or perceived legal, tax and other regulatory barriers. The action taken to address the recommendations is explained in the ‘The Nuttall Review of Employee Ownership – One Year On’ report published in November 2013 and available on the gov.uk website.

    The Government now expects the private sector to make the business case for this model through organisations such as the Employee Ownership Association – the representative body for employee-owned businesses.

    Ongoing encouragement for employee ownership is provided through four approved share schemes which have tax-advantages for both employees and employers. These are the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP), Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI), Save As You Earn (SAYE) and Share Incentive Plan (SIP) which are administered by HMRC. In 2013-14 the total value of shares and options awarded under these schemes was around £3.45bn with over £1bn of income tax and national insurance relief given.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to provide information to enable future planning by supported housing providers during the next 12 months.

    Brandon Lewis

    The supported housing sector provides valuable support to some of our country’s most vulnerable people and we recognise the important role that it plays.

    We are currently undertaking an evidence review of the supported housing sector, which is due to report shortly. We will work with the sector as part of developing a long-term sustainable funding regime.

    In the meantime, we have put in place a one-year exception for all supported accommodation from the social rent reduction policy and from the Local Housing Allowance cap.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 June 2016 to Question 38596, on beach huts: Christchurch, and with reference to the Guardian report of 15 April 2016, entitled Dorset residents angry over TV showing beach hut competition, whether Natural England is comfortable with the idea of the development of residential beach chalets on Highcliffe clifftop.

    Rory Stewart

    Natural England has not yet assessed the SSSI consent application received on 7 June. Until Natural England has done this it cannot comment further.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to have targets for BAME representation in the Senior Civil Service.

    Ben Gummer

    The use of stretching goals for BAME representation as well as other protected characteristics are being considered as a way to support and facilitate the increase of senior representation of underrepresented groups within the Civil Service.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-10-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what resources she has made available to ensure that Article 16 of the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 is enforced.

    George Eustice

    Article 16 of the Tuberculosis (England) Order 2014 concerns the requirement of herd owners to comply with cleansing and disinfection of premises following removal of TB reactors.

    APHA inspectors carry out spot checks on a proportion of Bovine Tuberculosis breakdown farms every year to ensure compliance with these statutory cleansing and disinfection requirements.

    APHA employs 208 vets and 137 animal health officers who may be involved in the administration and enforcement of these measures as part of their field duties

  • Marie Rimmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Marie Rimmer – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Marie Rimmer on 2015-11-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the building of homes for social rent.

    Brandon Lewis

    We have already allocated £1 billion towards our commitment to deliver 275,000 affordable homes by 2020. This will be the fastest rate of affordable housing building in the last 20 years.

    Since April 2010 we have delivered over 260,000 affordable homes, with almost 60,000 delivered last year.

  • Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ben Howlett – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis will be made available on the NHS to men who have sex with men.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England is working with local authorities, clinicians, patient representatives and Public Health England to consider the clinical and cost effectiveness of providing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to at-risk groups to prevent them acquiring HIV. The PrEP clinical policy proposition is one of many going through NHS England’s 2016/17 prioritisation round.

    In July 2015 NHS England approved a significant new investment in a ‘Treatment as Prevention’ programme to help reduce transmissions from persons known to be HIV positive.

    We have made no estimates of the number of people accessing PrEP through private provision.

  • Graham Brady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Graham Brady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Brady on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children obtained five or more good GCSEs including English and Mathematics in (a) selective, (b) partially selective and (c) comprehensive local authority areas in 2015; and what that proportion was by ethnic group in each of those categories.

    Nick Gibb

    The proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at A*-C, including English and mathematics, by local authority and ethnic group was published in the GCSE and equivalent statistical first release for 2015.[1]

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

    “

  • Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Ivan Lewis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for an operation in (a) Pennine Acute NHS Trust and (b) Bolton NHS Trust was in the last year for which figures are available.

    Jane Ellison

    Patients have a legal right, set out in the NHS Constitution, to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral for non-urgent conditions. The following table shows the average median waiting time in weeks for patients whose wait ended during the month with an inpatient or day case admission to Pennine Acute NHS Trust or Bolton NHS Trust. Only a proportion of inpatient or day case admissions would have resulted in an operation.

    Table: average median waiting times1, 2 in weeks for patients whose wait ended during the month with an inpatient or day case admission3, 2015

    Month

    Bolton NHS Trust

    Pennine Acute NHS Trust

    January 2015

    8.2

    10.8

    February 2015

    8.7

    11.1

    March 2015

    7.6

    9.8

    April 2015

    7.6

    10.6

    May 2015

    7.9

    10.6

    June 2015

    7.0

    11.4

    July 2015

    6.6

    11.1

    August 2015

    6.3

    10.9

    September 2015

    6.9

    10.9

    October 2015

    7.1

    11.1

    November 2015

    7.0

    10.6

    December 2015

    5.7

    10.5

    Source: Consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times, NHS England

    Notes:

    1. Median waiting times are calculated from aggregate data, rather than patient level data, and therefore are only estimates of the position on average waits.
    2. Until September 2015, adjustments were permitted for clock pauses, where a patient declined reasonable offers of admission and chose to wait longer. From October 2015, there is no longer any provision to report pauses or suspensions in waiting time clocks.
    3. Not every admission to hospital is for an operation, but hospital episode statistics suggest that 94% of elective finished admission episodes involve some form of procedure or intervention.
  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-03-24.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to conduct an impact assessment on the local economy of Cumbernauld of the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs Cumbernauld office.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) plans to create two new Regional Centres in Scotland, in Glasgow and Edinburgh in 2019-20, accommodating between 5,700 and 6,300 employees. HMRC’s new Regional Centres will give its staff all they need including a modern office environment, close to good travel and transport links. They will provide stable, high quality jobs and offer a wide range of opportunities for training and promotion and allow its staff to follow more varied career paths than have previously been possible.

    HMRC will help all its staff work through their options. It will give everyone the opportunity to discuss their personal circumstances with their manager ahead of any office closures or moves, so they know about any issues that need to be taken into account when making decisions.