Category: Speeches

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-05-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport of 4 May 2016, Official Report, column 286, stating that the Government intends to commence sections 165 and 167 of the Equality Act 2010 in 2016, if he will also impose a statutory requirement on the driver of a private hire vehicle to accept and assist a wheelchair user and not to charge extra for providing such assistance.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government intends to commence sections 165 and 167 of the Equality Act 2010 this year, and impose this requirement upon both Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle drivers.

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

    Tom Blenkinsop – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Blenkinsop on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the British steel industry to future transport infrastructure projects in the UK.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department has been working closely with BIS, Cabinet Office and industry to consider how Government can help the UK steel industry meet the challenges it has been facing.

    The bulk of infrastructure projects within the Department are being delivered by the Department’s Arm’s Length Bodies (ALB), in particular, Network Rail, Highways England and HS2. Cabinet Office guidance on the approach to steel procurement has been circulated to the Accounting Officers of each ALB and procurement and commercial teams within these organisations are aware of the need to:

    • Signal the future pipeline of requirements on steel sourcing and best practice in pre-procurement market engagement;
    • Ensure there is clear visibility of opportunities at sub-contractor level where the source of steel has not been defined by a Tier 1 contractor;
    • Assess the health and sustainability of potential suppliers in the supply chain at selection stage, including compliance with relevant health and safety and employment legislation;
    • Ensure that the price or cost calculations are based on an assessment of the whole-life cost and not lowest purchase price;
    • Take account of appropriate social and environmental impacts at the award stage where they are linked to the subject of the contract.

    As with the rest of the materials for construction, steel is procured by the supply chain for the majority of our infrastructure projects. The Department and its ALBs are complying with the Cabinet Office guidance and ensuring that, for instance, where appropriate, assessment of social and environmental impacts are considered as part of the evaluation criteria. The Department and its ALBs also positively encourage bids from British companies and are holding discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to win contracts.

    Activity currently underway is as follows:

    Network Rail

    • Network Rail buys approximately 120,000 tonnes of steel for rails per annum directly from British Steel in Scunthorpe, which is around 96% of Network Rail’s total aggregated demand by value.

    Highways England

    • Highways England does not procure steel materials directly, however over the last five years Highways England has used a category management framework as the main method of procuring steel gantries for the Strategic Road Network.
    • To date circa 95% of this steel has been drawn from British Steel in the UK, which equates to approximately 11,000 tonnes of steel. The approximate framework spend is £30 million, of which about 35% will be steel procurement i.e. raw materials, and will equate to around £10.5 million.

    Crossrail

    • The 57km of steel required for the rails of Crossrail’s brand new central tunnel section is being sourced entirely from British Steel in Scunthorpe. This equates to 7,000 tonnes of steel.
    • Crossrail Ltd does not directly procure steel as this is undertaken by their tier 1 contractors and their supply chains. However, Crossrail keeps an oversight of its critical contracts and estimates that 85% of its supply chain providing steel to the project is UK based.

    HS2

    • It is estimated that HS2 will need approximately 2 million tonnes of steel over the next 10 years. The procurement for the main civil engineering works between Euston and Birmingham is now underway with procurements for the stations and rail systems expected to commence later this year and for rolling stock in early 2017. Subject to Royal Assent, the project will start construction in 2017.
    • As with the rest of the materials for construction, steel is procured by the supply chain. HS2 positively encourages bids from British companies and is already holding discussions with UK suppliers to make sure they are in the best possible position to complete for contracts for the steel that will be needed for track, concrete reinforcements, overhead wires and other structures.
  • Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Bruce of Bennachie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Bruce of Bennachie on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they provide to deaf people in developing countries.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    People with disabilities are the largest minority group globally. An estimated one billion people have a disability globally, 80% of whom live in developing countries. People with disabilities are often the poorest in their community and many face considerable levels of stigma, discrimination and persecution.

