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Category: Speeches

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Joan Ryan on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent representations she has received from heads of special educational needs schools on the increase in costs from national insurance and pension scheme contributions.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Department has received a large number of letters from headteachers about the increase in national insurance and pension scheme contributions, some of which have been from special schools.

    We are committed to protecting schools funding, as we pledged in our manifesto. Throughout this Parliament, as pupil numbers increase so too will the amount of money for our schools.

  • Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings of the Community Engagement Forum have taken place in 2015 to date; and how many such meetings are planned in the next 12 months.

    Karen Bradley

    In his speech on countering extremism on 20 July, the Prime MInister said that he wanted to hear directly from all those in our society who are tackling extremism. The Community Engagement Forum is one of the ways the Prime Minister plans to do this. The Forum provides a platform for people to share their experiences and learn from each other. Attendance varies from meeting to meeting to ensure Ministers can hear from a wide range of people.

    To date, the Community Engagement Forum has met on 13 October 2015 and 19 November 2015. The attendees have been from a wide range of backgrounds and were representing interests at both a local and national level.

    Further Forums are planned for 2016.

  • Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Hannah Bardell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hannah Bardell on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps he is taking to provide crèche services for the children of hon. Members.

    Tom Brake

    Following consultation with Members, a nursery model of childcare was determined as best fulfilling their needs and the needs of the children. The Nursery opened in 2010. A crèche would need to be separate from the nursery, and would require appropriate accommodation. The Nursery Governance Committee discussed this at its meeting in October 2015 and was not persuaded of the case for a crèche.

    However, I am sure that the Commission would welcome fuller consideration of the case for such services, and of an appropriate funding model.

  • Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Shabana Mahmood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Shabana Mahmood on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many referrals were made to coroners in England in respect of people who died in a care home or hospital and were subject to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards in 2015.

    Caroline Dinenage

    The Ministry of Justice does not have operational responsibility for coroner services, as they are funded and run by local authorities. The level of funding for the Birmingham and Solihull, Black Country and Coventry coroner services is a matter for the relevant local authorities and the Ministry of Justice holds no information on this.

    Statistics for deaths reported to coroners, including deaths in state detention and those subject to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coroners-and-burials-statistics.

    We do not have information on the number of deaths in state detention reported to coroners in 2010 as this information has only been gathered centrally since 2012. The statistics for 2015 will be published in due course.

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  • Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Margaret Ferrier – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ferrier on 2016-03-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which external organisations officials in his Department have met to discuss the potential consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

    David Mundell

    Scotland Office officials have not held any such meetings. At the February European Council, the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government’s position, as set out by the Prime Minister to the House on 22 February, is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

  • Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Paul Blomfield – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Blomfield on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been undertaken of the effect on the earnings of people employed under the Experts by Experience programme of implementing the new Care Quality Commission contracts on 1 February 2016.

    Ben Gummer

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator for health and adult social care in England. It is responsible for its own staffing requirements and decisions on contracts around the supplying of Experts by Experience for its inspections of providers. The CQC is not the employer of Experts by Experience and does not set rates of pay. The Experts by Experience service has been an outsourced service since its inception.

    The CQC has advised that contracts were awarded on the basis of a formal procurement that focused on quality and value for money. Whilst negotiating the new Experts by Experience contracts, the CQC worked closely with suppliers to ensure that there was minimum impact on the individual earnings of existing Experts by Experience as well as on the rates for newly appointed Experts by Experience.

    The CQC is aware of concerns amongst some Experts by Experience in relation to moving between organisations, including rates of pay, in order to continue participating in the work. However, the CQC’s decision to award these new contracts focussed on expanding the numbers of Experts by Experience involved in the CQC’s inspections, ensuring that the high quality contribution Experts by Experience have provided to date is maintained and delivering value for money.

  • David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    David Lammy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Lammy on 2016-05-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the average price of affordable starter homes that will be built in (a) Tottenham, (b) Islington, (c) Barnet, (d) Haringey, (e) Enfield and (f) London in (i) 2016 and (ii) each of the next four years.

    Brandon Lewis

    The Starter Homes policy is expected to deliver at least a 20% discount from market value on new homes built for first time buyers under 40 years of age. We recognise that first time buyers can face affordability pressures within parts of London which is why we want Starter Homes to make a significant contribution to housing delivery. The London £450k price cap is not an expectation of the going price for a Starter Home. In London in 2014, the average price paid by a first time buyer was £364k – which would equate to a starter homes price of £291k. We are consulting on starter homes regulations which will set the requirement for starter homes and any exemptions. The Department does not make assessments on the number of starter homes that are to be built by local authority area.

  • Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Randerson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Randerson on 2016-06-29.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research or analysis they undertook prior to consulting on proposals to cut train services to intermediate stations on the InterCity West Coast service.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    Rail services between London and the Midlands are currently provided by the West Midlands and InterCity West Coast franchises. These franchises are due be replaced when they expire in October 2017 and April 2018 respectively. The Department has completed a consultation in respect of the replacement West Midlands franchise, and commenced another in respect of InterCity West Coast in May. The outcomes of those consultations will be used to inform what we ask the operator of the new franchise to provide. This information, including the key challenges and opportunities that the Department has identified for those franchises, will be published in due course.

    Neither consultation proposed cutting train services. We expect potential bidders to plan their train services to meet the needs of passengers at the stations they serve considering how best to serve and link markets and improve service reliability. To make sure their plans best reflect the needs of the franchise we are seeking views from the public and stakeholders on the ICWC franchise on:

    • any direct journeys currently provided by ICWC that they would want to see protected at a minimum level; and
    • priorities for potential changes to train services, such as speeding up service for long-distance passengers, for example by changing stops at low-use stations or adjusting the level of service.
  • Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Lord Foulkes of Cumnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what detailed research was carried out into potential problems with the proposed airport at St Helena before the contract was signed in 2011, and what were the results of that research.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    A detailed Feasibility Study was undertaken in 2004. This study looked at a wide range of issues associated with the development of the airport.

  • David Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    David Morris – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to prevent shale gas drilling at the surface in areas of the greatest environmental value.

    Andrea Leadsom

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Southampton Test on 11 November 2015 to Written Parliamentary Question 15221:

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-11-06/15221.

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