Category: Speeches

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33636, what assessment he has made of the capacity of Highways England to complete the repair and replacement of surfaces of 80 per cent of roads in the strategic road network by 2020.

    Andrew Jones

    Highways England is continuing to deliver the government’s £15 billion Road Investment Strategy and is on track to meet all of their targets.

    The Highways England Delivery Plan 2015-2020 states they will resurface 1,200 lane miles in 2015-16. As of the end of February 2016 they had surpassed that target, completing 1,296 lane miles of resurfacing. The final figure for 2015-16 will be reported in their annual report later this year.

    Highways England has to ensure that 95 per cent of the strategic road network is in good condition. When the latest survey was carried out in December 2015, this was achieved.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of staff in his Department were (a) payroll and (b) non-payroll staff in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2015-16.

    Harriett Baldwin

    As part of the government’s transparency agenda, the department publishes on a monthly basis, information on payroll and non-payroll staff. The link for the requested years can be found below:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/workforce-management–2?1

    There are no civil servants contracted to the department who are paid through public limited companies.

    “

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average time taken is to process reconsideration requests for rejected applications for British naturalisation.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    No information is recorded in national reporting systems to enable reporting on the time taken to process reconsideration requests for rejected applications for British naturalisation.

  • 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 2016-10-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that the government of China has recently breached the United Nations Refugee Convention by refouling 30 North Koreans without giving them an opportunity to claim asylum nor to meet representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are aware of reports of thirty North Koreans being sent back to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) after a period of detention in China.

    Despite claims by the DPRK authorities that forcibly repatriated refugees are well treated and reintegrated into DPRK society, reports suggest that they are often mistreated by the authorities.

    We will raise the issue of non-refoulement at the next UK-China Human rights Dialogue, scheduled to take place this month.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of how many subsidised bus routes have been withdrawn since 2010.

    Andrew Jones

    The provision of bus services that require subsidy is a matter for individual English local authorities, in the light of their other spending priorities. Latest figures (2013-14) show that £318m a year was spent by local authorities (outside London) doing so.

    My Department also provides around £40m of Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) funding directly to English local authorities to help deliver bus services. This central funding has been ring-fenced until 2016-17.

  • Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Julie Cooper – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are in (a) primary and (b) secondary education in Burnley.

    Nick Gibb

    The January 2015 school census recorded a total of 8,062 pupils in state funded primary schools and 4,743 pupils in state funded secondary schools in the Burnley constituency.[1]

    [1] Figures calculated from the underlying data of the ‘schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2015’ statistics, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2015

    “

  • Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Madeleine Moon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Madeleine Moon on 2016-01-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2015 to Question 18551, (a) whether all records retained under JSP441 Defence Records Management Policy and Procedure by training establishments comply with paragraphs 1.24 and 1.25 of that Policy and (b) decisions to retain records relating to (i) individual training establishments infrastructure costs and (ii) numbers attending training courses have been approved by the Departmental Records Officer as meeting the statutory requirements set out in paragraph 1.31 of JSP441; and if he will make a statement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Departmental Record Officer (DRO) sets down overall policy and guidance (in JSP 441), establishes a governance structure through the normal departmental chain of command so that there are officers responsible for records in each unit, and works with the providers of ICT and Education within the Ministry of Defence to ensure that there is an appropriate set of tools and training packages. The DRO gives particular focus to those areas of Defence where the records may merit permanent preservation. Areas related to the routine business of Defence are typically managed at local level by trained staff working to DRO policy and guidance.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will estimate the number of people who will no longer be able to live in supported accommodation as a result of the application of the cap on local housing allowance for people in such accommodation.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested is not available.

  • Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mark Pritchard – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Pritchard on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) Shropshire Council, (b) Telford and Wrekin Council and (c) Highways England put in place road safety improvements to reduce the number of road deaths and injuries on roads in (i) Shropshire and (ii) Telford and Wrekin.

    Andrew Jones

    Local authorities are responsible for road safety on the local road network. Section 39 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 puts a ‘statutory duty’ on the local authorities to deliver an appropriate road safety education service and for the provision of a safe local road network.

    It is up to individual authorities to determine how they meet their “statutory duty”. However, following the 2015 Spending Review the Government will continue to provide funding through the Integrated Transport block for local highway authorities to support small-scale initiatives, including road safety schemes. This funding is not ring-fenced and gives local authorities the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit their localities.

    More widely, from within the record £6.1 billion to be allocated to local highways authorities between 2015 and 2021 for road maintenance, Shropshire has been allocated £86million and Telford and Wrekin £18million (including indicative allocations from 2018/19 to 2020/21) plus Telford has also been allocated £10.3million from the Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund. This compares to £79million allocated to Shropshire and £15.6million to Telford and Wrekin covering the period 2010 to 2015.

    Highways England has made a commitment to review routes in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin over the next five years.

    Safety improvements are proposed on the A5/B5070 at Gledrid Roundabout in the 2016/17 financial year. Potential safety schemes have also been identified in Shropshire, and in Telford & Wrekin, and these will be considered over the 5-year Roads Investment Strategy. These are detailed below.

    • A483 Maesbury Road
    • A49/A456 Wooferton
    • A5 Montford Bridge and Shrawardine Junctions
    • A5/B5009 Gobowen
    • A49 Laybys

    All of these works will be subject to available funding and are not, as yet, programmed for delivery.

    An A5 corridor study has also been commissioned to identify a long term strategy for addressing the changing needs and function of the A5 trunk road corridor between Chirk and Preston Boats. This study will consider current issues with the existing corridor, summarising the implications of growth and providing a set of highway options to address congestion and safety, for consideration within future financial years.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many paramedics have moved from that role to that of a hospital-based practitioner in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

    Ben Gummer

    Information on the number of paramedics who moved to the role of hospital based practitioner is not collected by the Department.