Category: Speeches

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the total number of claims for statutory shared parental pay has been since 1 April 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Government does not yet have any information on the take up of Statutory Shared Parental Pay. Information for the 2015-16 tax year will be available from May 2016, although it will also include claims for Additional Statutory Paternity Pay. Information is not held on the number of claims for Statutory Shared Parental Pay that are linked to adoption leave.

  • Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-02-02.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish all agreements made to date with EDF energy over financing and borrowing arrangements for the proposed Hinkley C nuclear plant; and if he will ensure that agreements which relate to the differential financial arrangements depending on development of the Flamanville nuclear plant in France and the proposed Sizewell C plant are so published.

    Greg Hands

    The financing and borrowing arrangements for the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear plant have not yet been signed. These arrangements are commercially sensitive and will not be published. However, the Chancellor did announce in September 2015 an initial guarantee of £2 billion of bonds which must be repaid by December 2020 by the shareholders of the project company. There is no further obligation to issue guarantees after that date.

    It is the intention of DECC to publish the Contract for Difference following its signature, and this is the document that contains the reduction in the Hinkley Point C “Strike Price” from £92.50 to £89.50 – which is linked to a positive decision by EDF to proceed with Sizewell C.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for consent determined by the Marine Management Organisation have required appropriate assessment of their effect on European wildlife sites since 2010.

    George Eustice

    The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) database was established in April 2011 and accurate data for marine licence applications determined by the MMO are limited to post 1 April 2011. However, I can confirm that since April 2011:

    • 50 fully determined marine licence applications have required an appropriate assessment;
    • 151 fully determined marine licence applications have required an environmental impact assessment;
    • 44 marine licence applications have been refused; and,
    • 3,849 fully determined marine licence applications have been approved, including 1,848 variations to an existing marine licence.
  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to commemorate the First World War in 2016.

    David Evennett

    Since the Prime Minister set out plans for the Centenary in October 2012 the Government has delivered highly successful commemorative events for the start of the First World War and the Gallipoli Campaign.

    In May 2016, commemorative events will be held for the Battle of Jutland, and in July 2016, we will mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by holding national events at the Thiepval Memorial in France, at Manchester Cathedral, and at Heaton Park. In addition, a national vigil will be held in June at Westminster Abbey, and there will also be vigils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    Season Two of the 14-18 NOW culture programme has been announced and this – together with Centenary Partnership events, Heritage Lottery funded projects and local commemorative activity – will ensure people right across the UK have the opportunity to participate in commemorative events.

    Other centenary activities such as the UK Tour of the “poppies” and the national repair and conservation of War memorials also continue, more details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-world-war-centenary

    “

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of pregnancies affected by neural tube defects are terminated after the 20 week scan.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the socio-economic group for women having abortions is not collected centrally.

    In 2014, 442 abortions were performed because of neural tube defects; 34% of these were performed at 20 weeks gestation or over.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-06-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many (a) unsuccessful and (b) successful applications there were for planning permission for residential homes in each of the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    We publish statistics on our website concerning dwellings. In the results attached we have used figures from ‘Table 2.5 s78 planning appeals – dwellings decided & allowed’ on the Planning Inspectorate Statistics page. Below is a link to this page.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/planning-inspectorate-statistics

    “

  • Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Women and Equalities

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government Equalities Office is taking to implement the actions identified for it in the Government’s Ending Violence against Women and Girls 2016-2020, published in March 2016; and when a member of staff from the Government Equalities Office last attended a Violence against Women and Girls Stakeholder Meeting chaired by the Home Office.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Government is committed to delivering the Strategy published in March. The table below shows the progress made in delivering the actions allocated to the Government Equalities Office (GEO).

    REF

    ACTION

    PROGRESS

    1

    Develop new guidance in consultation with teachers for PHSE lessons specifically about gender equality (Apr 2016).

    GEO has been working with the PSHE Association to consult teachers on how best to deliver this commitment.

