Category: Speeches

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Margaret Ritchie – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the level of household median net earnings after the deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions and before benefits was for (a) all working-age adults, (b) working-age adults without children and (c) working-age adults with children (i) including individuals in households without household earnings and (ii) excluding individuals in households without household earnings in the most recent period for which figures are available.

    Priti Patel

    Table 1: Median weekly household net earnings – including households without earnings, UK 2013/14

    Household median weekly net earnings

    (a) (i) All households with at least one working age adult

    £452

    (b) (i) All households with at least one working age adult and no dependent children

    £442

    (c) (i) All households with at least one working age adult and at least one dependent child

    £469

    Table 2: Median weekly household net earnings – excluding households without earnings, UK 2013/14

    Household median weekly net earnings

    (a) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult

    £561

    (b) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult and no dependent children

    £558

    (c ) (ii) All households with at least one working age adult and at least one dependent child

    £566

    Source: Family Resources Survey, 2013/14

    Notes:

    1. Net earnings are defined as earnings from employment and self-employment, after the deduction of income tax and national insurance contributions but before deductions such as pension contributions, trade union fees etc..
    2. Median calculations in Table 2 exclude those households with zero or negative net earnings (i.e. excludes those with losses from self-employment).
    3. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of UK households.
    4. The figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to former Government Office Region population by age and sex. Estimates based on survey data are subject to uncertainty due to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
    5. Data are rounded to the nearest whole pound.

  • The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Lord Bishop of Leeds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of Leeds on 2016-04-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anelay of St Johns on 5 April (HL7331), what is their assessment of the prospect of the government of Iraq acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We are not aware of any information indicating that the Government of Iraq is in the process of acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    The UK is a strong supporter of the ICC. We offer support to any State that is in the process of ratifying the Rome Statute or needs assistance in adopting the national legislation needed to enact the full implementation of the statute. Whether Iraq chooses to accede to the Rome Statute is a matter for the Government of Iraq.

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-05-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 25 April 2016 to Question 34913, on planning, if he will publish the analysis of the responses on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations.

    Brandon Lewis

    A consultation on specific changes to the Framework, aimed at increasing housing supply in sustainable locations, closed on 22 February. We are currently analysing the responses.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-07-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what help and support is available to historic victims of forced marriage.

    Sarah Newton

    Figures on the number of cases reported to the Forced Marriage Unit (FMU), via its public helpline and email inbox, are published annually and are available on GOV.UK. The figures include a breakdown of cases by age, gender and country to which the case relates.

    The FMU carries out a range of activity, including delivery of a comprehensive programme of outreach, provision of an e-learning tool and guidelines for professionals, and a series of short films aimed at supporting victims and deterring potential perpetrators. We also recently launched a new forced marriage campaign, ahead of the summer holidays, aimed at raising awareness through radio adverts.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gloria De Piero – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to recruit more trainee teachers for secondary school subjects for which recruitment targets have been missed.

    Nick Gibb

    The latest published figures from UCAS show that teaching remains a hugely popular profession. Over 27,000 people have been recruited to postgraduate teacher training courses in England in 2016/17.

    To support recruitment in 2017/18, we have announced a new package of financial incentives – including increases to bursaries and scholarships to attract top graduates in priority subjects. We have expanded the scholarship scheme, introducing two new scholarships in languages and geography, in partnership with the British Council and the Royal Geographical Society.

    Our 2017/18 teacher recruitment marketing campaign commenced on 4 October and features a new television advert, alongside print, online and social media advertising. Forty Train to Teach recruitment events will take place across the country and further activity will take place on university campuses, including over thirty graduate fairs where our advisors will meet with students, setting out the benefits of a career in teaching.

    In addition, we are spending up to £67 million on a programme of measures to upskill the existing maths and physics teaching workforce, and increase the number of new mathematics and physics specialists entering teaching. This package aims to recruit up to 2,500 new teachers and upskill up to 15,000 existing teachers over the term of this parliament. We have increased bursary rates in the subjects that leading universities say are most commonly required at A level for entry onto their degree courses.

