Category: Speeches

  • Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Frank Field – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2015-10-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff have been employed to cover HM Revenue and Customs’ tax credit telephone lines in each of the past five years for which figures are available.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold this information.

    HMRC has a number of significant peaks of customer contact every year, and since 2005 it has moved its resources around to meet those seasonal priorities.

  • Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jess Phillips – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jess Phillips on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans NHS England has to use capacity in independent sector hospitals to reduce waiting lists in 2015-16.

    Jane Ellison

    Decisions about whether to use independent sector capacity are made at local level according to local need, as part of the operational management of capacity and demand.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Soames – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2015-12-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 2.64 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, which education-related statutory duties on local authorities she plans to remove; and if she will make a statement.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    Savings of £600 million will be made by reducing the Education Services Grant (ESG), including phasing out the additional funding that goes to schools and local authorities. We will be making a small efficiency saving (around £80 million) from the ESG in 2016-17, and will be setting out our proposals for savings from 2017-18 in the New Year. This will include consulting on the details of the statutory duties that will be removed.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-01-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of employment tribunal fees on the ability of individuals to bring forward discrimination claims.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Following public consultation, the government introduced fees in Employment Tribunals as a way of reducing the burden on the taxpayer and to encourage parties to seek alternative ways of resolving their disputes.

    In June of last year we announced the start of the post-implementation review of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals. This review will consider, so far as is possible, the impact the fees have had on those with protected characteristics and the types of case they bring.

    The review will report in due course.

  • Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Lord – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Lord on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department has taken to improve transport links between Woking and London since 2010.

    Claire Perry

    In March 2015, I announced a £50 million investment to deliver improvements across the South Western franchise before the end of the current franchise in 2017. This package of improvements included an additional Monday to Thursday late night service from London to Woking, and new ticket machines at Woking and London Waterloo Stations.

    An additional 108 carriages are being added to the South Western franchise which should all be in passenger service by March of this year, with a further 150 carriages on order and due to arrive in 2017. These additional carriages provide additional capacity across a number of the routes operated, including those serving Woking.

    The Department is running a competition to award the next South Western franchise, which is expected to start in 2017. The detailed franchise specification will be finalised following analysis of the responses to the public consultation, which closes on 9 February. It is expected that bidders will be asked to make proposals to provide capacity where it is needed most.

    With regard to road links, Highways England is currently making improvements to the nearby M3 by constructing a smart motorway between junctions 2 and 4a (13.4 miles/21.6km). The aim of smart motorways is to help relieve congestion by using technology to control traffic flows, to assist in the management of incidents and provide information to road users. They deliver these benefits at a significantly lower cost than conventional motorway widening and with less impact on the environment during construction. This is achieved by converting the existing hard shoulder to a permanent running lane. Work started in November 2014 and is expected to be completed towards the end of June 2017.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress has been made on Network Rail’s Capacity Plus study; which industry groups have contributed to that study; and when he expects that study to be published.

    Claire Perry

    Network Rail is continuing work on its Capacity Plus study. Train operating companies and freight operating companies, passenger transport executives and local authorities, High Speed 2 Ltd and the Department for Transport are engaged in the study process. Network Rail will set a publication date in due course.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements or guidelines her Department issues on the reference or inclusion of digital and online resources in the curriculum (a) in general and (b) for students without access to broadband at home.

    Nick Gibb

    The National Curriculum, introduced from September 2014, focuses on the essential knowledge that teachers should teach, not on how they should teach it.

    Schools are best placed to decide which resources meet their needs and to secure these accordingly. Wherever possible, the development of new resources and training should be sector-led, with schools prioritising their use of funding in their budgets in order to best exploit the opportunities offered by the new National Curriculum.

    The Government is in favour of schools embracing digital technology in order to improve educational outcomes. We want to see schools making informed decisions about what and how technology will best meet their specific needs, keeping in mind that pedagogy should drive the use of technology.

    Where teachers use digital resources in the curriculum, we would expect them to take into account the circumstances of all pupils and make appropriate provision for those without access to broadband at home.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Chi Onwurah – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2016-04-28.

    To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, pursuant to the answer of 21 April 2016 to Question 34469, where the four portraits referred to in that Answer are located; and what proportion of all paintings and portraits in the Palace of Westminster those portraits represent.

    Tom Brake

    The four portraits are located in the following locations:

    • The portraits of Diane Abbott and Paul Boateng hang in Portcullis House.
    • The portrait of Dr Dadabhoy Naoroji is displayed in the corridor leading to the House of Commons Strangers Gallery.
    • The portrait of Baroness Amos hangs in the corridor off Princes Chamber in the House of Lords.

    There are approximately 310 painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection.

    The majority of the painted portraits in the Parliamentary Art Collection are historical ones depicting members of the Royal Family and Parliamentarians pre-1900, of whom few were of black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) origin.

    The Speaker’s Advisory Committee on Works of Art is committed to reflecting the diversity of the House today, and to recognising those who have influenced Parliament and contributed to its development in a notable way through the Parliamentary Art Collection. The Committee has agreed to give further consideration to the matter in the current Parliament.

  • Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Chris Law – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Law on 2016-06-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to China on retracting its law on the management of foreign NGOs, passed on 28 April 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I refer the Hon. Member to my answer of 9 May in response to written question 36260.

  • Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Steve Reed – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve Reed on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports his Department has received on the lack of clean water in Sri Lanka’s Jaffna Peninsula; and if he will raise that scarcity with the Sri Lankan government.

    Alok Sharma

    The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka visited Jaffna in June and raised concerns about water contamination with the local authorities. He received assurances that they were aware of the issue and were addressing it. They also discussed water quality in general and longer term plans for providing water through desalination.