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Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-05-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding the demolition of Palestinian houses in al-Sowana neighbourhood and Shu’fat village.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Whilst we have not raised these specific demolitions, our Ambassador in Tel Aviv has raised our concerns on demolitions with the Israeli authorities, most recently on 15 May, and urged them to provide a legal route for Palestinians to obtain building permits.

  • Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people working for her Department or its executive agencies on a (a) directly employed, (b) agency or (c) outsourced basis are paid less than the living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation; and how many of those people are employed on zero-hours contracts.

    George Eustice

    There are no direct employees paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

    There are 2 direct employees currently paid less than the Living Wage in the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), none of which are employed on zero-hours contracts. One is an apprentice and the other is about to have their salary increased to the Living Wage rate.

    There are no employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in core-Defra, APHA, and VMD.

    There are 95 employment agency staff paid less than the Living Wage in RPA. None are employed on zero-hours contracts. All are paid at least the National Living Wage as defined by the Government.

  • Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gareth Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many enterprise zones there are in each (a) region and (b) local authority area in England; how long each zone has been in existence; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Percy

    There are currently 36 Enterprise Zones in England. The attached table provides a breakdown by region, local authority area and when each Enterprise Zone was established.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on how many occasions bed occupancy rates were (a) 85, (b) 90, (c) 95 and (d) 100 per cent in each hospital trust in Nottinghamshire in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    Official statistics for average daily occupancy rates for beds open overnight are published every quarter by NHS England on its website at the following address:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/

    “

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are holding discussions about reducing EU regulation of UK business.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    Reducing the burden of EU regulation is a critical element of stimulating jobs, competitiveness and growth in Europe. We welcome the European Commission’s recent progress in this area, but want them to go further. Together with other like-minded Member States, we are pressing the Commission to bring forward proposals for an EU target to cut the total burden on business, in line with the Prime Minister’s EU reform letter to European Council President Tusk.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations his Department has made to its Saudi Arabian counterpart on the case of Ali Al-Nimr, Dawood Al-Marhoon and Abdallah Al-Zaher.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We are very concerned about the cases of Ali Al-Nimr, Dawood Al-Marhoon and Abdallah Al-Zaher and we have raised these cases with the Saudi Arabian authorities, on many occasions – most recently on 3 January, at a very senior level. We continue to make representations on these cases and others like it, whenever the opportunity to do so arises.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-02-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings Ministers and officials of his Department have had with representatives of Uber since July 2015.

    Andrew Jones

    Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on a quarterly basis and are available via the gov.uk website.

    Since July 2015, representatives of Uber have had one meeting with Department for Transport officials.

  • Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Virendra Sharma – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Virendra Sharma on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what 10 Downing Street’s wellness strategy is.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Cabinet Office takes the well-being of its employees seriously and provides a range of support, including the recent launch of the Cabinet Office Listening Service, resourced by staff who have been trained in active listening and emotional support. The service can provide upfront support to Cabinet Office staff dealing directly or indirectly with specific issues in their personal or working life or to help them to cope with mental health issues of any kind including depression, anxiety or stress. Listeners can also signpost individuals onto other relevant services such as the external Employee Assistant Programme which offers counselling, impartial advice and access to online health and wellness related resources.

    The department has established an employee led WorkWell community to further develop and implement a strategy for wellness. Progress to date includes establishing resilience training for senior leaders and their teams, signing up to the Time to Change pledge on mental health, providing access to coaching and training in skills to improve wellbeing such as mindfulness. WorkWell are also seeking to increase awareness of opportunities to improve physical wellbeing at work including provision of on-site health checks.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding his Department received from the European Social Fund (a) between 2007 and 2014 and (b) from 2014 to the last month for which data is available.

    James Wharton

    None.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what forecast his Department has made of the cost of legal fees for the High Speed 2 project over the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department has appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to provide support in relation to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill. The value of the contract as agreed with Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group is £10.5m. The contract duration is from March 2012 until six months after Royal Assent.

    The Department has also appointed a joint team of solicitors/parliamentary agents from Winckworth Sherwood and Eversheds LLP to support the preparation of the HS2 Phase 2a hybrid bill, which is expected to be deposited in 2017. The value of the contract as agreed with Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group is £4.2m over three years, with the opportunity to extend the contract for an additional one or two years, subject to approval.

    The Department also continues to instruct a number of barristers to support the HS2 project. However, the use of barristers is demand led and so the total cost of fees over the next five years is not possible to forecast.