Category: Speeches

  • David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    David Amess – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Amess on 2016-01-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when he next plans a review of gaming machine stakes and prizes.

    David Evennett

    On 21 January the Government published its evaluation of the £50 regulations introduced in April 2015. You can find it here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/493714/Evaluation_of_Gaming_Machine__Circumstances_of_Use___Amendment__Regulations_2015.pdf

    The evaluation indicates that a large proportion of players of FOBTs may now be making a more conscious choice to control their playing behaviour and their stake level. We will now consider the findings of the evaluation before deciding if there is a need for further action.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sadiq Khan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on how many occasions custody nurses were not available in police stations when required in each year since 2010.

    Mike Penning

    The provision and commissioning of police custody nurses is the responsibility of individual Police and Crime Commissioners, and police custody nurse staffing and availability levels are an operational policing matter in conjunction with the custody healthcare service provider. Information on these issues is not held centrally by the Home Office.

  • Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Neil Coyle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Neil Coyle on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what advice her Department has received from the Migration Advisory Committee on whether nurses should remain in the occupation shortfall list; and when she next plans to issue a revised list.

    James Brokenshire

    The Migration Advisory Committee will publish its report on nurses shortly. The Government will announce its response once the report is published.

  • Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Mendelsohn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mendelsohn on 2016-04-25.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the FTSE share index of public companies trading at broadly the same levels as 1998 whilst executive pay over the same period has trebled.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Executive pay has risen significantly since 1998 and the link between top pay and company performance has sometimes been weak. That is why the executive pay reforms brought in by the Government in 2013 included measures to clarify the links between pay and performance as well as giving shareholders a stronger say. Company remuneration policies (on which shareholders now have a binding vote at least every three years), for example, must include information on how directors’ pay is linked to different levels of performance. In addition, the Annual Remuneration Report, which sets out what directors have been paid in the past financial year, has to set out clearly how the actual payments made relate to performance.

    It is too soon to form firm conclusions about the impact of the 2013 reforms. Executive pay is typically set on a three year cycle and the reforms have not yet reached their third anniversary. However, there is growing evidence from the current AGM season that shareholders are prepared to use the new powers, particularly where pay is out of line with company performance.

    The Government does not track executive pay across the more than 1,000 companies subject to the Regulations. We do however work closely with independent researchers that regularly survey the level and structure of pay, such as Manifest, and with key stakeholders such as the Investment Association and the Financial Reporting Council to ensure that we have access to the evidence needed to keep executive pay under review.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider linking the interest rate on student loans to the Consumer Price Index rather than the Retail Price Index.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has no plans to link the interest rate on student loans to the Consumer Prices Index, rather than the Retail Prices Index. The Retail Prices Index has been used as the basis for calculating the interest rates applied to income-contingent student loans since they were introduced in 1998.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to ensure that British citizens continue to be able to access healthcare on a reciprocal basis when visiting the EU.

    David Mowat

    As the Prime Minister stated on 20 July, as long as we are a member of the European Union we will respect the rights and obligations of EU membership, therefore the current arrangements remain in place. As we move to a new relationship with Europe, our guiding principle will be ensuring the best possible outcome for British people.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which agreed EU directives have not yet been transposed directly into UK law; and if she will make a statement.

    Rory Stewart

    Until exit negotiations are concluded, the UK remains a full member of the European Union and all the rights and obligations of EU membership remain in force. During this period the Government will continue to negotiate, implement and apply EU legislation.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the finding of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in its report, Is Britain Fairer, published in October 2015, that up to 2013 there was a decline in both earnings and full-time employment for younger workers, despite them being more likely to be better qualified than previous generations.

    Nick Boles

    Since 2013 employment has risen by over a million people and the UK’s employment rate is at a record high. The Government is creating employment opportunities for all age groups. Since the first quarter of 2010, youth unemployment has fallen and 229,000 more young people are in employment.

    Skills remain important for delivering better employment outcomes for younger workers. The lifetime benefits to apprentices are between £48,000 and £74,000 for Level 2 and between £77,000 and £117,000 for Level 3 Apprenticeships. The average graduate of higher education will earn over £100,000 more over their lifetime than a similar individual who completed their education with 2 or more A levels. The Government is therefore ensuring further and higher education providers are more responsive to the needs of employers, and that young people get the rights skills for the job market.

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of disabled people who own their own home.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government is committed to extending home ownership opportunities for everyone. Disabled people with aspirations to own their own home can benefit from a number of policies offered by this Government, like Help to Buy and Right to Buy. However, we do recognise that for some people with long-term disabilities, our mainstream home ownership programmes may not be suitable. The Home Ownership for those with Long-term Disabilities (HOLD) scheme is specifically designed to help people living with such disabilities to buy a property on the open market on shared ownership terms with a registered housing provider.

    The Government is also providing affordable housing for disabled and older people through the Care and Support Specialised Housing Fund, phase 1 of which will deliver around 4,000 new homes by 2018. Between 2011-15 the Affordable Homes Programme has also delivered almost 14,000 specialised and mainstream affordable homes for older and disabled people.

    In the Spending Review we have committed to £400 million of funding to deliver 8,000 specialist homes for the vulnerable elderly or those with disabilities. A commitment to funding from the Department of Health could deliver up to a further 7,500 homes over the Spending Review period.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints about practical driving tests heard by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (a) were made by (i) men and (ii) women and (b) were found (i) in favour of and (ii) against the complainant; and how many such complaints were subsequently taken to the Independent Complaints Assessor in each year since 2009-10.

    Andrew Jones

    The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) does not record information about the sex of any complainant. Nor does it retain information about complaints made before 2011-12 about practical driving tests or cases referred to the ICA. Information it does hold is as follows:

    2011-12 1,080 complaints received – 42 upheld, 938 not upheld, 100 no outcome recorded

    2012-13 1,108 complaints received – 40 upheld, 1002 not upheld, 66 no outcome recorded

    2013-14 1,260 complaints received – 37 upheld, 1013 not upheld, 210 no outcome recorded

    2014-15 1,401 complaints received – 27 upheld, 1158 not upheld, 216 no outcome recorded

    2015- 16 1,351 complaints received – 37 upheld, 1174 not upheld, 140 no outcome recorded

    Complaints referred to the ICA

    2011-12 – 3 cases

    2012-13 – 9 cases

    2013-14 – 10 cases

    2015-16 – 4 cases