Category: Speeches

Liam Byrne – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the framework is for assessing quality of education and inspecting standards and safety in settings where children are instructed in madrassas.

Edward Timpson

Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding children in their areas, regardless of where they are educated. The statutory guidance on the Prevent Duty[1] makes it clear that local authorities should take steps to understand the range of out of school settings, such as supplementary schools and tuition centres, in their area and take appropriate steps to ensure that children attending such settings are properly safeguarded.

The Prime Minister has recently announced that supplementary schools which provide intensive education will need to register themselves for inspection. The government’s counter-extremism strategy[2] sets out our intentions to introduce this system. We will be consulting on this regulatory framework.

Intervention will apply if there are concerns about the safety or welfare of the children attending these supplementary schools. Where institutions are teaching intolerance we will not hesitate to take action. We are consulting on the coverage of this proposed scheme, which is likely to include some madrasa schools.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prevent-duty-guidance

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counter-extremism-strategy

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01/12/2022
Imran Hussain – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Imran Hussain on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of equipment for UK aid projects was sourced from businesses in the UK in each of the last three years.

Mr Desmond Swayne

DFID does not procure goods and equipment directly, procurement agents, suppliers and partner organisations deliver this service on our behalf. DFID’s aid is untied with a focus on achieving the best value for money for the overall project aim.

01/12/2022
Liz McInnes – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz McInnes on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many home fire safety checks were completed by fire and rescue services in 2013-14.

Mike Penning

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Home Office.

Fire and rescue services reported that they undertook around 627,000 Home Fire Safety checks during 2013-14.

Data are also collected on fire safety campaigns and initiatives. These include, but do not separate out, schools visits.

01/12/2022

Sadiq Khan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2015-10-26.

Claire Perry

The table below sets out the number of British Transport Police (BTP) officers working in Greater London (all London boroughs) on 1 October in each year between 2010 and 2015:

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
1,715	1,638	1,643	1,608	1,592	1,732

The table below sets out the number of officers in Greater London (all London boroughs) which were contracted to work night shifts as at 1 October in each year between 2010 and 2015:

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
46	49	53	55	52	57

All BTP officers could potentially be rostered on to night shifts if necessary.

The table below sets out the number of BTP officers that were working night shifts in Greater London (all London Boroughs) on each day of September 2015:


01 September 2015	49
02 September 2015	62
03 September 2015	64
04 September 2015	61
05 September 2015	62
06 September 2015	59
07 September 2015	62
08 September 2015	61
09 September 2015	59
10 September 2015	57
11 September 2015	60
12 September 2015	61
13 September 2015	61
14 September 2015	57
15 September 2015	50
16 September 2015	60
17 September 2015	59
18 September 2015	59
19 September 2015	58
20 September 2015	57
21 September 2015	58
22 September 2015	57
23 September 2015	61
24 September 2015	62
25 September 2015	63
26 September 2015	60
27 September 2015	61
28 September 2015	58
29 September 2015	61
30 September 2015	55

It is important to note that the number of officers contracted and due to work night shifts would have increased if the night tube had not been deferred.

01/12/2022

Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will suspend the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We take our arms export responsibilities very seriously and the UK operates one of the most rigorous and transparent arms export control regimes in the world. All defence and dual-use exports are required to meet the UK’s strict export control requirements, which include consideration of the UK’s international commitments including under international treaties and obligations. We do not issue an export licence if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used in the commission of a serious violation of international humanitarian law. We also take account of any risk that the goods might be diverted to undesirable end-users or end-use.

01/12/2022
Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which events held by his Department were sponsored by Raytheon in the last 12 months.

Mr Philip Dunne

Raytheon acted as the Hackathon sponsor at the Chief Information Officer’s Information Symposium in June. No other events have been sponsored by the company in the last 12 months.

01/12/2022
Tommy Sheppard – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tommy Sheppard on 2015-10-26.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the transfer of responsibility for Air Passenger Duty to the Scottish Government.

Damian Hinds

The government is devolving Air Passenger Duty to the Scottish Parliament through the Scotland Bill. Ministers are in ongoing discussions with the Scottish Government about all aspects of the Scotland Bill and the terms of the fiscal framework.

01/12/2022
The Earl of Clancarty – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2015-10-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what legislation the Metropolitan Police has brought the action against Graham Ovenden to order his collection of art to be forfeited and destroyed.

Lord Faulks

This action was brought under section 5 of the Protection of Children Act 1978. The Government believes in freedom of expression in the arts, but it is imperative that we have robust laws to prevent the making of indecent images of children. Decisions on the destruction of any artwork are made by our independent courts and may be subject to appeal.

01/12/2022
Mark Tami – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Tami on 2015-10-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government has taken to promote research into sustainable aviation fuels and advanced fuels technologies.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport ran an Advanced Fuels Call for Evidence in 2013/14 to examine the potential of advanced fuels in aviation and other transport sectors that cannot be easily decarbonised without low-carbon fuels. A summary of the evidence received was published with the Department’s response to the consultation on the post-implementation review of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) in April 2014. Amendments to the RTFO earlier this year increased rewards for gaseous fuels, such as biomethane used in freight, to better reflect their energy content.

The Department also commissioned an independent feasibility study to examine the economic benefits and potential of advanced biofuels in the UK, published in February 2014, the study informed the design of the Advanced Biofuels Demonstration Plant Competition for £25m of matched grant funding. Winning projects were announced on 7^thSeptember 2015.

The Department for Transport and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership established a Transport Energy Task Force in September 2014 to examine options to meet our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets, including through the wider deployment of sustainable biofuel. The Task Force included input from representatives of the Sustainable Aviation group.

The Task Force’s report was published in March 2015 by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. The Task Force acknowledged that sustainable biofuels have a valuable role in reducing carbon emissions from transport, particularly in sectors where there are limited alternatives such as aviation and I met with Task Force representatives, including Sustainable Aviation, in July to discuss that report.

Following the report of the Transport Energy Task Force, we are assessing the benefits of making aviation biofuels eligible for certificates under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and support under that scheme for synthetic fuels from renewable electricity. We aim to include proposals in a public consultation next year on potential amendments to the RTFO scheme.

01/12/2022
Heidi Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Heidi Alexander on 2014-02-26.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the oral Answer to the hon. Member for Vale of Glamorgan on 11 December 2013, column 224, on Civil Service (union facility time), in which Departments the trade union officers who were promoted in post while doing no work as a civil servant were employed; and in which Department the officer who was promoted twice was employed.

Mr Francis Maude

There are no plans to provide further details to protect the identities of the individuals involved.

01/12/2022