Category: Speeches

  • Jo Churchill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jo Churchill – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Churchill on 2015-10-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people aged between 18 and 21 in the constituency of Bury St Edmunds were in receipt of housing benefit in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14 and (e) 2014-15.

    Justin Tomlinson

    The information requested about how many people aged between 18 and 21 were in receipt of housing benefit in the constituency of Bury St Edmunds is published and available at:

    https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk

    “

  • Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Bill Wiggin – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bill Wiggin on 2015-10-15.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue was raised from VAT on road fuel in (a) 2011, (b) 2012, (c) 2013, (d) 2014 and (e) 2015.

    Mr David Gauke

    The information requested is not available. HM Revenue and Customs does not collect data on VAT receipts from particular goods and services.

  • Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tim Farron – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Farron on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to encourage diversity in the police service.

    Mike Penning

    It is vital that the police reflect the communities they serve and the Government is determined to improve BME representation in all 43 forces in England and Wales.

    Decisions on when and how to recruit individuals are for the chief officer of a police force. It is important that they use equalities legislation, including positive action provisions, to make better progress in terms of recruitment of under-represented groups.

    My Rt Hon. Friend, the Home Secretary announced on 22 October the publication of data showing the gender and ethnicity of police officers by force area. This will make it easier for the public to access the data they need to see how representative their force is compared to the local population. It is clear that the current representation of women and officers from minority ethnic backgrounds in the officer ranks is not good enough and the Home Secretary has challenged forces to do more.

    The Government’s reforms have already made improvements. For example, we set up the College of Policing, which has embarked on a major programme of work, BME Progression 2018, looking at recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers, including the development of an evidence base of successful approaches used by forces.

    As part of this programme the College recently published Positive Action Practical Advice, which advises forces on the use of lawful positive action to support the recruitment, retention and progression of officers from under-represented groups, and it has published case studies from forces showing what can be done.

    We have also developed innovative schemes such as Direct Entry and Police Now. These are increasing the number of BME recruits to the police, showing that you can achieve better representation while attracting the best and the brightest into policing.

    Of the nine direct entry superintendents who began their superintendent training on November 2014 four (44%) are women and two (22%) are from an ethnic minority background. This is significantly more representative than the current make up of the superintendent rank which is comprised of 17% women and 4% ethnic minority.

    Police Now, implemented in the Metropolitan Police, appointed 69 people to start their training, up from an anticipated 50 owing to the high calibre of applicants. Of these, 43% are women and 9% are from a BME background, compared to the national BME proportion of 5.5%.

    With the joint leadership of the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime and the Commissioner, the Metropolitan Police also introduced its London residency criteria for recruits in August 2014. Recent Metropolitan police figures show that in the three months from June to August 2015, 26% of new Metropolitan police recruits came from a black or minority background, more than double the 12% recruited in the same quarter of 2014, and the 12% of Metropolitan police officers currently from a black and minority ethnic background.

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many places were available for new entrants to study medicine in England in each year between 2010 and 2015; and how many places for new entrants to study medicine are planned to be available in each year between 2016 and 2020.

    Ben Gummer

    The number of places available for new entrants to study medicine in England from 2010 to 2015 are as follows:

    Year (academic)

    Commissions

    2010/11

    6,195

    2011/12

    6,195

    2012/13

    6,195

    2013/14

    6,071

    2014/15

    6,071

    2015/16

    6,071

    Source: Higher Education Funding Council for England, Medical and Dental Survey

    The number of medical students planned for 2016/17 entry to undergraduate training in England is 6,071. Health Education England (HEE) will be establishing a review of medical student numbers as part of their wider workforce planning process to inform future year intakes. Any changes to student intakes will require careful consideration by HEE, Department of Health, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

  • Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment she has made of the level of inequalities experienced by LGBTI people in Northern Ireland.

    Mr Ben Wallace

    The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, a non-departmental public body established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, is responsible for equality issues in Northern Ireland.

    The Commission is sponsored by the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (OFMdFM). The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland or OFMdFM would be best placed to provide an assessment of the level of inequality experienced by LGBTI people in Northern Ireland.

  • David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    David Simpson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people died on the roads in each region in incidents where a driver was using a mobile telephone in each of the last three years.

    Andrew Jones

    The Department holds information on the number of personal-injury road traffic accidents where the attending police officer judged that a driver using a mobile telephone contributed to the accident. This includes both cases where ‘hand held’ and ‘hands free’ telephones were deemed to contribute to the accident. The table below provides the number of fatalities in road traffic accidents that were reported to the police in which at least one driver was allocated the contributory factor ‘driver using mobile phone’ by region for 2012 to 2014.

