Category: Speeches

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent estimate his Department has made of the average cost of each official of his Department based at (a) St Paul’s Place, Sheffield and (b) 1 Victoria Street, London.

    Joseph Johnson

    The average salary costs (incl. pension and National Insurance contributions) for an official in Sheffield is £46,698, whilst the average salary costs (incl. pension and National Insurance contributions) for an official in London is £58,910. This can largely be explained by the London-weighted salary differences and the differences in grade mix of staff in Sheffield and London. For example, almost 9% of London-based staff are SCS (costing around £18m in salaries), whilst only 2% of staff in Sheffield are SCS (costing around £0.5m in salaries).

  • Mary Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Mary Robinson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Robinson on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to promote trade and diplomatic connections between the UK and other Commonwealth countries.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We are committed to strengthening our Commonwealth engagement and ties with Commonwealth allies. We continue to engage with organisations like the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council to boost trade and increase prosperity within the Commonwealth. As part of these efforts, the UK and Malta will be co-hosting the first Commonwealth Trade Ministers meeting in March 2017.

  • The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The Earl of Clancarty – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Clancarty on 2016-04-28.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to better inform small businesses about all aspects of intellectual property rights, including action that such businesses can take to protect such rights.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) undertakes a wide range of activities to promote understanding of Intellectual Property (IP) amongst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in order that they can make an informed decision on whether and how to protect, commercialise and enforce their IP.

    IPO products and priority activities focus on:

    a) Raising awareness of the importance of IP;

    b) Improving the IP skills of business advisors and intermediaries;

    c) Emphasising that IP is an essential element of an overall business strategy.

    The offerings include online tools, face to face business and adviser training, and partnership delivery.

    The numerous online resources are designed to help businesses to recognise their IP assets, to manage those assets effectively and to help businesses communicate the value of their IP portfolio to lenders or investors when seeking finance.

    The IPO has a small team that runs UK seminars and workshops on IP for businesses and advisors and it also provides an intensive, commercially run training course to improve their understanding of IP.

    It also works with partners within and outside government to ensure that businesses in every part of the UK can access good quality IP advice and understand the importance of managing their IP. Key partnerships include the UK PatLib Network and UK Business & IP Centre Network as well as Business Growth Hubs

    All these support activities provide guidance and information on how businesses may resolve IP disputes or take effective enforcement action. In addition, the UK overseas IP attachés work with local UK Trade and Investment and Foreign and Commonwealth Office leads to provide support for UK businesses seeking advice on local IP matters abroad.

    I will place further information on these resources in the Libraries of the House.

  • Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Karl McCartney – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl McCartney on 2016-06-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what change there was in the amount of funding the EU Commission made available in structural funds to (a) Wales and (b) the Valleys for the period 2014 to 2020 from the period 2007 to 2014; what steps his Department took to limit such change; and if he will estimate the level of such funding that Wales will be allocated after 2020.

    Alun Cairns

    I refer my hon Friend to the letter signed by the then Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable MP, on ‘European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund: UK allocations 2014-2020’.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307492/bis-14-772-uk-allocations-eu-structural-funds-2014-2020-letter.pdf

    The post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework has not been proposed.

    “

  • Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Oliver Colvile – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Oliver Colvile on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what improvements to WiFi coverage on trains are being made by Great Western Railways.

    Paul Maynard

    First Great Western InterCity and Thames Valley trains have been fitted with on-train Wi-Fi. Following the Direct Award Great Western Railway is fitting free Wi-Fi to all Super Express Trains, Electrical Multiple Units and long term diesel trains remaining in the fleet.

    The fitted trains include the new AT300 trains providing London to South West services. Great Western Railway state in their ‘Annual Stakeholder Report 2015-16’ that this work will be completed by December 2018.

  • The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The Earl of Sandwich – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Sandwich on 2016-10-19.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the UK’s international aid budget has been allocated to multilateral aid, and primarily through which institutions, in each of the last five years.

    Lord Bates

    On average over the period 2010-2014, 40 per cent of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) was allocated to multilateral organisations. The table attached lists the top five multilateral organisations in terms of core funding.

    Figures for 2015 will be published later this year.

  • Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Anna Turley – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anna Turley on 2015-11-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what correspondence his Department has had with PwC regarding SSI Redcar in the last three years; and how many meetings his Department has had with PwC in that period.

    Anna Soubry

    My officials had a number of telephone calls and one meeting with PwC between 28 August 2015 and 1 October 2015 to discuss SSI.

  • Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Stephen Timms – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2015-11-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance she has given to schools on including internet safety awareness in PSHE lessons for primary school children.

    Edward Timpson

    Internet safety has been a statutory requirement within the new computing programme of study since September 2014. The national curriculum sets the expectation that children in primary schools are taught how to use technology safely and respectfully; how to keep personal information private; and where to go for help and support when they have concerns about content on the internet.

    The introduction of internet safety content in key stages 1 and 2 reflects the fact that children are increasingly accessing the internet from a young age, and is intended to inform pupils of good practice in staying safe online from an early age.

    Schools are also able to teach pupils about internet safety in personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons. The PSHE Association’s non-statutory programme of study for health and well-being includes ways of keeping physically and emotionally safe, including online.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-01-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many cases the Forced Marriage Unit provided advice or support in (1) 2014, and (2) 2015.

    Lord Bates

    The UK is a world-leader in the fight to stamp out the brutal practice of forced marriage, with our Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat it both at home and abroad.

    In 2014, the FMU gave advice or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,267 cases. Of those cases, 11% involved victims below 16 years (where the age was known), and 77% involved an overseas element (meaning the victim was at risk of, or had been taken, overseas). To provide a further breakdown of this information would incur a disproportionate cost.

    FMU data is published on an annual basis, and figures for 2015 are due for publication shortly.

  • Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Steven Paterson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steven Paterson on 2016-02-03.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many cyber assessments have been undertaken by the Centre for Cyber Assessment in each year since that centre was established.

    Matthew Hancock

    The CCA was avowed in June 2015. We do not comment on security matters.