Category: Speeches

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the procurement contract for the new Hitachi Intercity Express Programme specifies the internal layout and specification of rolling stock.

    Claire Perry

    The Intercity Express Programme (IEP) specification delivers the priorities of both train operators and passenger groups. The contract also makes provision for variation of the interior layout during the life of IEP to response to changes in passenger demand and priorities.

  • Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Patten – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Patten on 2015-12-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the freedom of Christian worship by British citizens visiting the Maldives.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    The Maldives is an Islamic country. Under its laws public observance of any religion other than Islam is prohibited. We state this in our Travel Advice and advise UK tourists to respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times.

  • Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Helen Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nurse training places were available in England in each year from 2009 to 2015.

    Ben Gummer

    The following table shows the number of pre-registration nurse training places that were available for each year since 2009.

    Nursing

    2009/10

    2010/11

    2011/12

    2012/13

    2013/14

    2014/15

    2015/16

    Planned

    21,337

    20,327

    18,069

    17,546

    18,056

    19,206

    20,033

    Source: multi professional education and training budget monitoring returns

    Health Education England will formally publish the 2016/17 National Workforce Plan for England in February 2016, this document will include confirmation of the proposed increase in nursing commissions.

  • Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Green of Deddington – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Green of Deddington on 2016-02-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether an EEA national residing in the UK who wished to bring in a non-EU spouse into the country would, under the draft Decision by the European Council published on 2 February, have to meet the requirements for salary and the spouse the conditions for language as are required of a British citizen and are set out under part 8 of the UK Immigration Rules..

    Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

    The Government considers that it is important that the interests of energy consumers are represented on the SEC Panel. The current arrangements were consulted on in the Government’s Smart Energy Code Consultation in April 2012, and were concluded in the Government Responses in November 2012 and April 2013. The Government concluded that Consumer Futures, as the exclusive statutory consumer body in the energy sector, was best placed to nominate consumer representatives for the Panel. These statutory responsibilities were transferred to Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland when Consumer Futures was abolished in 2014.

  • Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Crawley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Crawley on 2016-03-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what have been the full costs to date, including staff time, of HMRC’s pilot of the Codentify system.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) takes the restrictions in the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) very seriously. These require that the development, implementation and enforcement of tobacco policies as part of public health policies should be protected from the influence of the tobacco industry.

    Codentify is a system, developed and introduced by the major tobacco manufacturers on their own initiative through the Digital Coding and Tracking Association (DCTA). HMRC played no part in the development or introduction of the system nor did HMRC require that it be introduced. Codentify codes already feature on packs and are there regardless of any HMRC use of them. The trial HMRC is undertaking is to see whether these existing codes could help officers in the field to authenticate products and help tackle illicit tobacco. No other companies currently provide such codes.

    The use of Codentify by HMRC is not part of an exercise to evaluate the wider use of potential tools available on the market. Any such exercise would be undertaken in the context of the implementation of the EU Tobacco Products Directive track and trace security feature requirements, which will be implemented by May 2019 for cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco.

    The European Commission is still considering, with Member States, proposals for new pan European security features and track and trace systems, and has yet to determine any technical specifications. HMRC are not evaluating Codentify as a track and trace tool or potential security feature; the aspects of the system being used are entirely separate from the requirements of the Directive.

    The use of Codentify is not a formal pilot and there will not be reports or results to publish. Instead the trial will identify the strengths, weaknesses and usefulness of using Codentify to HMRC as an authentication tool in the field. HMRC will review this later in 2016. Some resource has been spent providing access to the system and training officers in the use of the tool. However, this has been minimal and has not been separately identified. The Department of Health leads on public health policy and has been consulted on this initiative. HMRC sees no conflict between its current use of the Codentify system and FCTC requirements.

  • Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Nadine Dorries – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nadine Dorries on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to improve the travel experiences of blind and partially sighted people; and if he will make a statement.

    Andrew Jones

    The Government plans to publish an accessibility action plan (AAP) to improve the travel experience of disabled people, including blind and partially sighted people. We are working with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to assess what information should go in this publication and how to update any other Departmental guidance to make it used and useful to visually impaired people and a wide audience. We plan for the AAP to be ready for wider consultation in the summer.

  • Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Berkeley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Berkeley on 2016-05-05.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the cost of HS2’s AP3 design for its part of Euston Station and, within that cost, what allowances have been made for (1) inflation, (2) property purchase and compensation, (3) demolition, and (4) provision for taxis, buses and connections to London Underground and Crossrail 2, if built.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The latest cost estimate for Euston is £2,250m. This is based on the revised proposal for Euston included in the 3rd Additional Provision (AP3) to the Phase One hybrid Bill, deposited in Parliament in September 2015.

    This figure is at 2nd quarter 2011 price levels and excludes land and property, inflation and contingency costs.

    The property purchase and compensation costs for the AP3 proposals are included as part of the wider property budget for Phase One of HS2.

    This estimate includes provisional allowances for demolition, station connections for taxis & buses and connections to London Underground. Due to their commercial sensitivity, figures for those provisional allowances are not currently available for release.

    The AP3 proposals do not include a connection for Crossrail 2, however the design of the high speed station has been coordinated with the promoters of the Crossrail 2 scheme and AP3 does not preclude a connection.

  • John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    John Spellar – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Spellar on 2016-06-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department’s purchasing policies support British (a) industry and (b) agriculture.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Department’s purchasing policies support the Government’s commitment to do all it can to ensure UK suppliers can compete effectively for public sector contracts, in line with our current international obligations and guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service.

  • Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Thangam Debbonaire – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thangam Debbonaire on 2016-09-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to determine how many trade negotiators his Department will require in the next six months.

    Greg Hands

    The Department for International Trade already has a strong and capable trade policy team which has more than doubled in size since 23 June. Over the coming months we will be developing that team to build the world class negotiating strengths needed to deliver the best outcomes for the UK. They will have the depth and breadth of expertise to handle the full range of sectoral and cross-cutting issues that arise in trade agreements, supported by analysts and lawyers.

  • Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Joan Ryan – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether 18 to21 year olds in supported housing services will still be able to claim housing benefit after April 2017.

    Justin Tomlinson

    I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Rt Hon. Member for East Ham, Stephen Timms, on the 14 September 2015, to Question UNI 9834

    “