Category: Speeches

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the Asian Restaurant Skills Board.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Asian Restaurant Skills Board is an independent industry-led initiative set up to promote the opportunities that the Asian cuisine industry offers for exciting and rewarding careers, increasing social mobility and celebrating the importance of Asian cuisine in modern Britain. DCLG has worked closely with the Board, helping it to promote the industry through a publicity campaign and raise funding for four degree-level scholarships in Asian Cuisine at the University of West London.

  • Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Drew Hendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Drew Hendry on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of (a) premises in the Highlands and Islands he estimates will have indoor 4G coverage, (b) the Highlands area he estimates will have complete not-spots for voice and SMS text by 2017.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Improving mobile coverage remains a priority for the Government, and our landmark agreement in December 2014 with the four mobile network operators (MNOs) for each to provide voice and SMS text coverage to at least 90% of the UK landmass by 2017 will significantly improve coverage in the UK, including the Highlands area. The additional licence obligation on Telefonica will deliver significant improvements in 4G coverage as well and whilst we have no specific 4G coverage figures for the Highlands and Islands, the obligation will deliver indoor 4G coverage to 95% of premises in Scotland by end 2017.

    These obligations will also more than halve complete not spots for voice calls across the Highland area landmass over the same period.

  • Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Cat Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cat Smith on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many GPs have notified cases of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not collected in England.

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidance, Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children, published in 2007, estimates that the annual prevalence is approximately 4,000 cases per million of the population.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2016 to the hon. Member for St Albans to Question 30490, on pupil premium, if she will estimate the number of children eligible to receive pupil premium funding with at least one non-UK EEA national parent in each year since 2011-12.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Department does not collect data on the identity or characteristics of individual pupils’ parents (including details of parental nationality), so cannot offer a meaningful estimate of the number of pupil premium pupils with at least one parent who is a non-UK EEA national.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the Dedicated Schools Grant allocated to Lancashire County Council was spent on Special Educational Needs support for children under five years old in the last year for which data is available.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    In 2014-15 the spend on Special Educational Needs support for children under five years from the high needs block of the dedicated schools grant allocated to Lancashire County Council was about £2.53 million. This information is as reported by the local authority and published in the following document: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/section-251-outturn-2014-to-2015-data

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  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to promote the welfare of armed forces personnel.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Member for East Renfrewshire (Kirsten Oswald).

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) Japanese, (b) American and (c) European pharmaceutical companies based in the UK; and how much those companies have invested in the UK in each of the last five years.

    Joseph Johnson

    There is no comprehensive data on the country of registration for the Global Ultimate Owner (GUO) of every company active in the UK pharmaceuticals sector.

    We have incomplete data and therefore cannot accurately calculate how much these companies have invested in the UK in each of the last five years.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what impact assessment his Department has conducted on withdrawal of ESOL Plus Mandation funding and its effects on further education colleges in (a) Greater London and (b) the UK.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) conducted an equality analysis to support its compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty prior to making the decision to withdraw the English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Plus (Mandation) funding for 2015/16. The decision was taken in the knowledge that providers are independent organisations which manage their own budgets and have the flexibility to use their adult skills budget to continue to provide ESOL training for jobseekers and are therefore able to mitigate any adverse impact. It was also taken on the basis of our data which shows that the numbers of learners in England being referred to ESOL Plus (Mandation) provision was significantly lower than originally anticipated and the ESOL Plus (Mandation) budget was underspent in 2014/15.

    BIS funds skills provision in England only.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the planned budget is for the rural satellite broadband voucher scheme; and from which of his Department’s funding headings that budget has been allocated.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The budget is £60 million,funded from the Local Body contracts with BT.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the security and logistical implications of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers being unable to berth directly alongside the Mina Salman Support Facility in Bahrain.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The security and logistical implications of the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers while on operations overseas are subject to continual assessment and review. Irrespective of berthing or anchoring arrangements, it is normal business to conduct threat assessments prior to and during all port visits and deployed maintenance periods. This has been and will continue to be no different for Mina Salman port, and other port facilities in Bahrain.

    The Department does not disclose details of security risks and assessments pertaining to deployed operations as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.