Category: Speeches

  • Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Richard Burden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burden on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 15 February 2016 to Question 26148, on roads: investment, which two projects are not progressing on or ahead of schedule; and when those projects are now expected to be completed.

    Andrew Jones

    The two projects referred to in Question 26148 are:

    A63 Castle Street: this has a commitment to be complete by March 2021 but the current forecast is for August 2021.

    The decision to defer was to avoid construction taking place during the year of culture.

    A30 Temple to Carblake

    This is being delivered by Cornwall County Council: This was originally due to Open for traffic in December 2016, although we understand from Cornwall County Council that current forecast is February 2017.

  • Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Dholakia – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Dholakia on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendations regarding Tier 2 visas meet the letter and spirit of the Joint Statement on the UK-India Summit of November 2015.

    Lord Bates

    The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is an independent body and its recommendations are not a statement of Government policy. We thank the MAC for their report and we are currently considering the findings carefully. We will announce our response in due course.

    Doctors from overseas make a valuable contribution to the running of our NHS and we will consider the potential impacts on them in making our decisions. The Minister for Immigration met the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and the Minister of State for Home Affairs during a visit to India in February and had wide ranging and constructive talks, including discussion of the MAC’s report on Tier 2.

    The Government fully respects the UK’s international commitments and remains strongly committed to the free trade agenda. The UK immigration system continues to support inward investment and trade.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in which regions of the UK the £80 million Violence Against Women and Girls Service Transformation Fund will be spent.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government is providing £80 million of dedicated funding up to 2020 to tackle violence against women and girls. This funding will provide core support for refuges and other accommodation-based services, a network of rape support centres and national helplines, and from April 2017 will also include a new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Service Transformation Fund.

    The VAWG Service Transformation fund will support local programmes which encourage new approaches that incorporate early intervention, establish and embed the best ways to help victims and their families, and prevent perpetrators from re-offending. Criteria for applications to the fund will support these aims. Full details of the how the fund will be administered and the criteria for applications will be published in due course.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the likelihood that the UK would lose access to use of the European Arrest Warrant in the event of a vote to leave the EU.

    James Brokenshire

    As set out in the Government’s White Paper on the process for withdrawing from the European Union, should the UK leave the EU, any arrangements for future cooperation under measures such as the European Arrest Warrant, would be curtailed. Aside from those States that are not in the EU but are in the Schengen border-free area, there are no precedents for non-Members being able to cooperate with these mechanisms. Even Switzerland, for example, does not have an equivalent to the European Arrest Warrant. Norway and Iceland are negotiating an agreement similar to the EAW, but that includes the option for countries to continue to refuse to surrender their own nationals. Negotiation of that deal started in 2001 and it has not yet entered into force.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the subjects most likely to be affected by a reduction in the number of people taking them in the event of a significant proportion of young people required to take a foreign language GCSE.

    Nick Gibb

    In implementing the EBacc, the Government remains fully committed to ensuring all pupils receive a well-rounded education. All state-funded schools are required to provide a broad and balanced curriculum that promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils. We expect all schools to continue to offer a wide range of options beyond the EBacc, so that pupils have opportunities to study subjects that reflect their individual interests and strengths.

    The EBacc has been designed to be limited in size to provide a rigorous academic core whilst leaving space in the curriculum for other subjects. On average, pupils in state-funded schools enter nine GCSEs and equivalent qualifications, rising to more than ten for more able pupils.[1] For many pupils, taking the EBacc will mean taking seven GCSEs; and for those taking triple science, it will mean taking eight. This means that there will continue to be room for pupils to study other subjects.

    We set out our EBacc proposals in our consultation on implementing the English Baccalaureate. We will respond to the consultation in due course.

    [1] https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&geographic=all&region=0&phase=secondary&for=Key%20stage%204%20performance&basedon=Exam%20entries&show=All%20pupils&&schoolTypeFilter=allSchools

    “

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the 25 year plan for food and farming.

    George Eustice

    Our 25 Year Food and Farming Plan will set out a new vision for British food and farming outside of the EU. We are committed to working with the industry to get this right, and will soon begin the process by publishing a consultation that will inform the Plan’s development. This will start the discussion around a set of key strategic themes such as productivity and consumer trust.

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the steps taken by the British Virgin Islands to meet the Prime Minister’s ambition for a public register of beneficial ownership since June 2013.

    James Duddridge

    In March the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and I wrote to the Premier of the British Virgin Islands asking him to set out plans and a timetable for the implementation of a central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system, ahead of the Joint Ministerial Council. The letter included three criteria we expect BVI to meet.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2015-12-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the detention and trial of human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang in China.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are seriously concerned by Pu Zhiqiang’s conviction despite the suspension of his sentence. This case has again raised issues about due process and transparency of justice in China. It has also highlighted the situation faced by human rights lawyers in the country. We urge China to make sure freedom of expression and other civil and political rights are protected, in line with their constitution and international human rights commitments. We have also raised specific concerns over the physical mistreatment of British and other journalists and diplomats attempting to attend Pu’s trial on 14 December. The Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my Right Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) did so in his meeting with Vice Minister Chen Fengxiang on 16 December.

  • Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Sharon Hodgson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sharon Hodgson on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many deaf students achieved three A* to A grades or better in their A-levels in 2015.

    Edward Timpson

    Information regarding the attainment of students with special educational needs (SEN) in England is broken down by type of SEN and published in the “Phonics screening check and key stage 1 assessment: England 2015”[1], “National curriculum assessments at key stage 2: 2015”[2] and “GCSE and equivalent results in England: 2015”[3] statistical first releases.

    A wider summary of available SEN information is provided in “Special educational needs – an analysis and summary of data sources”[4]

    Information on the average points score of students with a hearing impairment or the number that achieve three A* to A grades or better at A level is not held by the Department. The Department also does not hold information on the number of students with a hearing impairment who have not achieved a level 2 qualification in English by the age of 19.

    Currently, there are no plans for the Department to publish A-level data split by type of special educational need or to collect additional data on the outcomes achieved by students who have a disability but not an identified special educational need, although this is reviewed every year as part of the collection process.

    [1] Phonics and KS1 assessments for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/phonics-screening-check-and-key-stage-1-assessments-england-2015

    [2] KS2 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-at-key-stage-2-2015-revised

    [3] KS4 for 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

    [4] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/472575/Special_educational_needs-_an_analysis_and_summary_of_data_sources.pdf

    “

  • Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Caroline Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for a variation from the standard formula have been made under the 2012 statutory child maintenance scheme by (a) non-resident parents and (b) parents with care since the introduction of that scheme.

    Priti Patel

    The Information requested is not routinely recorded for management information purposes and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.