Category: Speeches

  • Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Neil Carmichael – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Carmichael on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of ISIL on migration flows in the Middle East.

    Mr Desmond Swayne

    The appalling violence that Daesh inflicts is a contributory factor to migration both within and from the Middle East. There are 13.5 million vulnerable and displaced people inside Syria, and over 4.8 million Syrian refugees in neighbouring counties. That is why the UK has pledged over £2.3 billion to Syria and the region, the largest ever UK response to a humanitarian crisis.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Prime Minister, by how long his train from London was delayed when attending a meeting with parliamentary colleagues and others at Haywards Heath on 13 June 2016; what alternative arrangements were made for his travel; and what the cost to the public purse was of those arrangements.

    Mr David Cameron

    My travel arrangements are in accordance with chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code.

  • Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Flick Drummond – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Flick Drummond on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to renew the capabilities provided by the former RFA Diligence for repair and maintenance of Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Forward Repair Ship, RFA DILIGENCE, is one part of a system providing support facilities to deployed ships and submarines. This support is regularly supplemented by commercial arrangements and international agreements and, when bespoke afloat capabilities are required, these are contracted on the open commercial market.

    We continue to consider all our capability requirements depending on the operational task.

  • Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Owen Thompson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Owen Thompson on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to reduce the Big Lottery Fund budget for Scotland.

    Tracey Crouch

    In line with the arms’ length principle of lottery distribution, the Big Lottery Fund itself decides how much of its funding to allocate to Scotland and to each of the other home nations.

  • Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lucy Powell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lucy Powell on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her most recent estimate is of the average annual cost to a (a) school and (b) local authority of employing a (i) teacher and (ii) classroom assistant; and what forecast she has made of the likely equivalent cost in each year from 2015-16 to 2019-20.

    Nick Gibb

    The latest statistics on the average salaries of teachers employed by schools and local authorities in England are in Tables 8 and 9 of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2014’ statistical release which was published in July 2015: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2014

    The latest available statistics on the average salaries of teaching assistants employed by schools and local authorities in England were published in PQ856 in June 2015 in Hansard at the following link:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-02/856/

    The Department for Education’s pay reforms have given schools greater flexibility to decide how much to pay their teachers and how quickly their pay progresses over time.

    Future average salaries of teachers will be informed by the annual recommendations of the School Teachers Pay Review Body; the pay of teaching assistants and school support staff are set by schools themselves. The department does not produce forecasts of future average pay for these staff.

    “

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what contingency arrangements his Department has made for the eventuality of a majority leave vote in the upcoming EU referendum.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Government is fighting hard to fix the aspects of our EU membership that cause so much frustration in the United Kingdom, so we can get a better deal for our country and secure our future. We are confident that the right agreement can be reached.

  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether UK personnel have been involved in military targeting planning meetings in Libya.

    Earl Howe

    We continue to engage with the Libyan authorities to support the UN political process and to counter the growth of extremist groups in Libya, including Daesh. The UK is considering, alongside our partners, how we can best support the new government.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action the Prime Minister intends to take regarding the continued construction of the illegal settlements in the West Bank following his comments that those settlements are genuinely shocking” and an “infringement into Palestinian lives and land”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We will continue to raise our objections to settlements with the Israeli government. On 18 February during his visit to Israel, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), discussed the issue of settlement with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterating the UK’s position.

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effects on the incidence of hearing loss of mobile phones and other similar devices which do not have a volume control; and if he will make a statement.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department has made no assessment of the effects on the incidence of hearing loss of mobile phones and other similar devices which do not have a volume control.

    The Department’s Policy Research Programme is funding COSMOS (Cohort Study of Mobile Phone Use and Health) which is conducted by Imperial College London and expected to end in 2019. This study will investigate possible health effects from long term use of mobile phones and other wireless technologies, on a United Kingdom cohort of 105,000 adults. One of the health outcomes investigated will be tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Hearing loss is one of the factors that may be involved in the development of tinnitus and this study will monitor the incidence of tinnitus in mobile phone users.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for UK Erasmus students, lecturers and research fellows of the UK leaving the EU.

    Joseph Johnson

    At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.