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 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will commission research into improving pedestrian safety on pavements and to determine whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department for Transport has no current plans to commission research into the issue of pedestrian’s safety on footways or to ascertain whether accidents occur more often on tarmacadam or on concrete slab surfaces.

    Guidance is already available to highway authorities in respect to providing good and safe surfaces for pedestrians. The Department for Transport Manual for Streets – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/341513/pdfmanforstreets.pdf – also provides advice on footways and advises that surfaces used by pedestrians need to be smooth and free from trip hazards.

    It is ultimately for each highway authority to decide on what materials they use for ensuring the best footway surface for the area for which they are responsible.

    “

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the oral Answer of 18 July 2016, Official Report, column 542, what evidence district councils who wish to retain their independence and status in a two-tier system need to produce in order to protect that status.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    Where an area has plans for its governance arrangements to be changed and proposes this to the Secretary of State, it must provide evidence as to how its proposals are likely to result in the provision of better local public services, significant cost savings, greater value for money, stronger and more accountable local leadership, and sustainability in the medium to long term. It is of course open to any body or person to make representations to the Secretary of State either in support of or in opposition to such proposals.

    As we have made clear during discussions with areas, whilst size is an important consideration for areas considering governance changes, there are no maximum or minimum permitted sizes.

    The level of council tax of any new authority is a matter for the local councils concerned. The government will however maintain council tax referendum thresholds at a modest level in order to help keep bills down for hardworking people. This is always the case including in cases of governance change.

  • David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost of reimbursing communication service providers under the provisions of the draft Investigatory Powers Bill in the first 10 years in which an Act arising from that draft bill is in force.

    Mr John Hayes

    The draft Bill requires the retention of additional data, known as internet connection records, by domestic CSPs who are under a data retention notice, to ensure that those responsible for law enforcement continue to have the powers they need to acquire communications data as technology develops and threats change.

    The Government published an estimate of the additional cost of this provision of £174.2m over the 10 year period in the Communications Data Impact Assessment, alongside the draft Bill on 4 November.

  • Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to report on the progress of the pilot being run in conjunction with the Department for Education to give schools access to a single point of contact for mental health.

    Alistair Burt

    The Department for Education and NHS England have commissioned Ecorys to undertake an independent evaluation of the Mental Health Services and School Link Pilots. The evaluation will run from October 2015 to November 2016, covering all 22 pilot sites with Ecorys formally reporting back to the Department for Education and NHS England towards the end of 2016.

  • Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Mawson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mawson on 2016-01-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the effect on UK businesses, and (2) the cost to the UK economy, of inadequate internet connections on trains.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government has not yet made an assessment of the effect on UK businesses and the cost to the UK economy of inadequate internet connections on trains but our policy of investing in fitting out trains with new Wi-Fi equipment and improving mobile phone signals has been evaluated based on existing evidence that there will be a net economic and social benefit to society from the investment.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department’s policy is on the proposal from the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee to introduce comprehensive public country-by-country reporting for all multinational companies, in all sectors, by the first quarter of 2016; and if he will press for the introduction of such country-by-country reporting with other member states in the Council.

    Mr David Gauke

    The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has a keen interest in tax, and hence put forward certain proposals. However, the Commission has the sole power of initiative in relation to legislative measures. Tax files are to be agreed by unanimity at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). The European Parliament’s role in this process in not formal, and purely consultative.

    The term tax haven is often used as shorthand for low or zero tax jurisdictions. However, low tax rates are not by themselves harmful and the UK supports fair tax competition. The UK is working with other Member States in the EU Code of Conduct Group to identify harmful tax regimes and will continue to take strong action against aggressive avoidance and evasion.

    The UK and other Member States have not yet seen any proposals from the European Commission or the European Parliament on public country-by-country reporting (CbCR). The Commission is due to publish an Impact Assessment on public CbCR shortly, and we are interested in the results of their analysis. The UK will carefully consider any proposals put forward by the Commission.

    The UK played a leading role in encouraging other countries and jurisdictions to sign up to international tax transparency agreements during its G8 presidency in 2013. Thanks in large part to the UK’s continuing leadership on this agenda, over 90 countries have now committed to exchange information on offshore accounts, beginning in 2017 or 2018. The UK also initiated the international work on CbCR and was the first country to formally commit to implementing the OECD model for CbCR, with legislation in the Finance Act 2015. We support the proposal to amend the Directive on Administrative Co-operation to require all EU Member States to adopt and exchange the OECD CbCR template.

    The European Commission intends to publish a revised proposal for a mandatory Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) later this year. The Government will wait to see the detail of the Commission’s proposal, including a robust impact assessment, before finalising its position. However, we have stated that the UK will not sign up to anything that undermines our tax sovereignty.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2016 to Question 28521, on holiday leave: pay, when work on the formal assessment of the financial impact began; and what the target date is for completion of that assessment.

    Nick Boles

    Our formal assessment of the financial impacts of the Court of Justice of the EU’s judgment in Lock v British Gas is based on the latest 2015 Labour Force Survey (LFS) micro data which was released on 17 February 2016. We are going through the final stages of quality assurance and hope to make the assessment available on the BIS website within the next few weeks.

  • Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people of each nationality are awaiting deportation.

    James Brokenshire

    The Home Office does not disclose country specific information regarding deportation of foreign national offenders in any public material, including Freedom of Information Requests, as its disclosure could prejudice relations between the UK and foreign governments. Parliamentary Questions are approached in the same way.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2016 to Question 26065, on mental illness: employment, whether the guidance for businesses on addressing mental health issues has been published.

    Alistair Burt

    Public Health England and Business in the Community (BITC) have produced a Mental Health Workplace digital toolkit for employers to address mental health issues at work. The toolkit builds on the existing best practice and considers the transferable learning between business sectors and businesses of different sizes. The toolkit will be published on BITC’s website on 16 May 2016 to coincide with the start of 2016 Mental Health Awareness Week.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information the Government holds on stockpiles of cluster munitions in countries other than the UK.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    At least 108 nations are signatory to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The Ministry of Defence does not routinely hold information on whether non-signatories possess cluster munitions and their stockpiles.