Category: Speeches

  • Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Helen Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when post-16 education in Warrington is planned to be reviewed under the area review process; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Boles

    All colleges in England will be subject to an Area Review. The timing of individual areas will be published in due course once they have been agreed by the National Area Review Steering Group. We have said that we will announce the area reviews in a series of waves, decisions on which area will be included in each wave will take account of a number of factors including whether colleges are deemed to be at financial risk.

    We expect reviews to last 3-4 months based on our early experiences, and we anticipate they will all be completed by March 2017.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 2.152 of Budget 2015, published in March 2015, whether his Department has had discussions with the European Commission on the compatibility of the Horserace Betting Right with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

    Tracey Crouch

    Officials have held discussions with the European Commission on the compatibility of a new Horserace Betting Right with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) training for army reservists and (b) social cohesiveness between reservists and full-time soldiers.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    As a result of constant reviews conducted by the Army to improve and modernise the delivery of training, opportunities for Army Reservists have never been better.

    Initial training for the Army Reserve was restructured last year. This has streamlined progression through the training programme, as Reservists enjoy greater flexibility with how they complete the modules in Phase 1.

    Phase 2 sees Reservists receive instruction at the same specialist training schools as their regular counterparts, equipping them with the professional skills required to fully integrate with the Regular Army.

    The Army currently offers 22 bespoke overseas training exercises for Reservists, which Reserve units lead with their paired Regular units integrated to improve interoperability and social cohesion. In addition, Reservists routinely train alongside their Regular counterparts from their paired and other units, in complex exercises at home and overseas, using the same equipment.

    Social cohesion between Reservists and Regular soldiers is further fostered though the growth of sports, social and Regimental events facilitated by the pairing mechanism, whereby each reserve unit is paired with a Regular Unit.

  • 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 2016-02-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Answer of 9 February 2016 to Question 25906, if he will place in the Library a copy of the analysis carried out by the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs on benefit and tax credit claims by recently arrived EEA migrants.

    Damian Hinds

    On 10th November 2015, DWP published an ad-hoc statistical release that provides the background to DWP’s figures regarding recently arrived EEA nationals’ claims to benefits. This can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-benefit-and-tax-credit-claims-by-recently-arrived-eea-migrants

    The background to the figures on tax credits claimed by recently arrived EEA nationals can be found here – https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tax-credit-statistics-on-eea-nationals

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times the charge for probate has been increased since 2010.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The fees payable on application for a non-contentious grant of probate have been increased twice since 2010.

  • Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rob Marris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rob Marris on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academy schools have been found to have made irregular payments to third party suppliers without the necessary contracts in each of the last three years.

    Edward Timpson

    The Education Funding Agency does not record information in this manner, and would only be able to gather such information at disproportionate cost.

  • Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Rebecca Long Bailey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rebecca Long Bailey on 2016-05-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure the enactment of UN Security Council Resolution 2248 on Burundi, passed on 12 November 2015.

    James Duddridge

    Under the UK’s Presidency the UN Security Council approved Resolution 2248 which provided for the deployment of a UN team to Burundi. We are now working with our partners on the UN Security Council to agree a deployment of UN police to Burundi. The force will be tasked with monitoring the situation, promoting respect for human rights and advancing the rule of law – all with the aim of creating conditions that will allow a political dialogue to go forward. We want the UN police to work closely with the African Union’s deployment of 200 military and human rights observers.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-06-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of UK aid in Syria.

    Sir Desmond Swayne

    To date, we have allocated £561 million to support people inside Syria. By May 2016, this had provided 16.3 million food rations; access to clean water for 2 million people; 3.5 million medical consultations; 5.1 million relief packages; and 8.3 million sanitation and hygiene activities.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-09-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department expects the European Medicines Agency London headquarters to be relocated.

    David Mowat

    The future arrangements which apply in relation to European Union (EU) institutions based in the United Kingdom should be determined once the United Kingdom has left the EU. It is too early to speculate on the future location of the European Medicines Agency.

  • Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Baroness Kennedy of Cradley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of Cradley on 2015-11-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to ensure that apprenticeships deliver the skills that are needed in the current world of work.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    We are committed to delivering employer-led apprenticeship reforms, which continue to improve the ability of apprenticeships to provide the skills that employers need.

    Employers are designing high quality apprenticeships – including Degree Apprenticeships -that are more responsive to the needs of business. They are deciding the skills, knowledge and behaviour required in each apprenticeship and how those skills should be assessed at the end of the programme. Through this process employers can be confident that completing an apprenticeship signals a genuine ability to do the job.