Category: Speeches

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations his Department has received from internet service providers on the rollout of fibre-optic broadband; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    I hold regular discussions with internet service providers on a wide range of issues. A number of communications infrastructure suppliers and service providers attended the recent not-spot summit on 3 February where they were given the opportunity to discuss the challenges for both mobile and superfast broadband coverage.

  • Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Maria Eagle – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his Department’s planned expenditure on workforce training for staff in public libraries is for (a) 2016-17, (b) 2017-18, (c) 2018-19 and (d) 2019-20.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Public libraries are funded and run by local authorities. My Department has through Arts Council England’s Library Development Funding, which supports the development of public libraries in England including workforce training, provided £680,000 in 2012/13; £683,000 in 2013/14; £595,000 in 2014/15; and £744,000 in 2015/16. Workforce development is also one of the priorities of the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce, established in 2015 by my Department and the Local Government Association.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what procedures her Department has to ensure that aviation watch lists are cross-referenced with passenger manifests; and what steps her Department takes in instances of failure of such procedures.

    James Brokenshire

    The Government works closely with all carriers, not just British registered carriers, to connect their systems to the Government’s border systems to ensure those connections are operating properly and to ensure that any IT problems are identified and resolved. Should any circumstance arise where a carrier should have refused authority to carry an individual to the UK, that individual will be met on arrival. Border Force also conducts 100% checks at passport control on all passengers arriving in the UK by commercial air, rail or maritime services at passport controls. This includes screening against watch lists.

  • Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Nick Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what the annual budget is for food produced for his Department’s offices; and what proportion of food produced for his Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Department for Communities and Local Government does not have an annual food budget. Catering services are provided via a contract with Interserve Plc, and is operated on a nil subsidy basis.

    Annual spend is determined by the contractor and is informed by private sales to members of staff.

    Approximately 34% of products across all food and drink categories were sourced from British producers as at March 2016.This proportion reflects that a large volume of food and drink sold includes non-indigenous products such as rice, pasta, tea, coffee and bananas, and that as this period falls in the Winter season there are out of UK seasonal products procured from the wider EU.

    The proportion also reflects consumer trends, and the commercial contractor’s pursuit of value for money given the nil subsidy arrangement.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to speed up the application process for refugee family reunion.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Customer service is a key priority for UK Visas and Immigration, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the visa application process is kept under regular review, including by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. Customers now apply and pay online in addition to being able to make appointments to submit their documents and biometrics at visa application centres in over 200 locations around the world.

    The published service standard for resolving refugee family reunion applications is within 12 weeks, or 60 working days. Where an application is complex and likely to take longer than the advertised processing times, UKVI will contact the applicant to inform them of this. The average processing time for 2015 was 40 days.

  • Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andy McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy McDonald on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether risk adjustments have been made to the rail passenger franchises currently out to tender for services on the (a) South Western, (b) West Midlands and (c) East Anglia lines since 23 June 2016; and if he will provide details of any such adjustments in each case.

    Paul Maynard

    The Department issued the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the West Midlands franchise on 30 August 2016, and bidders have until 29 November 2016 to submit their bids. The Department intends to follow the risk adjustment process as detailed in the published ITT once bids have been received.

    The Department is evaluating bids for the South Western rail franchise and intends to follow the risk adjustment process as detailed in Appendix 3 to the Invitation to Tender, published on the Department’s website.

    The East Anglia franchise competition concluded on 23 August, when the Department signed the Franchise Agreement with Abellio East Anglia. The Department followed the risk adjustment process detailed in the Invitation to Tender, published on the Department’s website.

    The Department does not communicate the detail of Risk Adjustments, as these relate to cost and revenue details of the leading bid, which are commercially sensitive.

  • Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what involvement her Department has had in the grant originally made available to the Pioneer Communities Project that was administered through her Department.

    Edward Timpson

    No grant funding was made available by the Department for Education to support the Pioneer Communities Project.

  • Lord Faulkner of Worcester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Faulkner of Worcester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Faulkner of Worcester on 2015-12-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will ensure that all Premier League clubs comply with the Sports Grounds Safety Authority’s Accessible Stadia guide by August 2017, and what steps they will take to monitor progress toward that goal.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Minister for Sport and her officials meet regularly with both the Premier League and the Football League and will ensure that the matter of accessible stadia and compliance with the Accessible Stadia Guide remain high on the agenda with both organisations.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has been made with his EU counterparts on resolving the issue of the confiscation of property held by EU nationals in Goa.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Joint lobbying with EU counterparts has not been pursued because those affected are predominately UK nationals. Our High Commission has consistently lobbied the Goan government and local authorities on the main issues relating to property disputes involving British nationals. This has lead to contact between the UK nationals in the Goa Property Working Group and officials working for the Goa Property Committee, the relevant Indian government body.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on teachers’ workloads of the new system for assessment of pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

    Nick Gibb

    We have made removing unnecessary workload a priority so that the efforts of teachers are focused on teaching. Our primary assessment reforms have been designed to put arrangements for the majority of classroom assessment back into the hands of the school and to reduce the tracking burdens that national curriculum levels encouraged. We believe schools are best placed to decide how to assess pupils in line with their curriculum and that over time this should lead to a reduction in teacher workload.

    Following the introduction of the new national curriculum and the removal of levels, we have developed new forms of statutory assessment at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2. The duty to report assessment at these points remains unchanged from previous years. We do recognise, however, that in this first year the new forms of assessment are used pupils and teachers will be adapting their approach. The best way to prepare pupils remains to focus on teaching the new national curriculum, which schools have been doing since September 2014.

    Throughout the introduction of our important reforms to primary assessment, we have worked closely with teachers and head teachers and continue to listen to the concerns of the profession as the details of the new arrangements are finalised. We are working constructively with the teaching profession and their representatives to find solutions to some of the remaining issues.