Category: Speeches

  • Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Michelle Donelan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-06-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to support the electric car industry.

    Anna Soubry

    The UK offers one of the most comprehensive packages of support for ultra low emission vehicles in the world, and has committed funding of more than £600m by 2020. This includes plug-in car and van grants, support for recharging infrastructure, a joint government-industry communications campaign, as well as substantial investment in R&D. In addition, the Government and industry are investing around £1bn over 10 years in the Advanced Propulsion Centre to develop, commercialise and enable the manufacture of advanced propulsion technologies in the UK. The UK manufacturers around one in five of the pure electric cars sold in the European Union.

  • Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mary Glindon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Glindon on 2016-09-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what response his Department plans to make to the reports published on 9 September by (a) the Office for National Statistics and (b) Public Health England on drug-related deaths; and if he will make a statement.

    Nicola Blackwood

    The Government is concerned by the increase in the number of drug-related deaths registered since 2013, particularly among ageing heroin users.

    Effective drug treatment helps prevent drug-related deaths. The Government provides local authorities with funding to provide drug treatment through the Public Health Grant, and the Public Health Outcomes Framework includes an indicator measuring drug-related deaths. Last year the Government amended the Medicines Regulations to enable more people to have access to naloxone which reverses the effects of heroin overdoses. Many ageing drug users also have health problems that can and should be treated by the National Health Service.

    Public Health England (PHE) and the Local Government Association convened an expert group to investigate the causes of the rise in drug-related deaths and how to prevent future premature deaths. The inquiry report was published on 9 September and a copy is attached. PHE will develop a further programme of work to prevent drug-related deaths in response to the inquiry report’s recommendations.

    The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has set up a working group to investigate and better understand drug-related drugs at the United Kingdom level, and we will respond in due course to any recommendations.

  • Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Adam Afriyie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Adam Afriyie on 2015-11-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed merger of O2 and Three on the competitive functioning of the mobile telecommunications industry.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The assessment of the impact of mergers on competition is a matter for the independent competition regulators. In the case of the takeover ofTelefónica UK (O2)byCKHutchison Holdings Ltd. (CKHH), which owns Three, the competent authority is the European Commission, due to the international scope of the deal, although the UK Competition and Markets Authority has applied for jurisdiction.

    Any authority ruling on this merger will take advice from Ofcom, the UK’s independent communications regulator, on competition in the mobile communications sector in the UK.

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

    Lord Storey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Storey on 2015-12-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role local authorities and school governors have in agreeing annual school budgets.

    Lord Nash

    Maintained schools receive a delegated budget from their local authority. Local authorities are required to maintain a scheme for financing schools that sets out the framework for the financial relationship between them and the schools they maintain. This requires that the school’s formal annual budget plan must be approved by the governors. This approval is undertaken on the basis that the budget is being used for the purposes of the school.

    Under the scheme for financing schools, a local authority’s responsibilities are to review schools’ budget plans; to carry out high level monitoring of school budgets; to agree a deficit reduction programme with schools in deficit; to challenge excess surplus balances held by schools without good reason; to intervene in schools for which there are financial concerns.

  • Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Kevin Brennan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevin Brennan on 2016-01-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank on the level of investment it will make in the UK green economy.

    Anna Soubry

    The privatisation of the Green Investment Bank will allow the company to increase its investments in the UK green economy. It will be able to raise more capital free from being on the Government balance sheet. It will also be free from State Aid restrictions on the green investments it can make.

  • Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Fuller – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2016-02-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent progress has been made on the High Level Prosperity Partnership in Africa.

    James Duddridge

    In 2013 we established high level prosperity partnerships with Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania. They form the context within which the UK seeks to increase mutual prosperity and generate jobs.

    The recent appointment of The Rt Hon Baroness Northover as trade envoy for Angola, my Honourable Friend, the Member for Windsor, as trade envoy for Ghana and my Honourable Friend, the Member for Newbury, as trade envoy for Mozambique will further enhance these partnerships.

    Our commitment to these agreements is illustrated by regular high-level visits, totalling 14 in the last three years.

  • Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Jowell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Jowell on 2016-03-02.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been spent from the public purse on defending the case The Queen on the application ZAT, IAJ, KAM, AAM, MAT, MAJ and LAM v Secretary of State for the Home Department, and how much they estimate will be spent on their appeal.

    Lord Bates

    The Secretary of State’s legal costs currently stand at £53,747.82. It is not possible to estimate how much will be spent on the appeal at this juncture.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to prevent the growing of cannabis.

    Karen Bradley

    Growing cannabis, whether for personal use or organised supply, is illegal and those who do so can face significant jail sentences.

    The investigation and prevention of illegal cannabis cultivation is an operational matter for the police. The police use proactive operations and seizures to target dealers and the organised gangs behind illegal cannabis farms and promoting cooperation with all partners including the fire service, energy companies and the property sector.

    They are also working to continually improve their knowledge and understanding of the trade through activity-led intelligence gathering.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-05-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total size was of the Government’s fleet of M3 Amphibious Rig bridging vehicles in each of the last six years.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    38 M3 Amphibious Rigs have been in service with the British Army in each of the last six years. No additional rigs have been loaned from the German Army during that time. The planned out of service date for the M3 amphibious rig is 2027; early work is under way to provide a wide wet gap crossing capability in future. No decisions have yet been made about future basing sites for the M3 Amphibious Rig.

    The following table shows the number of recorded equipment failure reports (EFR) in each of the last six years.

    Calendar Year in which EFR recorded

    No of EFRs recorded in calendar year

    2010

    16

    2011

    0

    2012

    5

    2013

    1

    2014

    4

    2015

    0

  • Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Imran Hussain – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2016-06-20.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the costs of insurance for motor vehicles.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Insurance Fraud Taskforce was set up by Government in January 2015 to make recommendations to reduce insurance fraud, ultimately lowering costs for consumers. In January 2016, the Taskforce published 26 recommendations for industry, regulators and others, including 6 for Government. A Written Ministerial Statement was published on 26 May 2016 to announce that the Government accepts each of the recommendations addressed to it.

    The Chancellor also announced in his 2015 Autumn Statement that the government intends to introduce measures to end the right to cash compensation for minor whiplash injuries. This will remove over £1 billion from the cost of providing motor insurance and the government expects the insurance industry to pass on to consumers an average saving of £40 to £50 per motor insurance policy.