Category: Speeches

  • Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Baroness Hamwee – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hamwee on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training staff at Tinsley House have received to ensure that they are able to work with children.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    The training requirements for Home Office, custodial service provider and NHS England staff at Tinsley House pre-departure accommodation are equivalent to those for Cedars.

    As set out in Detention Services Order 19/2012 ‘Detention and Escorting Safeguarding Children policy’, updated in May 2016, all staff working with children receive suitable training, which must be at least equivalent to Tier 1 of the Home Office ‘Keeping Children Safe’.

  • Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Paul Flynn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with European counterparts on progress they have made in tackling the waste of imperfect food.

    Rory Stewart

    The successful action we have taken in the UK through our voluntary approach has put us at the forefront in tackling food waste. This was reflected in our recent response to the European Commission’s consultations on the Circular Economy.

    Discussions with our European counterparts on these matters will take place following publication of the Commission’s proposals on the Circular Economy.

  • Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Meg Hillier – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Meg Hillier on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and (b) Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) hearing centres are projected to close in (i) London and (ii) the UK in the next five years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    There are currently no plans to close any First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal Immigration and Asylum hearing centres.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his oral evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee of 2 December 2015, Question 9, what progress he has made on determining his policy on whether to use a British Bill of Rights to make the Supreme Court a constitutional long stop.

    Dominic Raab

    We will announce proposals in due course.

  • Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Michael Fabricant – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael Fabricant on 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect on the security of the electricity supply from the National Grid of the closure of Rugeley Power Station; and if she will make a statement.

    Andrea Leadsom

    We are clear that delivering energy security for our families and businesses is non-negotiable. We knew some old coal plants would likely be closing and we have already taken steps to protect supply for the coming winters, which took account of the possibility of further closures. Specifically, National Grid took into account the risk of coal plant closures in considering how much capacity to procure for next winter’s Contingency Balancing reserve.

    Longer term, the Capacity Market will drive investment in new capacity as well as get the best out of our existing power stations. We will continue to work alongside National Grid and Ofgem to take whatever additional steps are necessary to protect our energy supply.

  • Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many new entrants joined the Army Reserve in 2015; and how many such entrants successfully completed phase (a) one and (b) two training.

    Mr Julian Brazier

    Both Reserve and Regular recruits undertake initial Phase 1 training in order to become effective soldiers and then proceed to Phase 2 training, where they receive the specific training they need to carry out their defined role. On successful completion of Phase 2, they join the Army Reserve Trained Strength.

    For Reserve recruits, Phase 1 initial training consists of two components; Phase 1(A) is delivered as a single week long course or over four weekends. Phase 1(B) is a 15.5 day long course. Phase 2 role-specific training courses are delivered over one period not exceeding 16 days.

    Army Reserve recruits are expected to commence Phase 1 training as soon as possible after enlistment. However, factors such as arranging time off work, exam attendance, family commitments, injury or medical clearance can delay a recruit from starting Phase 1 training. Some new soldier entrants are enlisted at risk whilst waiting to be declared medically fit. These entrants are described as Phase 0.

    Army Reservists are required to attend at least one period of annual continuous training per year not exceeding 16 days. It is therefore expected that Army Reservists will complete Phase 1 during their first year of service and Phase 2 during their second year of service. Some Army Reservists however are able to complete Phase 1 and Phase 2 training during their first year of service, as demonstrated by the information in the table below concerning the 2015 entrants.

    The figures in the table below are as at 1 January 2016 and have been rounded to the nearest 10.

    January-December 2015

    April- December 2015

    New Entrants to the FR20 Army Reserves

    3,640

    2,740

    Phase 0/Phase 1 Trainee

    2,700

    2,250

    Phase 2 Trainee (completed Phase 1)

    500

    280

    On Trained FR20 Strength (completed Phase 2)

    310

    130

    Left Army Reserves

    140

    70

  • Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gareth Johnson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gareth Johnson on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of specialist dementia (a) residential and (b) nursing home places in Kent.

    Alistair Burt

    The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC has provided the following information:

    Active care home locations with the Dementia Service User Band in the Kent local authority

    Type of home

    Number of beds

    Number of locations

    Nursing home

    3,663

    62

    Residential home

    4,229

    136

    Grand Total

    7,892

    198

    Source: CQC database at 11 April 2016

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-05-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the tax gap was for (a) income tax, (b) national insurance contributions and (c) capital gains tax in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs published its latest tax gap estimates on 22 October 2015 in Measuring tax gaps 2015 edition, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/470540/HMRC-measuring-tax-gaps-2015-1.pdf.

    The total tax gap for Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions and Capital Gains Tax for the years from 2009-10 to 2013-14 is set out in Table 1.3 (page 18).

    Separate estimates for each of these three components are not available.

  • 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 whether they have assessed the impact on Birmingham Airport of a reduction in train services to Birmingham International, including the impact on the percentage of passengers who access the airport by rail and by car respectively.

    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.
  • Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Rebuck – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Rebuck on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that the 60 per cent of the prison population who do not have at least entry level literacy skills do so by the time they complete their prison sentence.

    Baroness Mobarik

    Prisons should be places of safety and reform. The Government is determined to make sure that it achieves better educational outcomes for all prisoners, including in literacy. This will form a key part of its safety and reform plan, which it will set out this autumn.