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Category: Speeches

  • Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Chris Stephens – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees of his Department are employed to investigate benefit fraud; what the estimated cost to the taxpayer is of such fraud; and if he will make a statement.

    Priti Patel

    As of March 2016, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employed around 3,765 staff involved in work relating to investigation of benefit fraud and error.

    The information requested on the estimated cost to the taxpayer is published and can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system

    “

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will order an investigation to be undertaken into (a) financial management and (b) governance relating to the use of pupil premium funding at Audenshaw School Academy Trust.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The conditions of grant for the pupil premium make clear that its purpose is to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. School leaders are best placed to decide how to spend the pupil premium in line with this policy and the needs of their pupils. Schools are not prevented from using the pupil premium to fund capital projects or from carrying over funding between years.

    The Department for Education supports schools to make evidence-based decisions through the work of the Education Endowment Foundation, established to identify and promote effective practice in raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. The Department does not monitor how Academies and maintained schools spend the pupil premium but instead holds them to account for the outcomes of eligible pupils through the publication of data in performance tables and Ofsted inspection.

    Where concerns are raised about the performance of an academy then they are addressed by the Regional School Commissioner with responsibility for that area. The Department also takes seriously any concerns about the financial management of a school. We are aware of the findings of the Ofsted report on Audenshaw School relating to its use of the pupil premium, following an inspection in February 2016. We are also aware that the Hon. Member, Andrew Gwynne, has met the Regional Schools Commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire, Vicky Beer, on a number of occasions to discuss his concerns about Audenshaw School Academy Trust. The Department has carefully reviewed all the information provided on this matter and has identified no grounds to take further action.

  • Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Christian Matheson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christian Matheson on 2016-07-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of key stage 2 tests in 2016 have required remarking.

    Nick Gibb

    If a school believes that there is a discrepancy between how questions have been marked and the published mark scheme for Key Stage 2 National Curriculum tests, they had until 15 July 2016 to apply for a marking review. Statistics related to marking reviews will be published in November 2016.

  • Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Laurence Robertson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the equality between mothers and fathers of court judgments on child custody and access to children; and if she will make a statement.

    Dr Phillip Lee

    The law requires the welfare of the child to be the court’s paramount concern when making any decision about a child’s upbringing, including with whom the child is to live or spend time. The courts must consider the individual facts of each case when making a decision.

    Decisions in these cases are a matter for the independent judiciary.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether ending her Department’s funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit would affect the UK’s Commitment to Action on the illegal wildlife trade.

    Rory Stewart

    An assessment of the effect of future funding decisions regarding the UK National Wildlife Crime Unit on the UK’s Commitment to Action on the Illegal Wildlife Trade has not yet been made.

    Decisions on future funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond March 2016 will be made as part of the current Spending Review process.

  • Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Lister of Burtersett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government which countries limit financial support for children by the number of dependent children.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The national systems for supporting families in and out of work are very different between countries and it is thus difficult to compare one system with another. Many countries do not have means-tested supplements for children.

    The Government believes that the welfare system needs to be fair to taxpayers as well as benefit claimants, which includes ensuring that families on benefits make the same sort of financial decisions about the number of children they can afford to have as families supporting themselves solely through work.

    In 2011 the UK spent more on family benefits than Germany, France or Sweden. The UK spent more than double the OECD average on cash benefits to families according to OBR’s welfare trends report 2015.

  • David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    David Anderson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many countries UK Reapers are currently operational.

    Penny Mordaunt

    UK Reapers are currently operational in Iraq and Syria. No UK Reapers have been deployed to Libya, and no personnel from UK Reaper Squadrons have been deployed to Libya, Kenya or Somalia in the last three years.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the procedures set out in the procurement policy note, Measures to promote tax compliance published in February 2014.

    Matthew Hancock

    These new measures on tax compliance, introduced in 2013, enable government departments to exercise their power to exclude firms bidding for government contracts where they have been non-compliant in meeting their legal tax obligations.

    The policy is compatible with the existing procurement process and is being updated to clarify the use of mandatory and discretionary exclusion criteria, contained in the new Public Contracts Regulations 2015, concerning tax compliance.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-03-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish from the Minister for Local Growth and the Northern Powerhouse of 18 February 2016, on accountability of combined authorities, whether the scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 apply to combined authorities.

    James Wharton

    The scrutiny requirements for combined authorities are set out in Schedule 5A to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as inserted by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, which provide that overview and scrutiny committees of combined authorities have powers to call in decisions and to involve other persons in their work. Schedule 5A also provides for secondary legislation which must ensure that the majority of members of an overview and scrutiny committee will be members of the combined authority’s constituent councils and that at least one member of an audit committee is an independent person. The scrutiny requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 do not apply to combined authorities.

  • Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Campbell of Pittenweem – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-04-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 8 February (HL5631), what measures they are taking to address the shortfall of personnel in (1) the regular, and (2) the reserve, battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

    Earl Howe

    The Army continues to offer exciting opportunities to young people. Over 7,800 new recruits joined the regular Army in financial year 2014-15 with intake increasing during financial year 2015-16, up to 29 February 2016 7,260 have joined the army of which, 175 Regulars and 140 Reserves have joined the Battalions of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

    There are two national recruitment campaigns currently running. The Army’s ‘A Better You’ for soldiers continues throughout 2016. After a principal focus on Regulars between June and March there will be a special emphasis on reserve-specific recruiting in April to June, September to October and January to February 2017. ‘A Better You’ will continue through the year with the reserve message forming an important aspect of the overarching campaign.

    The Army’s current officer recruiting campaign, ‘With Heart. With Mind’, is aimed at attracting potential officer candidates into regular and reserve service. ‘With Heart. With Mind’ will have a specific emphasis on reserve officers during the period of March to July 2016, and again in November.

    The national campaigns continue to be supported by regional level efforts. During financial year 2015-16 there were over 2,000 community engagement events in Scotland and nearly 300 targeted recruitment events.