Category: Speeches

  • Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Wills – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2015-11-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to continue the operation of the Care Leaver Strategy, and what plans they have to ensure that cross-departmental work to support care leavers is maintained.

    Lord Nash

    In 2013, the government published the Care Leaver Strategy. That document set out plans to improve support for care leavers, including in housing, health, employment and education. In 2014, the Department for Education reported that the commitments contained in the Care Leaver Strategy had been implemented or were in the process of being so.

    We recognise, however, that many young people leaving care still face significant challenges. That is why my colleague, the Minister for Children and Families, recently announced that he has asked officials within the department to lead the development of a refreshed strategy, to be published next year. That work will include a consideration of how government departments and agencies can best work together, on an ongoing basis, to ensure that care leavers are offered the support they need in order to manage the transition to independent living successfully.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Tulip Siddiq – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2015-12-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times claimants of working age on unemployment benefits have been interviewed under caution by staff of his Department in each of the last five years.

    Priti Patel

    We do not hold official statistics to the National Statistical Authority and so we are unable to provide this information.

  • Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jo Cox – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Cox on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, by what process the trade supplement for an RAF weapon technician was decided under Armed Forces Pay Reform.

    Penny Mordaunt

    For Other Ranks, the Ministry of Defence uses a long-standing and rigorous process of Job Evaluation (JE) to determine the pay treatment of each trade. In the current binary pay model which consists of High and Low Pay Bands, JE evidence assigns the role of the RAF Weapon Technician to the High Pay Band. In the new pay system, with its four supplements and greater flexibility, the same JE evidence assigns the Weapon Technician to Supplement 2, while other trades in the RAF’s Trade Group 1 (TG1) (Aircraft Engineering) are assigned to Supplement 3. This does not mean there has been a reduction in the Weapon Technician’s technical status or intrinsic value. It reflects the fact that the other trades in TG1 continue to score higher in the JE process and therefore continue to be treated differently in pay terms.

    No-one will take a pay cut on transition to the new model and Service personnel will continue to be eligible for any Government approved pay award. Incremental progressions will also continue to be a feature of the new pay model, though rationalised.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many two year olds in Ashfield constituency have received the 15 hours free childcare allowance (a) in private, voluntary or independent sector nurseries and (b) from childminders registered to provide early years education in each academic year since that allowance was introduced.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Information at constituency level is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Craig Whittaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department has allocated to arts groups in Calder Valley in each of the last three years.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Calder Valley has received the following Arts Council funding over the last three years – £378,238 in 2013/14; £355,900 in 2014/15; and £300,298 in 2015/16 (year to date 8 March).

    This investment from Arts Council England has supported a number of projects, including the Lamplighter Festival, Mytholmroyd Arts Festival and the Routes into Theatre project.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of pregnant women had a mental health assessment in each year since 2010.

    Alistair Burt

    The information requested is not collected.

  • Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Ben Bradshaw – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Bradshaw on 2016-05-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether UK citizens will have the rights that currently apply to access higher education in the EU in the event of the UK leaving the EU and prior to the completion of exit negotiations under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

    Joseph Johnson

    The procedure governing a country’s departure from the EU is set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This provides for a period of two years for the negotiation of exit terms. The EU Treaties would continue to apply to the departing Member State until the Article 50 agreement had entered into force, or for two years if no agreement had been reached and no extension to the two year period had been granted. A request for an extension could only be granted with the unanimous agreement of the remaining Member States. The Government’s position is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-07-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what weight is given to the ability to provide services in the Welsh language when assessing tenders for (a) learning and skills and (b) industries at HM Prison Berwyn.

    Andrew Selous

    The Learning and Skills and Prison Industries Competitions are both in progress. The final evaluation criteria is under development and details are neither finalised nor in the public domain. On that basis the draft evaluation criteria which detail the weightings are currently commercially sensitive and cannot be released at this stage.

    However, the contracts for both services will include clauses requiring compliance in relation to Welsh language. The evaluation takes into account a variety of measures and the assessment of Welsh language is being considered as part of the on-going work to finalise evaluation criteria and other tender documentation.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to monitor compliance by betting shops with the gambling minimum age.

    Tracey Crouch

    The protection of children from being harmed or exploited by gambling is one of the core objectives of the Gambling Act 2005.

    For high street betting, this means those under the age of 18 are prohibited from entering or gambling within a betting premises. The Gambling Commission, responsible for compliance on this issue, strengthened the requirements on betting operators to monitor the effectiveness of these age verification controls in May 2015.

    The number of individuals challenged upon entry to a betting sector premises but unable to prove their age was 475,646 between Oct 2014- Sep 2015. This is across a total of 9000 betting shops and is a decrease of 8.2% or 42,598 incidents compared to the previous reporting period of Apr 2014 – Mar 2015; continuing a 3-year decline. The number of individuals challenged having gambled but unable to prove their age also fell, by 14%, to 23,619 from 27,445 in the same time period.

    Where there is a failure to prevent underage gambling, regulatory and/or criminal action is taken.

  • Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the The Lord Chairman of Committees

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Chairman of Committees whether any staff of the House of Lords are paid less than the recommended Living Wage for London, and if so, how many and in which departments they work.

    Lord Laming

    The House of Lords Administration was accredited as a London Living Wage employer in November 2013. We have kept in line with changes to the Living Wage since. No staff employed by the House Administration are paid below the London Living Wage.