    2

    Fund the Freedom Charity to expand the ‘Train the Trainers’ project…. (Apr 2016).

    GEO funded the Freedom Charity to expand their ‘Train the Trainers’ project to reach a greater number of communities and empower teachers to deal with the topic of forced marriage sensitively and confidently. This funding enabled an additional 3,620 students and 1,230 staff to learn about forced marriage with Freedom.

    5

    Launch the second phase of the national prevention campaign to challenge abuse in teenage relationships and promote understanding of health relationships and consent – including among LGB&T teenagers (Feb 2016).

    GEO, in partnership with the Home Office, launched Disrespect Nobody, the second phase of the national prevention campaign to challenge abuse in teenage relationships. This included a TV advert, along with a dedicated website, blogs and guidance for teachers.

    8

    Update Media Smart resources (with the Advertising Association) to help teachers and parents improve primary school children’s understanding of how gender is represented in the media and their resilience to negative content (Sep 2016).

    GEO commissioned the charity Media Smart to develop a new resource to help teachers and parents improve primary school children’s understanding of how gender is represented in the media and their resilience to negative content. The resource was published in August 2016 and will be disseminated to schools this term.

    10

    Conduct or commission mapping of the evidence base and initiatives that engage men, boys and bystanders in VAWG prevention to identify how Government can build on these initiatives to further social change (Apr 2017).

    GEO is currently mapping the evidence base and initiatives that engage men, boys and bystanders in VAWG prevention, as well as meeting with stakeholders working in this area.

    28

    Establish an official Government working group to map out current issues, prevalence, initiatives and barriers to addressing gendered online abuse to improve understanding and coordinate the response to online manifestations of VAWG (Dec 2016).

    In partnership with the Home Office, GEO has established an official Government working group to do this. This work is ongoing.

    30

    Continue to ensure victims of revenge pornography have access to bespoke support and advice about their right to have the images removed from websites (review Apr 2017).

    GEO has funded the Revenge Porn Helpline for a further year to continue its important work supporting victims of revenge porn and working to have such images removed from websites.

    GEO officials attend the Home Office-chaired cross-government working group on VAWG, the last of which took place on 23 June 2016. In addition, GEO officials have attended a number of Home Office-led consultation meetings with VAWG stakeholders, the last of which was in February 2016. Such discussions run alongside inter-ministerial meetings, the most recent of which I attended in June.

  • Alan Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Alan Campbell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alan Campbell on 2016-10-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many properties affected by subsidence have been compulsorily purchased by the Coal Authority in each of the last five years.

    Jesse Norman

    The Coal Authority has no compulsory purchase powers in relation to subsidence and as such has not purchased any properties on that basis in the last five years.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what efforts they are making to protect low- to middle-income earners in the public sector from the proposed £95,000 public sector exit payment cap.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government set out its proposals for the cap on public sector exit payments in the consultation document published on 31 July 2015 and confirmed the design of the cap in the consultation response document published on 16 September 2015. The consultation document gave details of the number of exits over recent years that cost the taxpayer more than £100,000.

    The precise number of those affected by the public sector exit payment cap will depend on the number and type of exits in coming years. However, in recent years the large majority of exits in the public sector are below the level of the cap. For example, the Whole of Government Accounts states that, in 2013-14, 1,838 out of 72,445 pay outs were in excess of £100,000.

    The exit payment clauses currently before the House of Lords in the Enterprise Bill set out how the cap is expected to apply.

  • Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2015-12-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to support the #iwill campaign to meet its aim of having an additional 1.5 million young people involved in social action by 2020.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    The Cabinet Office has pledged to support the #iwill campaign by ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to engage in meaningful youth social action opportunities.

    We have also invested £1.2 million to support the development of youth social action opportunities in low socio-economic and rural areas and the East of England and £10 million of LIBOR fines to create over 15,000 places in uniformed youth groups in the UK.