Category: Speeches

  • Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kirsten Oswald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kirsten Oswald on 2016-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what account he took of the pattern of complaints relating to terms and conditions made through the service complaints procedures in reforming the pay structure for the armed forces.

    Mark Lancaster

    The new Pay 16 structure was specifically established in response to Service personnel criticisms of the old pay model. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has developed the new pay model as a simpler, more transparent system which provides Service personnel with greater pay predictability. It addresses some of the concerns about the previous pay model reported by personnel through both the Service Complaints system and the Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) and in feedback from the Armed Forces Pay Review Body (AFPRB). I fully expect these changes to be positive for morale overall.

    Many personnel will experience an increase in pay as a result of the new pay model, and no one will take a cut in core pay on implementation. We have taken steps to ensure that personnel are aware of the range and nature of the pay reforms that began on 1 April 2016 and comprehensive internal communications activity has been undertaken to explain the changes. This included Departmental guidance to help personnel understand their new pay statement and any changes. Personnel, including those under pay protection, continue to remain eligible for any Government-approved pay award. Pay protection has been put in place to ensure that no one will take a pay cut on implementation of Pay 16 and this arrangement will exist for at least the first three years to ensure that no one is disadvantaged.

    The new pay model is not designed as a cost saving exercise, but is a rebalancing of pay to make more efficient and effective use of the Armed Forces pay bill; the AFPRB will continue to recommend pay rates for all personnel. As we go forward the Service Complaints Process and AFCAS will be primary sources which inform our assessment of the benefits realised through the pay reforms.

  • Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Tania Mathias – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS spent from the public purse on printing and postage of employees’ payslips in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will take steps to ensure that NHS employees receive their payslips electronically.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The Department contracts for the NHS Electronic Staff Record system. This contract includes printing and despatch of employee payslips to a single distribution point at each National Health Service organisation in England at a total price of £1.9 million (data relates to the period September 2015 – August 2016). This price reduces by around 20% each year within the contract.

    The Electronic Staff Record solution already provides electronic payslip access via a facility called Employee Self Service.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) internally displaced persons, and (2) refugees from other countries, there are in Sudan.

    Lord Bates

    According to figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there are a total of 3.2 million internally displaced people in Sudan, of which 2.6 million are long term displaced in Darfur alone (as stated in the attached).

    OCHA also estimates that Sudan hosts a total of 386,283 refugees from neighbouring countries.

  • Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Graham Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Jones on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent contact the Government has had with the Free Syrian Army.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    On 4 November, the Foreign Secretary and I met Khaled Khoja, President of the Syrian National Coalition, and Osama Abu Zayd, Spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army. The meeting was an opportunity to hear firsthand about the situation on the ground inside Syria, as well as to underline to President Khoja and his delegation the British Government’s commitment to supporting the moderate Syrian opposition in pursuit of a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) boys and (b) girls aged (i) 11, (ii) 12, (iii) 13, (iv) 14, (v) 15, (vi) 16 and (vii) 17 were held overnight in police cells in each police station in Lancashire in each month between 1 January 2014 and 30 November 2015.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold this information centrally. It may be held by the individual police force.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2016 to Question 21111, if he will make an assessment of the effect of delays in the publication of the hepatitis C framework on (a) all people and (b) members of the South Asian population in England with hepatitis C.

    Jane Ellison

    There are no plans to make such an assessment.

  • Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Baroness Jolly – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jolly on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many police officers of the Royal Military Police they estimate will be deployed in (1) 2015–16, (2) 2016–17, (3) 2017–18, (4) 2018–19, and (5) 2019–20.

    Earl Howe

    The number of Regular personnel in the Royal Military Police (RMP) as at
    1 April 2015 was 1,610. The forecast of Regular personnel in the RMP is as follows:

    April 2016

    April 2017

    April 2018

    April 2019

    April 2020

    1,600

    1,600

    1,610

    1,600

    1,580

    The number of Regular personnel expected to complete their basic training and join the RMP are as follows:

    2015-16

    2016-17

    2017-18

    2018-19

    2019-20

    140

    120

    140

    120

    110

    All totals are rounded in accordance with the Defence Statistics rounding policy; therefore totals may not equal the sum of their parts. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 10 with numbers ending in five rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to avoid bias.

  • Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine McKinnell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine McKinnell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans for eligible parents to be able to open accounts as soon as tax-free childcare is launched.

    Damian Hinds

    The Government confirmed that Tax-Free Childcare will be launched from early 2017. To roll out the scheme in a safe and managed way, we will be gradually opening up the scheme to all eligible parents within 12 months.

    We will provide further details of the exact plans for this rollout in due course, in good time for parents and childcare providers to prepare for the introduction of Tax-Free Childcare.

    Once the scheme is fully open, we estimate that around 2 million families will be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare. And we estimate that up to 1 million families may take up the scheme in ‘steady state’.

    The Tax-Free Childcare system will be extensively tested with users before the scheme is launched.

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Debbie Abrahams – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to amend the aids and appliances descriptors, or the points awarded to them, for personal independence payments assessments.

    Justin Tomlinson

    As confirmed by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in his statement to the House on 21 March, the proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will not be going ahead.

    We spend around £50bn every year on benefits alone to support people with disabilities or health conditions, with spending on PIP and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) having increased by more than £3 billion since 2010. The government is committed to talking to disabled people, their representatives, healthcare professionals and employers to ensure the welfare system works better with the health and social care systems and provides help and support to those who need it most.

  • Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will instruct Ofsted, when drawing up a report on a school, to consult parents who live locally but do not send their children to that school.

    Nick Gibb

    There are no plans for the Secretary of State to instruct Ofsted on this matter.