UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Paul Monaghan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the length of time it is taking the British Virgin Island government to respond to its consultation on a public register of beneficial ownership.

    James Duddridge

    The BVI Government issued a public consultation document in November 2013, seeking public opinion on whether or not the BVI should adopt a central register of beneficial ownership. The consultation process concluded in March 2014 and this was followed by a review and analysis of the submissions. The results were published in February 2015. Since then the BVI Government has been working with the financial services industry to develop proposals which led to the Statement made by the Premier in the House of Assembly on 3 November on changes to the BVI Business Companies Act and Anti Money Laundering legislation. We will continue to work with the BVI authorities so that the changes to their systems meet the three criteria that the Government has set out.

  • Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nic Dakin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nic Dakin on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of classroom teachers earning £65,000 or more per year are women.

    Nick Gibb

    The data provided to the Department for Education by schools in the School Workforce Census, November 2014, shows that 72 per cent of classroom teachers earning £65,000 or more were women.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of (a) the extent of differential treatment of Palestinian and Israeli child detainees by Israel and (b) whether that differential is consistent with Israelis international human rights obligations.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We remain concerned about the use of a dual court system whereby Palestinians, except East Jerusalem residents, are subject to the Israeli military court system, irrespective of the charge, whereas Israeli citizens are dealt with by the Israeli civil justice system. We are clear that Israel has legal obligations as an Occupying Power with respect to the Occupied Palestinian Territories under applicable international law. We regularly discuss with the Government of Israel implementation of those obligations and raise our serious concerns regarding such issues as the treatment of Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons.

  • Baroness Valentine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Valentine – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Valentine on 2016-02-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 December 2015 (HL Deb, col 1885) on aviation capacity, what additional work is now being undertaken on (1) air quality, (2) noise, (3) carbon emissions, (4) surface access to airports, (5) managing the wider impacts of airports on local communities, and (6) the funding and financing of new runways; and when this work will be complete.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We are testing the Airports Commission’s work on air quality further against the Government’s new air quality plan, as recommended by the Environmental Audit Committee. This is additional work to test compliance, and build confidence that expansion can take place within legal limits. The further work on air quality is only one element of a wider package of further work.

    We are dealing with concerns about noise to get the best outcome for residents, and doing more work on carbon to address concerns on sustainability, particularly during construction. We want to make sure that communities get the best possible mitigation deal.

    In addition, we are doing due diligence on the plans for surface access to the airports by talking to both the promoters and the key delivery bodies.

    We are also carrying out extra assurance to assess the runways’ potential both locally and nationally so it can deliver more jobs, more growth and more apprenticeships.

    On funding and financing, the Airports Commission has provided an extensive examination of the costs, financing, and commercial viability of airport expansion. The Airports Commission and the scheme promoters have made it clear that new runway capacity will be privately delivered and financed.

    We anticipate that all this further work will conclude over the summer.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with Ofsted on assessing the quality of teaching English and mathematics in adult basic skills courses undertaken by (a) further education providers and (b) other providers.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is in regular contact with Ofsted both at Ministerial and official level to discuss the performance of further education (FE) colleges and providers. This includes the extent to which teaching, learning and assessment support adult learners to develop their skills in English and maths.

    Together with Department for Education, we have invested over £30m over the past 3 years to fund a range of measures to improve the further education workforce, with a focus on improving the teaching of English and maths. This has resulted in over 1,000 bursaries to attract graduates to teach in further education and over 3,800 existing FE teachers have benefited from training to improve their capability to teach high quality English and maths courses.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the National Living Wage on the level of child poverty in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire.

    Nick Boles

    The Government has made no such assessment.

    The Government is committed to working to eliminate child poverty and improving life chances for children. This includes making work pay, in which the National Living Wage has an important part to play, and also through our wider reforms to support parents to move into work, increase their earnings, and keep more of what they earn.

    The National Living Wage will benefit over 1 million low paid workers this year and 2.9 million directly by 2020. The introduction of the National Living Wage will mean that a full-time worker aged 25 or over previously on the National Minimum Wage will see their annual earnings increase by £910.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-04-27.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether sixth form colleges will be affected by VAT regulations if they convert to a 16 to 19 academy.

    Mr David Gauke

    Sixth form colleges that become academies will be subject to the same VAT rules as other academies.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much profit Govia Thameslink Railway was expected to make over the lifetime of its franchise according to the original business case; and how much profit that company has made since the start of that franchise.

    Claire Perry

    The profit Govia Thameslink Railway expected to make over the lifetime of its franchise is a commercially sensitive figure. With regard to their actual profits, Govia will publish their audited annual accounts as required through Companies House.

  • Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Loughton – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to mark Anti-Slavery Day 2016; and if she will make a statement.

    Sarah Newton

    Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October is an important opportunity to continue to raise awareness of this appalling crime. We have made good progress in tackling it, but there is more to do. A range of events will mark the day and I will announce my own plans in due course.

  • Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Peter Aldous – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Aldous on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Green Paper on the devolution of employment and support allowance WRAG and targeted support for claimants will be published.

    Penny Mordaunt

    We will publish a Green Paper later this year.