Category: Speeches

  • Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Royston Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Royston Smith on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of his Department’s 2015-16 budget is allocated to (a) creating and (b) accessing new markets for trade and growth.

    Anna Soubry

    Increasing trade and growth through exports, to all overseas markets, is a key factor in the Government’s long-term economic plan. Government departments are working together to support 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. A key part of this work is to identify export opportunities, many of which are based around the needs of new high-growth and emerging markets.

    UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is at the heart of this work and the budget allocation for this activity will be set out in the UKTI Annual Report and Accounts 2015/16.

  • Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what her policy is on reconsidering the cases of people who had their leave to remain wrongly cancelled, or who were wrongly detained or removed, on the basis of allegations of fraud in English language tests made by ETS in response to the Upper Tribunal ruling in Qadir v Secretary of State, 23 March 2016.

    James Brokenshire

    We received the determination in the case of Qadir and SM from Upper Tribunal on 8 April which provides the full reasons for the decision which were not included in the summary handed down on 23 March. Although the Upper Tribunal found that the Home Office did discharge the evidential burden on it in establishing fraud at ETS test centres and that each appellant would need to establish an innocent explanation, it went on to allow the appeals. We are disappointed by the decision and we are currently reviewing it with a view to challenging before the Court Of Appeal. Given this there are no current plans to reconsider earlier decisions.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of a public inquiry related to the miners’ strike and events at Orgreave in 1984.

    Mrs Theresa May

    I am currently considering a submission from the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign containing their extensive and detailed arguments for establishing a public inquiry into the events at Orgreave and will set out the Government’s position in the near future.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-06-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will produce a new Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty.

    Mr David Lidington

    I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 14 January in response to Written Question 21761 of 11 January from the Hon. Member for Birmingham Hall Green (Mr Godsiff ).

    “

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-09-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department’s paper, Infected Blood: Government Response to Consultation on Reform of Financial and Other Support, published in July 2016, whether it is planned that the new single trust set to be established in 2017-18 will receive all funds held in reserves by the Caxton Foundation, the Eileen Trust and Macfarlane Trust; and how much is held in reserves by each of those charities.

    Nicola Blackwood

    There will be a new scheme administrator combining the functions of the existing schemes into a single scheme going forward. The new scheme administrator will become operational in the financial year 2017/18 and the current bodies will operate until then. We are working on transition plans and would hope that the charities would use any reserves to support beneficiaries. Details of reserves are published in the Annual Accounts.

  • Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Grahame Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2015-11-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had about reducing the time taken by the Valuation Office Agency to consider rating assessment appeals.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is committed to delivering a quicker and more efficient business rates appeals system in England, so that businesses can be confident they are paying the right amount of business rates and any refunds can be paid quickly. Details of our proposals are set out in the consultation paper Check, Challenge, Appeal: Reforming Business Rates Appeals, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-business-rates-appeals-check-challenge-appeal. Enabling legislation is being taken forward in the Enterprise Bill.

    “

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons he intends to close; and what consultation is taking place or is planned to take place on those closures.

    Andrew Selous

    No decisions have yet been made on which prisons will be closed. After the announcement of a closure, the Ministry of Justice will work actively with stakeholders to ensure that we manage the local impact of a prison closure.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether new apprenticeship standards will be grouped within the same sectors as the frameworks they are replacing to ensure continuity with previously recorded data.

    Nick Boles

    Employer designed apprenticeship standards focus on the knowledge, skills and behaviour required to achieve full competence in an individual occupation. There is no requirement for employers to replicate particular frameworks or pathways within them, as the priority is creating apprenticeships that meet employers’ needs. To ensure we can track developments in apprenticeship standards – for example, take up in particular sectors or regions – we are currently maintaining the current sector subject area classifications and allocate new standards to them to ensure continuity with previously recorded data.

  • Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to measure (a) national and (b) local performance on tackling high levels of cholesterol.

    Jane Ellison

    Cholesterol testing in primary care is included in the Quality Outcomes Framework for people diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes and this is published every year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. Public Health England’s (PHE) healthier lives website provides local comparisons of how well cholesterol is being controlled in people with diabetes. The link is below:

    http://healthierlives.phe.org.uk/topic/diabetes

    The Health Survey for England, an annual survey of the general population, has included measurements of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol every year since 2008. The data is publically available from the UK Data Service.

    In addition, the National Cardiovascular Health Intelligence Network within PHE is working closely with organisations concerned with cardiovascular disease to take forward the recommendations in the recent Heart UK report ‘Helping Us to Beat Cholesterol’. This report focusses on the importance of data in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-03-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he has taken to assist local authorities renegotiating public-private partnerships.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Department offers advice and support directly to individual local authorities and collectively through sector briefings on renegotiation matters. The Department has also worked with Local Partnerships to help them provide advice and assistance to local authorities across a range of Private Finance Initiative Public Private Partnership sector projects.