Category: Speeches

  • Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Michael Tomlinson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Tomlinson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of brownfield land in Mid Dorset and North Poole has been redesignated as community land trust in the last five years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Department does not hold information centrally on the amount or type of land held by community land trusts.

    The Department’s annual Green Belt statistics monitor the amount of land designated as Green Belt in England and any changes to the designated area since the previous year. The statistics record the change by local planning authority.

    Of the local planning authorities for which information was requested, the following have made changes to the Green Belt in the last five years:

    East Dorset reduced the area of designated Green Belt in 2014-15 by 160 hectares to 16,720 hectares, a reduction of 1 per cent; and

    Purbeck increased the area of designated Green Belt in 2012-13 by 460 hectares to 8,200 hectares, an increase of 6 per cent.

  • Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Mrs Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mrs Anne Main on 2016-01-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the EU ban on neonicotinoids has been renewed; and if she will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    EU restrictions prohibiting the use of three neonicotinoids on some crops have been in place since 1 December 2013. Other uses of these neonicotinoids remain approved. The restrictions have been implemented in full in the UK and will remain in place unless and until the European Commission decides to change them. The Commission has mandated the European Food Safety Authority to carry out a scientific review of the effects of neonicotinoids on pollinators. The UK will participate in that process.

  • David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    David Crausby – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Crausby on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many members of staff are employed in the Ministerial correspondence section of his Department.

    Jane Ellison

    The Department’s Ministerial Correspondence and Public Enquiries unit currently employs a total of 31 permanent staff who work on both public and ministerial correspondence. There are also eight non-permanent workers filling vacancies within the unit who also work on public and ministerial correspondence. In 2015 the unit responded to 42,277 letters from hon. Members, Peers and the public.

  • Peter Bottomley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Bottomley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Bottomley on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what consultations he undertook before deciding to change the funding arrangements for British Academy-sponsored institutions and societies; and if he will make a statement.

    Joseph Johnson

    Funding arrangements for the British Academy-Sponsored Institutes and Societies (BASIS) programme have not been changed. The seven independent Schools and Institutes within the BASIS Programme collectively have an important role in advancing science diplomacy and promoting UK higher education in their regions, and we value the close connections with foreign government ministries, British diplomatic missions and the British Council that are fostered through the BASIS Programme.

    The Science & Research budget allocation for the National Academies for 2016-17 to 2019-20 was published on 4 March. The allocation provided for real terms protection for the British Academy’s BASIS programme, enabling the Academy to continue to provide the BASIS Institutes with substantial block grant support throughout this period. Details of direct funding received by the BASIS Programme through its grant from the British Academy, as well as details of the cumulative payments made by the British Academy to individual schools and institutes within the programme, are published in the British Academy Annual Report, available at www.britac.ac.uk/about/annualrep/index.cfm.

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  • 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 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to increase the number of bedded inpatient services for young people with mental health conditions.

    Alistair Burt

    The £1.4 billion additional funding the Government has made available over the course of this Parliament to deliver the vision set out in Future in Mind includes £7 million to enable NHS England to commission 56 new inpatient care beds for children and young people with mental health needs. This raises the total number of beds to 1,442, the highest this has ever been.

    The local Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) transformation plans developed during 2015/16 provide the ideal context within which to make decisions about the future requirements for CAMHS T4 beds. The specialised commissioners have reviewed the approach to be taken to the CAMHS T4 procurement and have moved away from a single national procurement to local procurement, clearly set within a national framework. This revised approach will enable variation around timescales and ensure responsiveness to the local agenda. The approach will also reinforce the essential local ownership of capacity plans and pathways of care.

    We also need to be clear that effective mental health care is about far more than inpatient beds. We are therefore working with local commissioners to strengthen care across the system. The aim is to bolster preventive and early-intervention services that help young people stay well in their own communities, without ever needing inpatient care.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress has been made on the techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors which was due to conclude at the end of March 2016.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The techno-economic assessment of small modular reactors is due to conclude shortly. Once the assessment is complete officials will consider the key findings as part of on-going SMR policy development

  • 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 2016-06-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the net expenditure of the Standards and Testing Agency in the year ending March 2012 was over 25 per cent lower than the average yearly net expenditure for the period April 2010 to March 2015.

    Lord Nash

    The year ending March 2012 was the period when the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency closed and the Standards and Testing Agency opened. The reduction in expenditure can partly be explained by the transfer of functions between the two organisations. In addition, there was no whole cohort external marking of the Key Stage 2 writing test that year.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of all government departments adopting the same practice of informal monthly performance reviews which has been implemented by the Valuation Office Agency.

    Ben Gummer

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on Wednesday 7 September 2016 to UIN: 44500.

  • Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken to raise the security, humanitarian access, freedom of movement and citizenship rights of ethnic groups with the Burmese government.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Government consistently raises concerns about the human rights situation in Burma, including for all ethnic groups, with the Burmese government. However, these are issues that particularly affect the Muslim Rohingya community in Rakhine State, who are subject to persecution and denied the most basic rights. I and other Ministers take every appropriate opportunity, both publicly and in private, to press the Burmese authorities to take urgent steps to address the desperate situation of the Rohingya. I did this with senior Burmese ministers during my visit to Burma in July, when I travelled to Rakhine State for the second time. Most recently, I raised the issue with the Burmese Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, in September in New York. We will continue our efforts to address the serious, ongoing human rights violations against the Rohingya community, including with whoever forms the next Government of Burma.

  • Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Maria Caulfield – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Caulfield on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of Catholic schools in supporting the integration of minority communities in (a) their student body and (b) the wider community.

    Edward Timpson

    The department does not conduct assessments on how effective Catholic schools are in supporting the integration of minority communities in their student body and the wider community.

    All state-funded schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, actively promote fundamental British values and have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between peoples of different backgrounds and faiths. Pupils are taught about diverse national, regional, religious and ethnic identities in the UK and the need for mutual respect and understanding. Ofsted’s inspection framework includes a focus on pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Under the Equality Act 2010 Faith schools are not allowed to treat pupils less favourably in any other way because of their religion or belief, or lack of belief. Under the Public Equality Duty, faith schools must also have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between different groups.