    DFID follows a ‘twin-track’ approach to disability inclusion. This means we aim to attach priority to disability in all our policies and programmes as well as supporting disability-targeted programmes.

    Over the last two years, DFID has strengthened our capacity to work on disability inclusion, including by appointing a director-level champion, employing three full-time staff to work solely on disability, and developing a group of Internal Disability Expert Advisers from across our organisation.

    DFID’s efforts to date have included:

    • Furnishing schools with equipment and training teachers so children with disabilities can get a quality education.
    • Providing grants to local Disabled People Organisations, allowing people with disabilities to come together and lobby governments on the issues which affect them.
    • Collecting data on disability so we can fully understand the scale of impact and how best to support those people it affects.

    For example, two projects in the UK’s flagship Girls Education Challenge are exclusively focused on addressing the issue that girls with disabilities are less likely to access education. Specific interventions include provision of assistive devices and scholastic materials for girls with hearing impairments and improvement of teacher skills to enable them to communicate in sign language, which has encouraged parents to enrol their children in schools.

  • Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Tania Mathias – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tania Mathias on 2015-11-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether the agreement signed with China to fund Hinckley Point C nuclear reactor includes funding from China for (a) decommissioning costs and (b) emergency clean-up costs.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The basis on which Chinese companies will invest in the Hinkley Point C project is set out in the strategic investor agreement agreed between EDF and CGN in October. The terms of this agreement are a matter for EDF.

    Operators of new nuclear power stations are required to have a Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) approved by the Secretary of State before nuclear related construction can begin. The FDP sets out how a new nuclear operator will make secure financial provision for decommissioning their power station and managing and disposing of its waste without recourse to the taxpayer.

    Operators of nuclear power stations are also required to put in place insurance or other financial security to meet their nuclear third party liabilities.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of the total declared claw back from BT under National Broadband Scheme contracts has been reallocated to local authorities for additional roll-out under the Scheme.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    All of the£129 million clawback funding that has been announced by BT is available to the local authorities to support additional roll-out, subject to suitable deployment opportunities being identified which ensure value for money.

  • Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Lord Pendry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pendry on 2016-01-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent allegations of match-fixing in top-level tennis, including at Wimbledon.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    These are serious accusations and they need to be looked into quickly.

    The Secretary of State has spoken to the tennis authorities and we ar determined to do all we can to support them in ensuring that the game is absolutely clean, and we are assured they are committed to this aim too. We welcome the news that the Association of Tennis Professionals have announced a thorough independent review into the accusations and that they will be implementing its recommendations.

    Primary responsibility for monitoring betting markets or sporting events rest with the betting operators and sports governing bodies respectively.

  • Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Christopher Chope – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christopher Chope on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any Barnett consequentials arise from the Local Government Finance Report (England) 2016-17.

    Greg Hands

    The Barnett Formula will be applied in the usual way to any additional funding from the Exchequer arising from the final local government finance settlement for 2016-17.

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-03-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) sporting stakeholders on setting up an independent body to fund research into anti-doping in sport; and if he will make a statement.

    David Evennett

    The World Anti-Doping Agency, to which the UK pays an annual fee, conducts research into anti-doping in sport that is utilised by national anti-doping organisations including UK Anti-Doping.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip is paid in his capacity as a Minister attending Cabinet.

    Matthew Hancock

    The hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip is not a Minister attending Cabinet, but attends political cabinet meetings. He is not paid a Ministerial Salary.

  • Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb on 2016-05-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pregnant women are currently held in detention under the Immigration Act 2014.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Home Office will not necessarily be aware that a woman is pregnant unless she chooses to make this known to us and a woman may not know herself that she is pregnant when she is detained. It may not always be appropriate for healthcare professionals to disclose information that the patient has asked not to be disclosed.

    As of 19 May 2016 there were no pregnant women detained under Immigration Act powers in an immigration removal centre or residential short-term holding facility, subject to these conditions.