Category: Speeches

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2016-07-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 12 July (HL Deb, col 124), how many Syrian refugees have been settled in each of the 71 local authorities so far.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Progress on resettlement in each local authority is indicated in quarterly immigration statistics. The last set of statistics, published on 26 May 2016, showed that 1,602 Syrians were resettled in the UK under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme between October 2015 and March 2016 and sets out how many were located in each local authority.

  • Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Martyn Day – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martyn Day on 2016-09-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the introduction of a higher normal pension age in the Alpha pension scheme on the life expectancy of prison officers after retirement.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Prison officers are highly valued public servants, who do an important job protecting the public and keeping prisoners safe. The Justice Secretary recently met the POA to discuss their concerns.

    Public sector pension schemes have been reformed to rebalance taxpayer and member contributions in the short term, and to ensure that costs are sustainable and fair in the long term.

    An Equalities Assessment for the Alpha pension age change is available on gov.uk. The change eventually moves normal pension age to 68, and was introduced in the context of generally improving life expectancy. The higher normal pension age of 68 does not take effect until 2042, and of 67 not until 2025.

  • Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Stephen McPartland – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen McPartland on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the National Group on Sexual Violence Against Children and Vulnerable People has made on establishing a Child Sexual Exploitation Response Unit; and if she will make a statement.

    Karen Bradley

    The actions which stemmed from the National Group’s work have been incorporated into a cross-Whitehall CSA Programme which includes the actions from the “Tackling CSE” report published in March 2015, and the WeProtect Summit in December 2014.

    Good progress is being made across the range of commitments in the CSA Programme, including that to establish a new national response unit to help local areas when child sexual exploitation is a particular concern. The Government will publish a progress report on all actions within the Programme one year on from the publication of “Tackling CSE”.

  • Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2015-12-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much from the Funding for Lending scheme has been allocated (a) for lending on mortgages prior to the change in rules for such lending in 2014 and (b) for lending to small and medium-sized enterprises since the change in those rules.

    Harriett Baldwin

    UK banks and building societies that participate in in the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) are able to borrow funding from the Bank of England, with the amount they are able to borrow (their ‘borrowing allowance’) linked to their net lending performance. FLS usage and lending data is published on the Bank of England website at the following link: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/Pages/FLS/extensiondata.aspx

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-01-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2016 to Question 22574, for what reasons, during the closure of the Bexleyheath rail line during the week beginning 11 January 2016, (a) Southeastern services on adjacent lines were cancelled, (b) there was a lack of information about alternative services and (c) staff had no information to pass onto customers about alternative services or when replacement bus services would arrive; what systems were put in place to communicate regular updates of information to staff so customers could be given accurate advice; what advice was given to staff regarding assistance for people with disabilities; what steps he is taking to determine whether the responses to the situation from Network Rail and Southeastern were adequate; and if he will make a statement.

    Claire Perry

    Following the unfortunate landslip at Barnehust, it was necessary to close the line serving Bexleyheath in order that repairs could be carried out.

    As a result of the Bexleyheath line closure, Southeastern have had to run more trains on the adjacent lines to provide extra capacity for passengers. This led to minimal cancellations to the scheduled timetable on adjacent lines.

    Information regarding alternative travel arrangements was provided by posters at affected stations, station announcements, on National Rail Industry systems, the Southeastern website and on social media.

    Staff were given regular updates on the alternative travel arrangements and station announcements were made where appropriate. Replacement buses were in operation between Lewisham and Dartford via Bexleyheath in both directions. Other bus services were accepting Southeastern tickets, additionally, Docklands Light Railway and London Underground were accepting tickets where appropriate. Regular updates were provided to station management, who provided briefings to their station staff. The Passenger Assist service was in effect and Southeastern staff were advised to book taxis from stations that were not accessible for those passengers who required them.

    My officials were in regular contact with Southeastern and Network Rail, who ensured that the line was opened as quickly as possible and that passengers were kept informed at all times.

  • Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Keith Vaz – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Keith Vaz on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce ambulance waiting times in (a) the East Midlands and (b) England.

    Jane Ellison

    Ambulance services are facing unprecedented demand, delivering over 2,800 more emergency journeys every day compared to 2010 and still continue to respond to the majority of life-threatening cases in under eight minutes.

    The Department continues to work closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement to monitor and support performance across all ambulance trusts in 2015-16. In the longer term, NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Review will aim to tackle the root causes of the increasing demand on urgent and emergency care services.

    East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust has put measures in place with local partners to address performance issues, including rapid handover protocols with hospitals, a significant recruitment drive, a sickness reduction plan for staff, and working with local NHS 111 providers to ensure that patients are sent the most appropriate response at the right time.

  • Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Julie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Cooper on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average ambulance response times in East Lancashire were for (a) Red One and (b) Red Two emergencies in 2015.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publishes the number of Category A Red One and Red Two calls responded to within the eight minute performance standard for these two categories.

    This data is published on a monthly basis at both an England national level and at individual ambulance trust level. East Lancashire is covered by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The data for 2015 is available at the following link:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

    – see interactive ambulance systems indicators time series to January 2016.

  • Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Tom Brake – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Brake on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to promote the environmental practices developed during the construction of the Beddington Zero Energy Development in Hackbridge.

    James Wharton

    When completed in 2002 the Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZed) in Hackbridge was at the forefront in its use of low carbon and energy efficient technologies and sustainability concepts. Since then the Government has made significant changes to both the Building Regulations and planning regimes to embed and mainstream energy efficiency and sustainability principles, taking learning where appropriate from BedZed and other similar innovative sustainable developments.

  • Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Thomas of Winchester – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Thomas of Winchester on 2016-05-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will include the current mobility criterion of 20 metres in the next review of Personal Independence Payments.

    Baroness Altmann

    The terms of reference for the next Independent Review of Personal Independence Payment will be announced in due course.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effects on charities of the outcome of the EU referendum.

    Mr Rob Wilson

    The UK has a strong and diverse charitable sector. It is too early at this stage to make a full assessment of the potential effects for charities resulting from the outcome of the EU referendum. We will continue working with charities and their representative bodies to understand the potential effects on charities and the potential impact on funding for charities. These will depend on the arrangements agreed for exiting the EU, and different types of charity are likely to be affected in different ways.