Category: Speeches

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people learn to swim.

    David Evennett

    Swimming is an important life skill and one which we are keen is available to as many people as possible. This is why the Government’s new sport and physical activity strategy ‘’Sporting Future: a New Strategy for an Active Nation’, (www.gov.uk/government/publications/sporting-future-a-new-strategy-for-an-active-nation) includes a commitment to ensure that every child leaves primary school able to swim.

    Swimming is part of the national curriculum and Government are committed to ensuring that all children are able to meet the minimum standard of capability and confidence in swimming. Sport England is developing a number of pilot projects which aim to encourage adults to take up swimming. It is also investing £20 million between 2013-17 in the Amateur Swimming Association and in other projects, such as the innovative ‘This Girl Can Swim’, to get more people right across the country swimming. In addition, it has invested over £330 million to create modern, safe and attractive swimming pool facilities in England.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-04-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many civil servants were employed at each location by the Research Council in the last year for which figures are available.

    Joseph Johnson

    The Research Councils do not employ any civil servants at any of their locations.

    All people working in Research Councils are public servants and the numbers by location are shown on the attached table and represents the position as at 31 December 2015.

  • Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Stephen Doughty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Doughty on 2016-05-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether (a) he and (b) ministers of his Department have had discussions with the new Welsh Government on support arrangements for people infected with contaminated blood.

    Jane Ellison

    There have been no discussions at ministerial level with the new Welsh Government on this issue. Departmental officials continue to discuss the operation of the current schemes and the on-going analysis of the responses to the recent consultation on the reform of the infected blood payment scheme with their opposite numbers.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-07-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he plans to announce his planning decision on the proposed expansion of London City Airport.

    Sajid Javid

    My Department has published a target date for issuing this decision of 28 September. My Department aims to reach all planning decisions ahead of target dates where possible.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Adam Afriyie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department plans to include (a) stem cell and (b) bone marrow donation alongside organ and blood donation options on NHS GP registration forms for new patients.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There are no plans to include stem cell and bone marrow donation on general practice registration forms for new patients. NHS Blood and Transplant recruits potential bone marrow donors from blood donors when they first donate blood.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-11-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many remote sites are operational to enable witnesses to give evidence away from court; in which areas such sites are located; how many such sites are available to children under the age of 18; and how many such sites have been used by children under the age of 18.

    Mike Penning

    The Ministry is committed to supporting all victims and witnesses, including children, when giving evidence in criminal trials. All victims and witnesses are eligible for special measures to relieve stress when giving evidence, including giving evidence by video remotely.

    We have secured over £700m of funding to invest in our courts and tribunals. We have worked closely with the senior judiciary to develop a plan for investing this in reforming the courts and tribunals so they can deliver swifter, fairer justice at a lower cost. This will include digitisation and modernisation of our IT infrastructure. This will mean court users can attend hearings remotely, and not be inconvenienced by having to take a day off work to come to court. It will also mean victims of crime can give evidence from somewhere they feel safe.

    Since March 2015 vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including child abuse victims, can give evidence from a remote site which is away from the court environment. There is at least one remote site in each of the seven Regions in England and Wales, and twelve sites in total.

    In addition, the court estate is video-enabled so that any victim or witness can give evidence from a court building other than the trial site to ensure they do not come into contact with the defendant, or their family and supporters.

    Whilst HMCTS collates data on the number of witnesses giving evidence by video, the ages of the victims and witnesses are not recorded.

  • Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Jim Shannon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what additional funding the Government plans to provide for monitoring and observation of terrorist activities by the Security Service in Northern Ireland.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    It would not be appropriate for me to comment on matters which are the responsibility of the security and intelligence agencies.

    The recently published Strategic Defence and Security Review includes a commitment from the UK Government to invest in capabilities needed to keep the people of the UK safe. As part of this, the Government has allocated £160 million of additional security funding to the Police Service of Northern Ireland over the next five years in order to tackle the threat from Northern Ireland Related Terrorism.

  • Baroness Howe of Idlicote – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Howe of Idlicote – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Howe of Idlicote on 2016-01-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 22 December 2015 (HL4641), what assessment they have made of the compatibility of restricting children’s visits to their fathers in prison through the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme with children’s rights under (1) Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and (2) Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    Lord Faulks

    Men and women prisoners have the same entitlements to visits. Both are eligible to family days where relevant, in addition to the normal visits entitlement. Prisons should not treat men and women prisoners differently with respect to visits solely on the basis of their gender.

  • Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer on 2016-02-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their priorities for the UN Open Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament, taking place from 22 to 26 February, and what expertise the UK can offer on issues of non-proliferation.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK is not attending the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on nuclear disarmament in Geneva. The UK, along with the four other Non-Proliferation Treaty Nuclear Weapons States, voted against the resolution establishing the OEWG at the UN General Assembly First Committee. The Government works with international partners and various organisations to ensure that UK experience and expertise helps to tackle the threat of weapons proliferation but believes that productive results can only be ensured through a consensus-based approach that takes into account the wider global security environment.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-03-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the Government’s recent application to the EU Solidarity Fund to help flood affected areas.

    James Wharton

    The Government submitted an initial UK application to the EU Solidarity Fund on Friday 26 February and we continue to refine our cost estimations.

    At the date the application was made, the Government had not been approached on this matter by the Northern Ireland Executive.