Category: Speeches

  • Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Antoinette Sandbach – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Antoinette Sandbach on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether HS2 Ltd has used (a) InSAR surveys and (b) other survey methods to survey ground movements on the proposed route of phase 2B of HS2 between Crewe and Manchester/Leeds.

    Andrew Jones

    HS2 Ltd has not commissioned any satellite (InSAR) surveys nor (to date) any purchase of existing/historical data or bespoke analysis of that.

    HS2 Ltd has carried out two Lidar surveys of the proposed route of phase 2B of HS2 between Crewe and Manchester, with a view to comparing the two datasets to appraise ground movements in the time between the two surveys. This is work in progress. Other available Lidar data (made available by the Environment Agency) has been used to manually appraise ground movements of specific locations in the saltfield.

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Bridget Phillipson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that the introduction of a new national funding formula will prioritise schools in disadvantaged areas for the allocation of funding.

    Nick Gibb

    The national funding formula will ensure that all children, whatever their background, are supported to achieve their full potential. Children from deprived backgrounds will attract funding in addition to the basic per pupil amount so that they get the extra help they need to succeed. We will also continue to provide targeted funding through the pupil premium, worth £2.5 billion this year.

    We proposed in the first stage of the national funding formula consultation to use a combined pupil-and area-level deprivation measure in the formula to best identify those children and schools that need additional support. We will put forward our detailed proposals in the next stage of consultation later this year.

  • John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    John Pugh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Pugh on 2015-10-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the figures for school absence in England were in each year since 2005.

    Nick Gibb

    Information on pupil absence in schools in England is available in the ‘Statistics: pupil absence’ series[1].

    National absence figures between 2009 and 2014, can be found through the link to ‘Pupil absence in schools in England: 2013 to 2014’ in the spreadsheet named ‘National tables: SFR10/2015’.

    Table 1.1 provides absence information across the first five half terms between 2009 and 2014.

    National absence figures between 2005 and 2009, can be found through follow the link to ‘Pupil absence in schools in England, including pupil characteristics: academic year 2009 to 2010’.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-pupil-absence

    “

  • Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Steel of Aikwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Steel of Aikwood on 2015-11-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the steps taken by the government of Germany in respect of acts committed by their colonial troops against the Herero and Nama people in South-West Africa in 1904–1908; whether they intend to take similar steps; and whether they will support requests for compensation.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The British Government has not made any assessment of the steps taken by the Government of Germany in respect of this matter. The issue of compensation is a bilateral matter between the governments of Germany and Namibia.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cycle to work scheme on the number of non-cyclists taking up cycling.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Cycle to Work Scheme is an employee benefit covered by an exemption and therefore employers do not have to make an annual tax return regarding the benefit.

    The Cycle to Work Alliance (made up of Cyclescheme, Cycle Solutions, Evans Cycles and Halfords) have provided figures of the take up from Jan –September 2015 141,454 people participated in the scheme.

    A recent survey by the Alliance showed that 62% of participants in the scheme were either non-cyclists, novice cyclists (cycling less than once a month) or occasional cyclists (cycling once or twice a month) before joining the scheme. Having joined the scheme 79% of respondents described themselves as enthusiastic cyclists.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Gwynne – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what factors she takes into account in considering a request from a local authority to dispose of school sites under Schedule 14 of the Education Act 2011.

    Edward Timpson

    Since January 2013, the Secretary of State for Education has received:

    • 1 application from Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, this is currently being considered.
    • 4 applications from Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, all have been approved.
    • 19 applications from the Greater Manchester combined authority, 1 is being considered and the other 18 have been approved.

    These figures include applications in those local authorities relating to land held by Academy Trusts under a lease from the local authority.

    The Education Act 2011 requires that the Secretary of State must give consent prior to the disposal of land which has been used for any school or academy in the last eight years. Secretary of State consent is also required under section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 where local authorities wish to dispose of playing field land that has been used by a school in the last ten years. A key consideration for the government is whether the land proposed for disposal could be suitable for use by a new school.

    There are a range of reasons for these disposals. Some disposals are leases from the academy trustees back to the local authority, which allow a children’s centre on site to continue or which provide land for another school. A substantial number of consents refer to local authority maintained school sites for outright disposals where the school has closed or relocated to a new build site.

  • 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 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in receipt of a war disablement pension are also in receipt of the (a) age-related tax allowance, (b) allowance for lowered standard of occupation and (c) unemployability supplement.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Ministry of Defence does not hold information on how many people in receipt of a War Pension are also in receipt of the age-related tax allowance, as this is administered by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. However, as at 31 March 2015 (the latest date information is available) there were 41,470* disablement pensioners born before 6 April 1938 who may meet the eligibility criteria to receive age-related tax allowance.

    As at 31 March 2015 (the latest date information is available) there were 116,050 disablement pensioners in receipt of an ongoing pension under the War Pension Scheme. Of these, 10,195 were in receipt of an allowance for lowered standard of occupation, and 6,250 were in receipt of unemployability supplement. All payments made under the War Pension Scheme are tax free.

    These figures can be found on the Gov.uk website at the following link:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/war-pension-recipients-index

    * In line with Defence Statistics’ Rounding Policy for War Pension Scheme data, all figures of five or more have been rounded to the nearest five.

  • Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Lord Lester of Herne Hill – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the proposal for the Supreme Court to function as a constitutional court and in particular that it would require significant constitutional change” and would pose “practical problems” for Scotland’s separate legal system.”

    Lord Faulks

    The Prime Minister indicated last year that he wanted to examine the way that Germany and other EU nations uphold their constitution and sovereignty. We have considered the Committee’s report with interest and will consult fully on our proposals for a Bill of Rights in due course.

  • Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Derek Thomas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2016-04-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when the Government plans to publish the White Paper on the BBC Charter.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government will set out its plans for the future of the BBC in a White Paper in May.

  • Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Stephen Timms – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information his Department holds on how many UK nationals (a) entered the EU Concours examination and (b) passed that examination in each year since 2010.

    Mr David Lidington

    We do not hold complete information on the number of applicants and successes across all competitions. We are aware of 7,761 UK applicants across all competitions, of whom 188 were successful, since the new EU recruitment process launched in 2010.