Category: Speeches

  • Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Gareth Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Thomas on 2015-10-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to encourage the European Commission and the World Bank to promote road safety in their infrastructure funding; and if she will make a statement.

    Grant Shapps

    Road traffic injuries cost developing countries an estimated 1-2% of their gross national product, equivalent to over US$100 billion annually, with a widening of the disparity between advanced and developing countries. Road accidents kill an estimated 1.3 million people and injure up to 78 million people each year.

    DFID is committed to supporting the international community to reach the Sustainable Developments Goals, including Goal 11 which includes improving Road Safety as one of its targets.

    DFID recently increased its funding to the Global Road Safety Facility (GRSF) hosted at the World Bank and will contribute £4.5 million between 2013 and 2017. The GRSF provides funding, knowledge, and technical assistance that lever road safety investments into transport sector programmes.

    We also work with the European Commission through the Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund for financing transport projects. Through our role on the Global Road Safety Facility and our work on transport with Multilateral Development Banks we require all such projects to include stronger components on road safety.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how he plans for part-time taught masters students who study at a minimum of 50 per cent intensity, but not by means of distance learning, to access the proposed new postgraduate loans scheme.

    Joseph Johnson

    A consultation on support for postgraduate study was launched in March of this year. The consultation sought views on the Government’s intention to introduce a new loan scheme for taught Master’s study and a review of how to broaden and strengthen support for postgraduate research. Consultation responses have been analysed and the Department is preparing its response.

  • Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Alison Thewliss – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Thewliss on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will estimate how many foreign direct investment projects were developed in Scotland originating from other EU countries in (a) 2012-13, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; and how many jobs were (i) created by each of those projects and (ii) safeguarded by those projects.

    Anna Soubry

    Below is a breakdown of successful foreign direct investment projects into Scotland from EU countries in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 together with the estimated number of jobs created and safeguarded, as recorded by UK Trade & Investment.

    Projects

    New Jobs

    Safeguarded jobs

    2012-13

    27

    2,110

    491

    2013-14

    33

    1,960

    968

    2014-15

    34

    883

    648

    Source: UKTI FDI projects database.

  • Lord McAvoy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord McAvoy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord McAvoy on 2016-01-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the minutes and papers of the last seven meetings of the Joint Exchequer Committee.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The UK and Scottish governments publish a joint communique after each meeting of the Joint Exchequer Committee, it outlines what was discussed at the meeting. The negotiations are ongoing and require a private space in which discussions can make progress.

    The UK government has no plans to publish any further minutes or papers from the Joint Exchequer Committee.

  • Anne McLaughlin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne McLaughlin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne McLaughlin on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average length of time was for an application for British citizenship from submission of initial application to decision in the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    The average length of time taken to consider an application for British citizenship in the period 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015 was 108.89 calendar days. This is the most recent period for which statistics on the number of applications considered have been published. The service standard for citizenship applications is to decide 98.5% of cases within 6 months (183 calendar days).

  • Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Anne Main – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Main on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many nationals of other EU member states are awaiting deportation from the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The removal of foreign national offenders (FNOs) has been increasing year on year since 2010. In 2015, 5,602 FNOs were removed, the highest number in a year since records began in 2009.

    As of December 2015, there were 4,217 EEA foreign national offenders awaiting deportation.

    (1) The figures quoted have been derived from management information from the Home Office databases and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

    (2) A Foreign National Offender (FNO) is defined as an individual with a criminal case on the Home Office’s Case Information Database (CID) and may include individuals with asylum cases.

  • Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Bob Blackman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bob Blackman on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to his international counterparts on reports of a UN-funded Palestinian non-governmental organisation, Union of Agriculture Work Committee, organised a tree planting ceremony honouring 209 martyrs of the popular uprising.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    While we have not made any representations to our international counterparts about this specific issue, we condemn all acts of terrorism and incitement to commit violence, whichever side it comes from.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2016-05-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Government has applied to the European Commission Globalisation Adjustment Fund; and whether each such application was successful.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The UK has not made any applications to the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF).

    The European Globalisation Fund (EGF) provides a financial contribution for active labour market measures, aimed at reintegrating those made or at risk of being made redundant in the labour market. EGF Regulations state that these measures must complement actions at national, regional and local level.

    The EGF Regulations also set out strict criteria and eligibility for potential applicants with regards to the number of redundancies that take place over a given period of time and the link between these redundancies and globalisation or the global financial and economic crisis.

    The UK already offers a broad range of personalised support to workers made redundant through its Rapid Response Service and Jobcentre Plus, which could therefore not be duplicated or substituted by EGF.

    The Rapid Response Service and the Jobcentre Plus Core Offer are effective reintegration tools which represent good value for money and are our primary and most effective means of response to support the industry.

    In addition to this, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills also announced packages of support worth up to £80 million for SSI in Redcar.

    It has, therefore, not been necessary to make an application for EGF funding to provide complementary support.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-07-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 18 July (HL948 and HL949), what assessment they have made of the factors contributing to the low number of black, Asian and ethnic minority candidates being recommended for judicial appointments; how those factors are being addressed; and whether they plan to support the development and introduction of pre-appointment training for those from under-represented groups seeking judicial appointments.

    Lord Keen of Elie

    The Government recognises that judges from a Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) background are under-represented in the judiciary in England and Wales when compared with the general population. We are committed to continue working with the judiciary and all others concerned to make sure that, while appointments will always be made on merit, the pool of candidates is as diverse as possible.

    On average over the last 5 years, 11 per cent of candidates recommended for judicial appointment were from BAME groups. Meanwhile, 10 per cent of appointed judges aged over 50 were from BAME backgrounds on 1 April 2015.

    The Government is committed to working with other members of the Judicial Diversity Forum, including the Judicial Appointments Commission, the judiciary and the legal professions, to explore ways of increasing the percentage of judges from under-represented groups, including individuals from a BAME background, whilst continuing to safeguard the fundamental principle of appointment on merit. The Forum is considering the feasibility of proposals around pre-application training. The Government fully supports such work and is strongly committed to the judicial diversity agenda.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of NHS trusts have agreed financial control totals for the next two years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Trusts’ access to the Sustainability and Transformation Fund (STF) will be through a formal agreement of financial control totals (and other STF criteria) between NHS Improvement and trust boards, as part of the two-year planning process. The planning timetable includes full plan submissions by the end of December 2016 and we expect to publish figures in the new year.

    To date indicative financial control totals and STF allocations for 2017/18 and 2018/19 were communicated to trusts in letters from NHS Improvement on 30 September 2016.