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Category: Speeches

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to engage in increased consultation with civil society and UK-based and international human rights NGOs around the UK–China Human Rights Dialogue, including increasing transparency and accountability.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Ministers and officials meet civil society representatives on a regular basis to hear their views and benefit from their expertise on the human rights situation in China. The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Reading West (Mr Sharma) met Chinese NGOs during his recent visit to China. He plans to host a round table with UK-based NGOs at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the near future.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lisa Cameron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in the education system.

    Edward Timpson

    The Children and Families Act 2014, which came into force in September 2014, introduced significant reforms to the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system. The new statutory framework ensures that support is focused on needs and aspirations, enabling all pupils, including those with autism, to achieve better outcomes in education and adult life.

    Changes to the SEND system since September 2014 include the publication of ‘local offers’ of SEND services by local authorities; the introduction of streamlined education, health and care needs assessments and plans; and new statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in further education.

    The Act also makes provision to ensure that parents, children and young people are able to access impartial information, advice and support about the SEND system through a local, dedicated and easily identifiable service. Among other things, this service offers help in preparing for meetings with schools, health professionals, or other agencies.

    The Department’s Free Schools programme has seen nineteen special free schools open across the country. This includes several free schools that are specifically for children with Autism, such as the Rise free school in Hounslow, the Lighthouse free school in Leeds, and the National Autistic Society’s Church Lawton free school in Cheshire. There are a further eleven special free schools due to open in the future, five of which will specialise in provision for children with autism, including the Heartlands Autism free school in Haringey and a second National Autistic Society free school, the Vanguard free school in Lambeth. The other six will also offer some places for children with autism.

    The Department has contracted with the Autism Education Trust (2015-16) to deliver autism training to education professionals. The Trust has now trained almost 80,000 education staff since 2012. The Department is also providing grant funding for two additional projects (2015-16): a project by the National Autistic Society to provide information and advice to parents and professionals on exclusions; and a project by Ambitious about Autism on strategies for supporting the transition from school to college.

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how the proposed changes to university admissions for foreign students will be tailored to different (a) courses offered and (b) educational institutions.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Government will shortly launch a consultation on the proposals announced by the Home Secretary. The consultation will include looking at whether our student immigration rules should be tailored to the quality of the institution.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-12-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if the Government will publish an updated Tobacco Control Plan for England.

    Jane Ellison

    This Government is committed to reducing the prevalence of smoking in England to further improve and protect the health of the nation. In line with this commitment Government plan to publish a new tobacco control strategy for England next year.

  • Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    Geoffrey Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Church Commissioners

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Cox on 2016-01-12.

    To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, what grants the Church Commissioners have given to churches in (a) Devon and (b) Cornwall from the Roof Repair Fund in each of the last five years.

    Mrs Caroline Spelman

    The Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund grants are distributed by the National Heritage Memorial Fund, on behalf of the Government. There has been one round of grants to date, announced in March 2015,

    (a) 22 churches in Devon were offered grants totalling £1,199,700

    (b) 7 churches in Cornwall were offered grants totalling £492,700.

    A second round to distribute a further £25 million allocated by the Treasury is currently open, with applications closing on Friday, 26 February.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2016-02-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of co-ordinating the objectives of Innovate UK and UKTI in order to increase exports.

    Anna Soubry

    Increasing exports, to all overseas markets, is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Innovate UK work together to co-ordinate activity to promote UK innovation and to help drive the UK’s productivity, exports and long-term growth through increasing trade and inward investment in science and innovation. An Innovate UK secondee further augments the activities of both organisations.

    This work supports UK businesses looking to take advantage of overseas opportunities and to create a strong business environment that allows them to flourish both at home and overseas. This includes working together on events and entrepreneur missions to promote the UK’s innovative companies on a global scale, identifying export opportunities and securing new markets. Innovate UK funded projects and companies are referred to UKTI trade advisers to help support international planning and exports. To date 250 companies have been referred.

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-03-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road accidents have taken place between Junction 2 and Junction 30 of the M25 in each of the last four years.

    Andrew Jones

    The part of the M25 between Junction 2 and Junction 30 is classed as the A282.

    The number of reported personal injury road accidents occurring on the A282 between Junction 2 and 30 for the years 2011 to 2014 are as follows:

    Fatal

    Serious

    Slight

    Total

    2011

    0

    5

    39

    44

    2012

    1

    3

    35

    39

    2013

    0

    5

    44

    49

    2014

    0

    3

    41

    44

    Data for 2015 will be available in June 2016 when it is first published. Damage only accidents are not collected by the Department.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate the number of (a) UK firms based in the South West of England that trade with other EU member states and (b) people employed by those firms.

    Anna Soubry

    HMRC Regional Trade Statistics on the number of firms trading with the EU are publically available through the UKTradeInfo website.

    HM Treasury has published estimates of the number of UK jobs linked to EU exports broken down by region. These are available through the GOV.UK website.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-05-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which civil society organisations will be attending the Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May 2016.

    Matthew Hancock

    We believe that it is important for governments, international organisations, civil society and businesses to work together to tackle corruption. To this end, a number of leading civil society organisations have been invited to attend the Summit. As well as the Summit itself, a pre-event on 11 May will be a important opportunity to hear a wide range of business and civil society views.

  • Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burgon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Burgon on 2016-06-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what correspondence his Department has had with (a) the Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union and (b) UK banks on the European Commission’s proposed regulatory framework for simple, transparent and standardised securitisation; and if he will place a copy of that correspondence in the Library.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Government welcomed the development of international and EU standards to revitalise the regulatory framework for securitisation by encouraging the use of simpler and more transparent products. We agree with the Bank of England that a well-functioning and stable securitisation market will benefit financial stability and the wider economy. We support the Basel standards for securitisation, set with the intention of enhancing financial stability, which see features such as tranching and synthetic structures as being legitimate activity. We also support the need for all securitisations to adhere to appropriate rules on transparency and investor due diligence, and that they must be afforded sensibly calibrated capital requirements. Following the financial crisis it was Basel, working with the Financial Stability Board and the International Organization of Securities Commissions which, set the 5 percent risk retention standard.

    In the development and delivery of policy, Treasury Ministers and officials are in regular contact with relevant institutions, regulatory authorities, other governments, industry and other civil society groups including think tanks such as Finance Watch.