Category: Speeches

  • Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Steve McCabe – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2016-04-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2016 to Question 32377, what proportion of local authorities will receive the Targeted Affordability Funding referred to; and whether Birmingham City Council qualifies as an area for such funding.

    Justin Tomlinson

    This information is not currently available.

    We are considering options as to how best to allocate the Targeted Affordability Funding, including the assessment of areas that will qualify.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-05-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on alleged serious abuses of human rights by Turkish security forces in Cizre.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We are aware of several public reports regarding alleged events in Cizre. We agree with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ráad al Hussein that it is essential that authorities respect human rights at all times while undertaking security or counter-terrorism operations.

    We believe Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself against the PKK, a terrorist organisation which has killed hundreds of innocent people in the past year. A PKK offshoot – the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK – has also claimed responsibility for a number of recent attacks, including an indiscriminate suicide car bombing in central Ankara on 13 March that killed over 30 people. Our thoughts are with the victims of PKK attacks, and the civilians who have been caught up in the recent conflict.

    Our Ambassador to Turkey and I have discussed with the Turkish government the importance of respecting human rights and avoiding civilian casualties in the fight against terrorism. We believe the first responsibility for investigating any alleged violations falls to Turkey. And that the PKK needs to cease violence in order to create the conditions for political resolution of the difficulties in the south east.

  • Nigel Huddleston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Nigel Huddleston – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Huddleston on 2016-07-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential correlation between left-handedness and levels of educational attainment; and if she will make a statement.

    Nick Gibb

    The Department does not hold data on whether pupils are left-handed and therefore has not made an assessment of their levels of educational attainment.

  • Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Hilary Benn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hilary Benn on 2016-10-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether it is the Government’s policy to remain part of the European Arrest Warrant.

    Mr David Jones

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 September 2016 to the Question 45271.

    We are leaving the EU but cooperation on security with our European and global allies will be maintained. We will do what is necessary to keep our people safe – our aim will be to continue cooperation where it is in the national interest to protect the public. We are about to begin these negotiations and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance.

  • Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian staff support operations at RAF Waddington; and what their payroll costs were in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15.

    Mark Lancaster

    The table below shows the number of civilian staff supporting operations at RAF Waddington and their payroll costs for the previous five financial years (FY).

    The information for FY2010-11 is not held centrally, and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    FY2011-12

    FY2012-13

    FY2013-14

    FY2014-15

    (£ million)

    Average paid strength

    200

    150

    130

    130

    Total Cost

    £4.880M

    £4.263M

    £3.833M

    £3.728M

    “

  • Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Karen Buck – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Buck on 2015-11-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of cleansing the arrears balances of all existing Child Support Agency cases and establishing those costs on the 2012 statutory scheme.

    Priti Patel

    The Department is committed to closing the old child maintenance case management system. In the process of doing this the Department will bring cases up to date, correct obvious inaccuracies, and write off arrears where appropriate, for which there will be a temporary cost within the £236m outlined in the impact assessment that the Department published in 2013.

    The cost of caseworker activity to review and update arrears on the existing systems for the 1.2m CSA cases expected to have an arrears balance is estimated to be £75m. This comprises: bringing all outstanding actions on the case up to date; reviewing the outstanding balance to incorporate those actions and eliminate obvious errors; establish whether the receiving parent wishes to write off any or all of the balance and take write off action if appropriate; and take the control actions to mark the case as closed.

    Establishing those arrears on the new Child Maintenance system is estimated to cost £25m. This comprises: action to add the arrears to the schedule of amounts due produced by the 2012 system; and ensuring that where more than one receiving parent is due maintenance from the same paying parent, outstanding balances from the 1993 and 2003 schemes are correctly allocated.

  • Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Diana Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2015-12-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many press and public relations staff are employed by (a) the office of Rail and Road, (b) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, (c) the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, (d) the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, (e) the Vehicle Certification Agency, (f) the British Transport Police Authority, (g) Directly Operated Railways limited, (h) High Speed 2 Ltd; (i) Highways England, (j) Northern Lighthouse Board, (k) Transport Focus, (l) Trinity House, (m) Civil Aviation Authority and (n) the Airports Commission; how many of those employees are paid more than (i) £50,000 and (ii) £100,000; and what the total expenditure was on press and public relations by each of those organisations in the most recent year for which figures are available.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    Some of the information requested for the 14 organisations listed is not held by the Department and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

    However, the number of press and public relations staff currently employed by the Department’s executive agencies is provided in the table below. None of the press and PR staff have a full-time equivalent salary exceeding £50,000.

    Press and public relations staff
    (full-time equivalent )

    1 December 2015

    Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

    4

    Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

    4

    Maritime and Coastguard Agency

    3.2

    Vehicle Certification Agency

    Nil

    Total

    11.2

    The total of 11.2 full-time equivalent staff compares to an equivalent figure for these four executive agencies in 2009/10 (with DVSA previously being DSA and VOSA) of 15.5 full-time equivalent staff.

    Information on non-pay expenditure on press and public relations services held by the Department for the most recent financial year available is provided in the table below.

    Non-pay expenditure on press and
    public relations services

    2014-15
    £000s

    Office of Rail and Road

    108

    Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency

    9

    Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

    42

    Highways Agency

    383

    Maritime and Coastguard Agency

    169

    Vehicle Certification Agency

    0

    British Transport Police Authority

    48

    High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd

    167

    Transport Focus

    47

    Airport Commission

    54

    Overall communications expenditure by the Department’s executive agencies in 2014-15 (including salaries) was £19 million lower than in 2009-10. Across Government the government communications profession reduced communications spending by a total of £1 billion during the last Parliament.

  • Mike Wood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Mike Wood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Wood on 2016-01-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will issue a call for evidence from industry and other stakeholders seeking suggestions on Government interventions and policies to further develop the energy efficiency and low carbon energy markets; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Government is in regular contact with industry and other stakeholders on energy efficiency and low carbon policies. At the Summer Budget in 2015 the Government announced that it would review the business energy efficiency tax landscape and consider approaches both to simplify the current framework and improve its effectiveness in driving energy efficiency and decarbonisation. The Government launched a consultation in September to seek evidence and set out policy proposals. This consultation closed in November 2015 and a full analysis of the responses is now underway. A formal response will be published in due course.

  • Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Phil Boswell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Phil Boswell on 2016-02-19.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what mechanisms the Government has in place to ensure that banks with high energy exposure remain stable.

    Harriett Baldwin

    The Chancellor set out the government’s view on the challenges facing the UK economy in a speech on 7 January. The transcript of the speech is available from www.gov.uk/government/speeches/chancellor-on-challenges-facing-uk-economy-in-2016. The Chancellor and other Ministers meet regularly with regulators and the Bank of England. In addition, the Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report sets out an analysis, which can be found here:

    http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/fsr/2015/dec.aspx

    The Financial Policy Committee’s (FPC) stress test results in December 2015 suggest that the major UK banks would be resilient to a sustained commodity price downturn.

    The UK now has a robust system of financial regulation, where the regulators have clear objectives and powers to deal with risks to the financial sector. The Government established the FPC to identify, monitor and address systemic risks to financial stability.

  • Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 2016-03-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider providing funding to the Women’s League of Burma and its members to support ongoing work documenting cases of rape and providing support for victims of sexual violence.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The UK has previously provided funding support to the Women’s League of Burma, including towards the publication of some of their research into sexual violence in Burma. The organisation is invited to contact our Embassy in Rangoon directly if they have specific requests for future support.