Category: Speeches

  • Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the provisions in Clauses 13 and 14 of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on the welfare of cancer patients.

    Priti Patel

    The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on 20th July. These are available on the Parliament website: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html

    “

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 23 October 2015 to Question 12539, whether the meeting of the Board Investment and Commercial Committee on 23 March 2015 was attended by (a) Ministers in his Department, (b) special advisers in his Department and (c) officials in the Senior Civil Service grades.

    Claire Perry

    The 23 March Board Investment and Commercial Committee ‎meeting was attended by senior officials from the Department for Transport. No Ministers or advisers were present.

  • Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Vicky Foxcroft – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vicky Foxcroft on 2015-10-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on publishing a cycling and walking investment strategy.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    I was delighted that the Infrastructure Act included a firm commitment to deliver a Cycling & Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). We will be ready to commence a formal consultation on this in Spring 2016.

  • Baroness Suttie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Suttie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Suttie on 2015-10-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce labour-market wide licensing and enforcement in order to support commitments made in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Lord Bates

    Following a commitment made in section 55 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 the Government has now launched a consultation on tackling exploitation in the labour market. This consultation is seeking views on proposals to appoint a new Director of Labour Market Enforcement and create additional powers for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority to take enforcement action against labour exploitation across the labour market. The consultation proposes a power to vary the sectors subject to licensing following an evidence-based analysis by the new Director.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-10-23.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the One Public Estate programme; and if he will make a statement.

    Matthew Hancock

    In 2013, the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association came together to launch the One Public Estate programme, a pioneering initiative designed to support central and local government to work collaboratively on land and property solutions.

    It brings together all public sector bodies within a locality to work together in developing a radically new approach to managing their land and property. By pooling data on their asset holdings and developing joint plans to share property and release surplus land and buildings for other uses, the programme is designed to:

    • Deliver significant savings for the taxpayer,
    • Provide better, more integrated local services, in places which are more convenient for users; and
    • Release land and property which can be reused for housing and new enterprise, boosting local jobs, growth and house-building.

    Two years on, the programme has already shown that, with small levels of investment and support, a great deal can be achieved. The 12 pilot areas that joined the programme in year 1 expect to cut running costs in the order of £21 million and to raise £88 million in capital receipts by 2018, as well as creating 7,500 new homes and 5,500 new jobs.

    An additional £6m was announced at Summer Budget to expand the programme, with larger partnerships of councils and more ambitious schemes. 126 councils, working in 29 partnerships, have applied to join a third phase of the programme.

  • Paul Burstow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Paul Burstow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Burstow on 2014-02-26.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the trend in prostate cancer (a) one-year, (b) two-year and (c) five-year survival rates over the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    I have been asked to reply.

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Morris of Aberavon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 2014-02-24.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the ministerial veto was used to overturn the Information Commissioner’s ruling on the disclosure of the minutes of Cabinet meetings prior to the Iraq war; and why that route was preferred to an appeal to the courts as in the case of Plowden.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The terms under which the Chilcot Inquiry is operatingare set out in the Protocol between the Inquiry and Her Majesty’s Government regarding documents and other written and electronic communication. They have not changed since the Inquiry’s inception in June 2009. A copy of the Protocol is available on the Inquiry’s website:

    http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/background/protocols.aspx

    Each request under the Freedom of Information Act is considered on its merits and handled accordingly. The reasons for the use of the veto on the disclosure of Cabinet minutes prior to the Iraq war are a matter of public record.

    “

  • Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Kate Green – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2014-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time for applicants for employment and support allowance is between submission of the ESA50 form and the date of the work capability assessment.

    Mike Penning

    The average time from submission of an ESA50 to the completion of a face-to-face Work Capability Assessment (for both Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefit Reassessment), for the period from February 2013 to January 2014, was 64 working days

  • Simon Danczuk – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Simon Danczuk – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Simon Danczuk on 2014-01-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding will be put in place to support local discretionary welfare provision after 2015.

    Brandon Lewis

    [Holding Reply: Thursday 16 January 2014]

    The nationally run Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans were poorly targeted and failed to help those most in need. So, in 2012 as part of wider welfare reform, the Department for Work and Pensions abolished these national discretionary schemes and transferred responsibility to local authorities so they could deliver and tailor new local support as part of their existing services to their communities.

    Councils can continue to provide support to those in their community who face financial difficulties or who find themselves in unavoidable circumstances, but there is no requirement to replicate the previous approach adopted by central government.

    In contrast to a centralised grant system that was poorly targeted, under the Department for Work and Pensions’ reforms, councils can now choose how best to support local welfare needs within their areas – what is right for, say, Rochdale may not be for other authorities. Some councils have already chosen to wind down their dedicated schemes following underspends.

    In the next Spending Round period, from April 2015, central government continues to provide support to local authorities through general funds as part of the Coalition Government’s commitment to reducing ring-fencing and ending top-down Whitehall control.

    The Department for Work and Pensions provided a separate fund for 2013-2015 and are carrying out a review of the provision to date.

  • Baroness Parminter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Baroness Parminter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Parminter on 2015-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what services they will introduce to replace the advisory, training and assessment services on the government’s timber procurement policy currently provided by the Central Point of Expertise on Timber when funding for its work comes to an end in 2016.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    The Central Point of Expertise on Timber (CPET) has been in place since 2004 and has advised and trained procurers across the public sector on implementation of the UK Government’s Timber Procurement Policy (TPP). CPET has been educating public procurers to meet their requirements under TPP and guidance will continue to be made available via the GOV.UK website. The certification schemes FSC and PEFC have been recently reviewed and it has been confirmed that they continue to provide Category A evidence of meeting the TPP. Defra is working with stakeholders who may wish to create additional support services for procurers of timber.