Category: Speeches

  • Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Iain Wright – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Iain Wright on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Written Statement of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 47WS, on UK Green Investment Bank, when he expects the assessment and feasibility stage to be finished; and when he expects to make a further statement on the Bank.

    Michael Fallon

    This business planning phase of work is expected to take a number of months. I hope to be able to provide an update in the autumn.

  • Nigel Adams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Nigel Adams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Adams on 2014-03-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether his Department has plans to extend the life of generating capacity currently scheduled to be closed in the event that delays in new investment arise as a result of uncertainty about the outcome of the competition investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.

    Michael Fallon

    Government’s plans for the Capacity Market and interim arrangements being put in place by National Grid ahead of this will offer an opportunity to extend the life of existing capacity where it is economically efficient to do so. Subject to state aid approval the first Capacity Market auction will take place in late 2014 for delivery in winter 2018. This will ensure sufficient capacity into the coming decades by offering regular payments to existing and new generation capacity that is successful at auction.

    In advance of this National Grid has developed Supplemental Balancing Reserve, a new balancing service through which it will be able to procure further capacity should it be needed, including capacity that is or otherwise intends to mothball or close. National Grid will only seek to competitively procure the amount of capacity that its forecast determines necessary and expect to run an initial tender process this spring for capacity for the winter of 2014/15 and 2015/16, with the possibility of extending this period if necessary.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Chi Onwurah – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will review prescription charges for adults with cystic fibrosis.

    Dr Daniel Poulter

    In 2010, responding to Professor Sir Ian Gilmore’s review into extending entitlement to free prescriptions to all those with a long-term condition, the Government made clear that in light of the challenging financial context, no changes would be made to the current list of exemptions. Prescription charges in England raise valuable income, in the region of £450 million each year, which helps the National Health Service to maintain vital services for patients.

    The extensive system of exemption arrangements, including for those on low incomes who may struggle to pay for their prescriptions, which is in place means that around 90% of all prescription items are already dispensed free of charge. Prescription Prepayment Certificates (PPCs) are also available for those who have to pay NHS prescription charges and need multiple prescriptions. This is the fifth year the cost of an annual certificate, and the third year the cost of a three month certificate, have been frozen. Both certificates will also remain at £104 and £29.10 respectively, next year. There is no limit to the number of items that can be obtained through a PPC. The annual certificate benefits anyone needing more than 12 items a year, and the three month certificate anyone needing more than three items in that three month period.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people returning to Jobcentre Plus after two years on the Work Programme are aged under 25 years.

    Esther McVey

    Statistics on the number of claimants who have returned to Jobcentre Plus after 104 weeks on the Work Programme by age group can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool

    Guidance for users is available at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-tabulation-tool-guidance

    “

  • John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    John Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Robertson on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will estimate the revenue generated in Scotland by companies that have their headquarters (a) in Scotland and (b) outside of Scotland.

    David Mundell

    There are no estimates of the number of companies headquartered in Scotland, of the 343,105 enterprises operating in Scotland as at March 2013. Registered private sector enterprises with ultimate ownership outside Scotland accounted for 3.1% of firms, and 58.1% of turnover. This means that 41.9% of business turnover in Scotland is generated by enterprises with ownership in Scotland. These figures come from the Scottish Government publication Businesses in Scotland 2013.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Vernon Coaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the 60 questions relating to the future Strategic Defence and Security Review to which the Permanent Under-Secretary of his Department referred during his oral evidence to the Defence Select Committee on 25 March 2014.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    The cross-Government lead on the next NSS and SDSR sits with Cabinet Office. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is engaged with them and other interested Departments. MOD is in the very early stages of identifying those areas which may require further work or which we may wish to look at in 2015 as part of the Cabinet Office-led process. This evolving work supports the development of Government policy and I am therefore not able to provide this internal policy work.

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-06-11.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the profitability and financial position of Mapeley Steps Contractor Limited in its role of managing the HM Revenue and Customs’ estate.

    Mr David Gauke

    HMRC monitors the financial position of its key suppliers under agreed transparency arrangements. HMRC is unable to provide confidential financial information relating to its suppliers.

  • Andrew Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of long-term trends in the number of hours of literacy teaching which primary school children receive and how this affects reading and writing attainment.

    Elizabeth Truss

    We do not collect data on the number of hours of literacy teaching primary school children receive.

    We are committed to raising standards of literacy in schools and making sure that every child masters the basics of reading and writing at a young age. The new primary national curriculum for English is explicitly designed to make sure that all children leave primary school fully literate and ready to progress at secondary school.

    The new national curriculum sets out very clearly what should be taught to pupils. However, it gives school the flexibility to decide how to teach it, including how much time to spend on teaching literacy, because schools are best placed to determine the needs and abilities of their pupils and how to meet them.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the forthcoming National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard on fertility will be considered for a CCG Outcome Indicator.

    Jane Ellison

    The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has not yet published its final quality standard on fertility. NICE’s Clinical Commissioning Group Outcomes Indicator Set (CCGOIS) Advisory Committee makes recommendations on potential indicators derived from its published guidance and quality standards for inclusion in the CCGOIS which are then considered by NHS England.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-03-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the current requirements for seizing property or cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to bring those requirements into line with the new powers of HM Revenue and Customs to seize money from an individual’s bank account without a warrant.

    Karen Bradley

    The Government’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy clearly sets out our
    plans to attack criminal finances by making it harder to move, hide and use the
    proceeds of crime. These include measures to enable assets to be frozen more
    quickly and earlier in investigations, reduce the time that courts give
    offenders to pay confiscation orders, and make it easier for magistrates to
    confiscate cash held in bank accounts.