Category: Speeches

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bowness on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of leaving the EU on businesses that trade with the EU, and what guidance they have given to affected businesses about how they might communicate that impact.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Her Majesty’s Treasury published a comprehensive analysis of benefits and costs of membership of a reformed EU and the alternatives on 18 April. This included boxes detailing the impact of EU membership on key business sectors such as financial services, aerospace and pharmaceuticals.

    According to this analysis, key sectors would be worse off due to reduced access to the Single Market. For example, losing customs-free movement of goods could cause customs delays. In time-sensitive industries, each hour of customs delay can reduce trade by 5%. Treasury analysis also provides a sectoral breakdown of the 3.3 million jobs which are linked to trade with the EU.

    The Prime Minister has spoken about the benefits of EU membership at a number of businesses throughout the UK. The transcripts of these are available on the gov.uk website.

  • Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Mark Menzies – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Menzies on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what tax measures he is putting in place to encourage higher levels of business investment in the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    I refer my hon Friend to the answer given by the Chancellor today in response to the oral question from the hon Member for Lewes.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support dairy farmers as a result of reduced milk prices.

    George Eustice

    Although government cannot control market volatility, our aim is to give farmers improved tools to manage it. We have extended the period over which they can average their tax from two to five years. We are exploring opportunities for a dairy futures market as well as for better branding and labelling in supermarkets in order to improve profitability. We are also exploring opportunities to help farming businesses become more resilient and ready to take advantage of the growing demand for British dairy products both at home and abroad.

    According to the latest forecast of Farm Business Incomes for 2015-16, average incomes on dairy farms are expected to fall to £46,500. This reflects the impact of lower milk prices which started to fall in March 2014, and the reduced prices for cull cows and heifers. While the number of dairy farms in England and Wales has also fallen from around 13,500 in 2006 to 9,500 today, the number of dairy cows has remained almost unchanged, which suggests consolidation within the industry.

    We have seen an increase in the UK farmgate milk price for the second month in a row to 21.34p per litre in August 2016. The long-term picture for our dairy industry remains positive.

  • Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town on 2015-11-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of how many complaints the Citizens Advice consumer helpline has received about ticket resale websites.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Government has not made a separate assessment of complaints made to the Citizens Advice Helpline at this time , but the Government is committed to reducing consumer detriment from ticket mis-selling and is supporting an independently-led review of consumer protection measures for ticket re-sale websites. The Government awaits the recommendations of this Review and will report its conclusions to Parliament by 26 May 2016.

  • Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2015 to Question 17980, if his Department will consider publishing details of meetings with insurance industry representatives before the next return.

    Harriett Baldwin

    Treasury Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of companies and organisations to discuss relevant issues.

    As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Treasury’s practice to provide details of all such discussions.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Birkenhead to him dated 19 January 2016 on the state pension.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested in the Rt. Hon Member’s letter was sent to the Work and Pensions Select Committee on Friday 29 January 2016.

  • Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Storey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2016-02-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any research has been carried out into the reasons for teachers leaving the profession, in the light of the cost to the public purse of training teachers.

    Lord Nash

    Teachers may choose to leave the profession for a variety of reasons. The Teacher Supply Model estimates the number of recruits required based on factors such as teachers leaving the profession. The Department is actively tackling issues that most often lead teachers to consider leaving, such as workload and poor pupil behaviour.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage consumers to buy local produce.

    George Eustice

    The Great British Food Campaign celebrates the best of the UK’s food and drink, focusing particularly on our unique Protected Food Name products such as Traditionally Farmed Gloucestershire Old Spots Pork and Fenland Celery. Through Great British Food we aim to encourage consumers to think more carefully about the provenance of the food that they eat and to consider choosing innovative British produce as part of a balanced healthy diet.

  • Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Barry Gardiner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Gardiner on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what funding her Department has allocated for (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18 to help the UK prepare for the effects of climate change.

    Rory Stewart

    Adaptation is embedded as an integral part of policy making across Defra and all levels of Government and within a broad range of programmes and activities that directly or indirectly support and build the UK’s resilience to climate change. The first National Adaptation Programme sets out more than 370 actions to help the UK better prepare for climate change and we continue to deliver on these actions. In Defra we are taking action across the breadth of the department’s policies, from our £2.3 billion flood defence programme to the Forestry Commission increasing the diversity of its planting stock so that the Public Forest Estate is resilient to the changing climate.

  • Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Kennedy of Southwark – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to review the number of types of identification documents with which a person may register to vote.

    Lord Bridges of Headley

    Ensuring the accuracy of electoral registers and taking steps to reduce fraud is critical to building confidence in the systems underpinning our democracy. In the majority of cases, applicants registering to vote will have their identity matched against government records or local data sources successfully. Where this is not possible, most applicants can be asked to provide supporting documentary evidence, which can be drawn from a wide range of sources and there are no plans to change this.