Category: Speeches

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2016-03-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the review from Keele University, published in the Journal of Ecology, warning that almost all ash trees in Europe will be wiped out due to the fungal disease ash dieback and the emerald ash borer beetle, and what plans they have to tackle these twin problems.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    We are committed to protecting our country from tree pests and diseases and we want to ensure that the ash tree continues to have a place in our environment. To support this we have invested over £21 million in tree health research.

    Natural tolerance to ash dieback does exist and the UK is leading research to identify resistant strains. Ash trees have a wide genetic diversity and potential for greater levels of resistance compared to other tree species affected by diseases.

    There have been no findings of emerald ash borer anywhere in the EU. We have identified this pest as a threat, have introduced restrictions to protect against its introduction and are screening native populations of ash trees grown abroad for resistance.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet’s Economic Affairs (Airports) sub-committee has met in 2016.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    In line with previous answers on this topic, information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when and how often they meet, and which Ministers have attended, is generally not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) attract, recruit and retain high-quality police officers and (b) offer such officers career development.

    Mike Penning

    The Government?s reforms to policing are designed to create a more capable, flexible and professional workforce. Central to these reforms was the establishment of the College of Policing as the professional body for policing, charged with setting standards and further professionalising the police.

    Recruitment to the police is managed within a national application, assessment and selection framework maintained by the College. Within this remit the College is delivering a number of major pieces of work including a review of initial police recruitment, proposals for a new police educational qualification framework and implementing the recommendations of its 2014 Leadership Review.

    These reforms, along with innovative schemes such as Direct Entry and Police Now, focus on recognising and developing the skills of existing officers, as well as ensuring that policing can continue to attract the brightest and best new recruits.

  • Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Margaret Hodge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Hodge on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times her Department has used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years; and what (i) work was undertaken and (ii) the cost to the public purse was on each such occasion.

    Matt Hancock

    DCMS has not used the services of (a) PwC, (b) Deloitte, (c) Ernst and Young, (d) KPMG and (e) other consulting firms in the last three financial years

  • Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Rosie Cooper – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Rosie Cooper on 2016-10-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department owns the site of the former Glenburn Sports College in Skelmersdale.

    Edward Timpson

    Ownership of the site of the former Glenburn Sports College is currently under review in the Department. The site was originally owned by Lancashire County Council, and was then transferred to the Glenburn Education Trust when the school became a foundation school.

    However, when the school closed earlier this year, the governing body was required under the law to apply for a Secretary of State determination as to the future of the site. No application was made, and in the absence of a determination, the Department is considering a representation from the local authority that the land should revert to them.

    Any parties wishing to express an interest in facilities on the site should approach Lancashire County Council in the first instance, though any plans for future use will be for the eventual agreed holder of the site to take forward. The land will continue to be protected under legislation against disposal without the consent of the Secretary of State. As part of considering whether to grant consent, the Secretary of State will consider if the land can be redeployed for education.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it is his Department’s policy that a jobseeker who is telephoned by a Jobcentre Plus adviser and does not answer the telephone on more than one occasion should be considered for a sanction.

    Priti Patel

    Under JSA, claimants are not sanctioned for failing to answer their telephone. In Universal Credit, claimants who have a prearranged telephone interview with their Work Coach, and who fail to participate without good reason, can be referred for a sanction decision.

  • Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Craig Whittaker – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Craig Whittaker on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many assaults were recorded on prison staff on duty in 2014-15.

    Andrew Selous

    We do not tolerate violence of any kind in prison and any assault is treated extremely seriously. Any prisoner who commits an act of violence can expect to have action taken against them.

    Statistics for assaults on staff are published in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin.

    The information requested may be found in the ‘Summary tables April 2004 to March 2015’ at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2015

    “

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Ofsted report highlighting a 60 per cent increase in the number of children who have died as a result of abuse and neglect in the past year.

    Lord Nash

    The death of any child is a tragedy. We want all children at risk of abuse or neglect to be identified early, to have timely and proportionate assessments of their individual needs, and to have the right services provided at the right time.

    The Ofsted statistical release, Serious Incident Notifications from local authority children’s services 2015, reports a 17 percent increase in the number of cases of child death being notified to Ofsted compared to the previous year. The rise in numbers of deaths reported to Ofsted does not necessarily indicate a rise in the number of child deaths. The official figures for the number of child deaths in 2014-2015 will be published by Office for National Statistics (ONS) later in the year.

    The Ofsted statistical release contains experimental data, based on information supplied by local authorities about serious incident notifications. What constitutes a serious incident is set out in statutory guidance, Working Together 2015. The Ofsted report is just one of a range of data sources relating to serious incidents involving children. It is not, however, the official source of data on child deaths, which is collected by the ONS. The Government also publishes reviews of homicide and child deaths, which together enable a more accurate assessment of the number and causes of child death.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many organisations have been assisted in recovery from cyber-attack by the Cyber Incident Response Team in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) Northern Ireland.

    Matthew Hancock

    CERT-UK is the UK National Computer Emergency Response Team. CERT-UK advises organisations on what actions to take in the event of a cyber incident and offers advice and guidance on how to mitigate threats pre and post incident through one to one meetings and through its online sharing platform, the Cyber-security Information Sharing Partnership (CiSP). CERT-UK has dealt with 1170 incidents since its launch in March 2014.

  • Anne Marie Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Anne Marie Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne Marie Morris on 2016-03-01.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Government has paid in fines to the EU since 2010.

    Mr David Gauke

    The United Kingdom has never incurred a financial penalty under Article 260 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (or under the former Article 228 (ex Article 171) of the Treaty Establishing the European Community).