    Fatalities in reported road accidents in which the contributory factor ‘driver using mobile phone’ was reported: GB, 2012-2014

    Region

    2012

    2013

    2014

    North East

    2

    1

    1

    North West

    1

    2

    1

    Yorkshire and the Humber

    2

    5

    1

    East Midlands

    1

    1

    4

    West Midlands

    2

    2

    0

    East of England

    1

    2

    3

    South East

    3

    2

    9

    London

    1

    0

    1

    South West

    2

    4

    1

    Wales

    1

    2

    2

    Scotland

    1

    5

    1

    Total

    17

    26

    24

    Note: Includes only casualties where a police officer attended the scene and in which a contributory factor was reported

    “

  • Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ben Howlett – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ben Howlett on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to introduce a requirement that private landlords have a certificate confirming their accommodation has reached a minimum condition before it can be let.

    Brandon Lewis

    Local Authorities have powers under the Housing Act 2004 to assess the risks and hazards in properties, and to require landlords or owners to remove hazards, and to prosecute if they fail to do so. If a property is found to contain serious hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action in relation to the hazard. This could include serving a notice for the landlord to carry out improvements.

    The Government wants to crack down further on the small minority of rogue and criminal landlords who exploit their tenants by renting out unsafe and substandard accommodation and are taking forward proposals through the Housing and Planning Bill. The legislation will enable local authorities to:

    • access a database of rogue landlords and letting agents helping councils keep track of them and target enforcement action;
    • seek banning orders for the most prolific and serious offenders;
    • issue civil penalty notices of up to £5,000 for certain breaches of housing legislation, ring-fencing resources for housing compliance activity;
    • extend Rent Repayment Orders to cover situations where a tenant has been illegally evicted, the landlord has failed to rectify a serious health and safety hazard in the property or has breached a banning order, allowing local authorities to retain the money for housing purposes.
    • apply a more stringent ‘fit and proper’ person test for landlords letting out licensed properties.

    The majority of landlords in the private rented sector provide decent accommodation with surveys showing that 84% of tenants are satisfied with their accommodation, and staying in their homes for an average of 3.5 years.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Medway Secure Training Centre has contacted an external teaching agency to request a teacher since it was awarded the contract.

    Andrew Selous

    G4S, which holds the current contract for Medway Secure Training Centre, has once used an external teaching agency to recruit one member of teaching staff.

    Prior to 2010 education at Medway was provided by Manchester College. Information on this provider’s use of agency staff is not held centrally.

    All STC staff, both temporary and permanent, must undergo background checks and be approved by the Youth Justice Board prior to appointment.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many defibrillators there are in public places in Preston constituency; and what the location of those defibrillators is.

    Jane Ellison

    This information is not collected centrally.

  • Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Danny Kinahan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Danny Kinahan on 2015-10-15.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Armed Forces Covenant fully addresses the healthcare needs of all active and retired servicemen and women with (a) post-traumatic stress disorder and (b) other conditions.

    Mark Lancaster

    The Armed Forces Covenant sets a number of goals with respect to healthcare, including that members of the Armed Forces community should enjoy the same standard of, and access to, healthcare as received by any other UK citizen in the area where they live. With regard to Mental Health, the Armed Forces Covenant states that veterans should be able to access mental health professionals who have an understanding of Armed Forces culture.

    The Ministry of Defence provides primary healthcare for all Service personnel including mobilised Reservists. The provision of veterans’ healthcare, including for those affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and other conditions, is primarily the responsibility of the National Health Service in England and the Devolved Administrations. Veterans in England, Scotland and Wales are entitled to priority access to secondary healthcare for conditions suspected to be due to their service in the Armed Forces, subject to the clinical needs of others. In Northern Ireland, the mental health needs of returning ex-Service personnel continue to be addressed either through the Ulster Defence Regiment and Royal Irish Aftercare Service, through Combat Stress, or directly within the mainstream Primary Care and Mental Health services.

    For a summary of our approach to ensuring that our serving Armed Forces personnel receive the very best mental healthcare provision, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 September 2015 to Question 9141 to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr Robertson). http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-09-07/9141/

    For details of the steps we have taken to ensure that veterans are provided with the support they need, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 September 2015 to Question 9865 to the hon. Member for Inverclyde (Mr Cowan). http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-09-10/9865/