  • Baroness Coussins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Baroness Coussins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Coussins on 2015-11-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to reverse the shortfall of 21 per cent in the number of modern foreign language teachers, as calculated by the Department for Education’s initial teacher training census for 2014–15.

    Lord Nash

    To support recruitment to languages Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in 2016/17, we have increased the bursary rates for postgraduate languages trainees on fee-based courses. Trainees with 2:1 degree classification will now receive £25,000 (up from £20,000 in 2015/16 in 2015/16) and those with a 2:2 will receive £20,000 (up from £15,000 in 2015/16).

    We offer potential languages trainees a range of support. The Premier Plus programme is available to candidates wanting to teach languages. This service includes support from a dedicated advisor; access to exclusive events; and regular communications with important news and application hints and tips. Languages candidates are also eligible for the funded School Experience Programme, helping them gain classroom experience to assist with their ITT application. Before they begin their training, languages applicants may benefit from funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses, through which they can improve either their first or their second additional language. Bursary support is also available for applicants undertaking an SKE course.

    Furthermore, we want to attract qualified languages teachers who wish to return to the profession. We have recently launched a new pilot programme designed to help schools to attract and support returning teachers; this includes funding for returning language teachers. We will be undertaking a national marketing campaign to support this initiative.

  • 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 2016-01-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to improve police responses to sexual assaults and rapes at universities.

    Karen Bradley

    Rape and sexual violence are devastating crimes which we remain committed to tackling. We expect every report of rape to be treated seriously from the point of disclosure, every victim to be treated with dignity, and every investigation and every prosecution to be conducted thoroughly and professionally.

    We continue to work with the police to look at ways to improve their response to rape and sexual assault. We have supported the publication of data on rape for every police force in the country as a basis for improving recording and investigations of this crime. The Rape Action Plan, led by the Crown Prosecution Service and the National Policing lead for rape, ensures that investigators and prosecutors have both the right tools for handling these cases, and referrals from the police to prosecutors are improved to increase successful prosecutions.

    We want victims to have the confidence to report these crimes to the police, knowing they will get the support they need and that everything will be done to bring offenders to justice, no matter where the offence takes place. Police recorded rape increased by 43% (to 31,621 offences) in the year ending June 2015 compared with the previous year. We do not hold figures on the number of rapes in England and Wales that took place in universities. This significant rise in the reporting of rape is the result of a renewed focus on the quality of crime recording and a greater willingness of victims to come forward. These can only be positive developments in our fight to end abuse.

  • Nigel Ada – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Nigel Ada – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Ada on 2016-01-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with (a) broadcasters and (b) Ofcom on the Ofcom review into the regulatory framework of independent television production; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    Ofcom reported on the operation of the television production sector on 23 December. I am now considering that report, and will make a decision in due course.

  • Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Grahame Morris – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Grahame Morris on 2016-02-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people requiring wheelchair accessible homes in (a) Easington, (b) the North East and (c) England.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Government has published data on the housing need of older and disabled people in England to support local authorities in assessing likely need in their local area. This can be found at link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-regulations-guide-to-available-disability-data

    It is for local authorities to determine specific needs in their local areas.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-03-21.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Earl of Courtown on 22 February (HL5963), and with regard to Freedom of Information Act 2000 Request 0986-15, why there is a discrepancy between the Minister’s quoted figure of £270,046.61 being spent on projects in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with a human rights focus and a quoted figure in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Freedom of Information response of £9,499 being spent; and what differentiates the FCO projects with a human rights rationale” and a human rights “element”.”

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The figure of £270,046.61 relates to projects which are not exclusively focused on promoting human rights, but which significantly contribute to our human rights objectives in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. These include humanitarian projects aimed at improving the lives of the most vulnerable people in North Korean society, and English language projects which make North Korean participants aware of other ideas and cultures. The figure of £9,499 relates to projects solely focused on promoting human rights.