Category: Speeches

  • Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Robert Flello – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Flello on 2014-06-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart supporting the requests for an investigation into the murders of four FENSUAGRO trades union members shot dead on 17 May 2014 in Alto Amarradero.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    I met representatives from six human rights organisations, including Oxfam and Christian Aid as well as Colombian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) during my visit to Bogotá last week. I also met two Deputy Ministers for Foreign Affairs, heads of the Colombian Government’s major human rights agencies and representatives of the Attorney-General’s office. I set out HM Government concern about the reported rise in attacks against human rights defenders and a lack of sentences for those responsible.

  • Anas Sarwar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Anas Sarwar – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anas Sarwar on 2014-06-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from charitable and youth organisations on the effect of the new flat-rate housing cost contribution on unemployed young people.

    Steve Webb

    None.

  • Charles Kennedy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Charles Kennedy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charles Kennedy on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will bring forward plans to enable the Green Investment Bank to purchase equity in existing offshore projects to enable similar investment in onshore wind turbine construction; and if he will make a statement.

    Michael Fallon

    The role of the Green Investment Bank (GIB) is to help finance green infrastructure projects. The terms of its state aid approval do not allow it to invest in specific supply chain companies or activities such as turbine manufacturing. GIB has already taken equity stakes in a number of operating offshore wind farms.

  • Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nicholas Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Brown on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what value of land has been transferred from local authorities into the leasehold or freehold ownership of academy trusts since 2010.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    I refer the Rt hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stockton North on 23 June 2014, Official Report c75W.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the performance of Pearson VUE in delivering skills tests for prospective teachers on behalf of his Department.

    Mr David Laws

    As the current contractor delivering the skills test for prospective teachers, Pearson VUE reports weekly to officials on day-to-day delivery against agreed service levels. Pearson VUE is also appropriately engaged in handover of the service to the new contractor.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many organ donations have been received in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2008-09 and in each year since.

    Jane Ellison

    The information requested is in the following tables:

    Deceased organ donors at hospitals in Yorkshire and the Humber – by financial year as at 30 June 2014

    Year

    Number

    2008-09

    57

    2009-10

    81

    2010-11

    79

    2011-12

    74

    2012-13

    86

    2013-14

    87

    2014-15 (to date)

    19

    Total

    483

    Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

    Total organ transplants for Yorkshire and the Humber residents1 – by financial year as at 30 June 2014

    Total

    2008-09

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    2013-14

    2014-15

    (to date)

    Organs

    305

    266

    300

    321

    320

    381

    94

    1Transplant counts are based on recipient residence postcode rather than transplant unit

    Source: NHS Blood and Transplant

  • Clive Betts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Clive Betts – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Betts on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Care Act 2014 and the care and support statutory guidance, whether self-funders and those with personalised care budgets are under an obligation to show that they are paying social care firms enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments.

    Norman Lamb

    Self-funders and people with personal budgets whose care is arranged by their local authority have no obligations under the provisions of the Care Act 2014, draft statutory Care Act guidance or draft regulations on the Care Act, to show that they pay social care providers enough to pay their staff at least the minimum wage, including remuneration for travel time between appointments. Social care providers must fulfil their legal obligations as employers which include ensuring that staff salaries conform to the national minimum wage.

    If a person chooses to request their personal budget as a direct payment to purchase their own care and support, the draft Care Act guidance details what the local authority should do as part of its general monitoring of the direct payment to ensure that the person fulfils their legal obligations as an employer. This includes ensuring that the person is registered as an employer with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and is making the appropriate contributions for PAYE and income tax, and that payments conform to the national minimum wage. Where it is apparent that these obligations are not being met, the local authority should review the care plan and making of the direct payment to ascertain if alternate arrangements need to be made that result in the person no longer being an employer (para 12.46-12.49, p172-73).

    The draft guidance and regulations on the Care Act are currently open for public consultation. The Department is also undertaking a series of engagement events with social care stakeholders to gather feedback on the content of the guidance and regulations.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what transport grant was given to York Unitary Authority in each year since 2008-09.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport provides grant funding to local highway authorities, including the City of York. Funding allocated to the City of York since 2008/09 for transport purposes that the Department has records of is listed below:

    Year

    Capital £m

    Revenue £m

    2008/09

    5.941

    1.837

    2009/10

    6.219

    0.738

    2010/11

    4.551

    1.345

    2011/12

    3.899

    0.421

    2012/13

    6.886

    0.647

    2013/14

    16.997

    0.932

    2014/15

    6.001

    0.685

    This funding is for Highways Maintenance, Integrated Transport, Local Sustainable Transport and Major Projects.

    Since 2010 this Government has simplified funding arrangements to local authorities in order to provide them with greater flexibility in how the funding is spent to respond to local needs.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children in Yorkshire were in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in 1997-98 and in each year since.

    Esther McVey

    Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income are published in the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. This information is captured using the Family Resources Survey (FRS). The latest publication is available at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/households-below-average-income-hbai-199495-to-201213

    Due to small sample sizes local poverty estimates for Yorkshire are not available as robust estimates cannot be produced. However, HBAI does provide 3-year average estimates of the number of children in relative and absolute low income in Yorkshire and the Humber.

  • Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate on 2014-06-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the future environmental risk of the arrangements to neutralise Syria’s chemical weapons at sea.

    Baroness Warsi

    The Chemical Weapons Convention requires that the highest priority is given to ensuring the safety of people and to protecting the environment when destroying chemical weapons, and the plan has been endorsed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical by the Weapons. Waste products from this process will be stored safely and securely in industry standard containers, and will subsequently be disposed of in Germany and Finland, in accordance with national legislation. No waste from this process will be disposed of at sea.