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 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 8 December (HL4116), how many personal interviews with adults applying for a passport for the first time were conducted in each calendar year from 2007 to 2015 inclusive.

    Lord Bates

    The table below shows the number of interviews conducted in each calendar year since 2007. The lower figures for 2007 reflect the pilot and roll out of the new interview process for all first-time passport applicants and the figures for 2015 are up to week ending 20 December.

    Year

    Number of Interviews

    2007

    18,160

    2008

    293,337

    2009

    261,593

    2010

    296,434

    2011

    269,587

    2012

    273,680

    2013

    283,284

    2014

    253,156

    2015

    221,759
  • Johnny Mercer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Johnny Mercer – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Johnny Mercer on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure value for money for passengers travelling on the Cross Country rail franchise.

    Claire Perry

    I completely understand the concerns about the cost of some rail fares and the impact that this can have on people’s budgets. That is why we have capped the rail fares we regulate at inflation (RPI) for two years running, and will continue to do so for the life of this parliament. We are helping hardworking people with the cost of transport. We’ve put a stop to increases in regulated fares above inflation until 2020. This will save theaverageseason ticket holder £425 in this Parliament and meansearnings growth will outstrip rail fare increases for first time in a decade.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-02-22.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers of his Department have had with (i) arms manufacturers, (ii) tobacco manufacturers and (iii) representatives of the Israeli embassy since the period covered in the Cabinet Office’s most recent ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings data release.

    Jane Ellison

    Departments publish details of Ministers meetings’ with external organisations routinely on Gov.uk.

    Details of meetings held during the period October – December 2015 will be published in due course.

  • Henry Bellingham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Henry Bellingham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Henry Bellingham on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many unplanned admissions took place in North West Norfolk last year; and what estimate he has made of the number of such admissions this year.

    Jane Ellison

    NHS England publishes the number of non-elective general and acute admissions each month for National Health Service clinical commissioning groups and NHS hospital trusts. This data is published on NHS England’s website at the following address:

    https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/hospital-activity/montly-hospital-activity/mar-data/

    “

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the implementation of the Government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy, published in April 2014.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Government has invested heavily in basic digital skills. For example, BIS continues to fund a programme to help people gain the skills needed to access employment, education and wider opportunities. The Future Digital Inclusion programme aims to support 1 million people, including those with low skills, the unemployed and people with disabilities and learning difficulties. It indirectly supports SMEs and sole traders. Since September 2014 it has supported 482,000 individuals. Last year, Arts Council England oversaw government investment of £2.7m for more than 1,000 libraries to ensure that free WiFi is now available in over 99% of libraries in England.

    Increasing the level of digital engagement in the UK requires commitment from all sectors. To date, 93 organisations have signed up to collaborate with government departments to increase digital engagement in the UK. This commits them to working together to join up their efforts where relevant, to scale up good ideas and to devise new and innovative solutions. A wide range of activities and programmes have been delivered by partners across the UK.

  • Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Anna Turley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what support her Department is providing to recipients of Green Deal funding who have had their home improvements interrupted because the contracting companies have ceased trading.

    Andrea Leadsom

    Under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF), where applicants had their home improvements interrupted, they were free to engage another approved installer to undertake the work within the six month validity period of their voucher. The GDHIF scheme was designed to provide a financial incentive for work to be done at the applicant’s instigation. Installers were required to come from an approved list but applicants were responsible for engaging an installer. The same response applies where vouchers expired before home improvements were completed; the responsibility rests with the applicant to ensure works were completed before the voucher expired.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2016-07-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy to ensure that (a) UK students can continue to participate in the Erasmus programme and (b) UK universities can continue to participate in cross-European research projects.

    Mr David Davis

    The UK remains a member of the EU until our withdrawal is completed. There is no immediate change to the rights of UK universities and their students and staff from EU countries. UK researchers can still apply for Horizon 2020 projects. There is no change to those currently participating in, or about to start, Erasmus+ exchanges and Marie Curie fellowships.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which convictions of UK citizens in foreign countries the UK is currently challenging; and what guidance his Department follows in deciding which convictions of UK citizens in overseas courts to challenge.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    ​The British Government does not interfere in the legal systems of other countries by challenging convictions, any more than we would accept interference in our judicial system. We do, however, lobby strongly and consistently against the application of the death penalty, and against the carrying out of such sentences when they are imposed. We always lobby, where apt, to ensure the rule of law for fair trials.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the amount paid in road user compensation claims by local authorities in England outside London from 2012-13 to 2013-14.

    Andrew Jones

    The management and defence of insurance claims on the local highway network is entirely a matter for local highway authorities.

    The Department for Transport’s road condition statistics for 2013-14 suggest an improvement to the local road network, since 2012-13.

    The Department supports local authorities to manage their road networks efficiently and effectively, with record funding of £6billion from 2015 to 2021. Also, from 2016-17, the Department is introducing a Local Highways Maintenance Incentive Fund, to reward those authorities who are demonstrating good practice in this regard. The assessment of local authorities’ eligibility for this Fund includes scoring of the effectiveness of their asset management and risk management approaches.

  • Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Lord Warner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Warner on 2015-12-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Department of Health, NHS England, or the Care Quality Commission, have made of the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulty at the rates that local authorities across England are now able to pay for such accommodation; and what information the Care Quality Commission has on the availability of such accommodation as part of their market oversight function.

    Lord Prior of Brampton

    Information about the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulties and the fee rates paid by local authorities for these services is not collected centrally. Commissioning adult social care is a matter for local authorities as they are best placed to understand the needs their local people and communities, and how best to meet them.

    The Department has put in place a range of Sector-Led Improvement support to help local authorities to improve their commissioning practice, and to comply with the statutory guidance. For example the Department funds the Local Government Association (LGA) and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) to deliver, through their regional networks, practical risk assessment tools and hands-on improvement support delivered by a cohort of professional experts.

    The Department has also worked with ADASS, LGA and others to co-produce a set of commissioning standards, Commissioning for Better Outcomes that was re-launched in October 2015. These standards amplify the good practice set out in the statutory guidance, and provide a further practical resource on which to base local risk assessment and to guide improvement support and action planning where required. The standards are attached.

    There has been no assessment by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) of the availability of residential care for people with learning difficulty at the rates that local authorities across England are now able to pay for such accommodation and the CQC holds no information on the availability of such accommodation as part of its Market Oversight function. This is because these issues fall outside the scope of the Market Oversight Scheme.