Category: Speeches

  • John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    John Redwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Redwood on 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what levels of stock his Department holds of (a) stationery, (b) printer cartridges, (c) treasury tags and other fasteners and (d) other office consumables.

    Mike Penning

    We do not have this level of information on a site by site basis either by value or volume. We operate a LEAN supply chain with minimal stock holding.

    a) Stationery – We are unable to confirm any stock held by sites, inclusive of paper as this information is not collected.

    b) Printer cartridges – as part of the Managed Print Service we operate on the basis of 1 consumable per device as stock, or 3 for a colour device; we also hold some drums and other products depending on the model. There are approximately 7910 devices at present. This does not take into account devices which are not part of the Managed Print Service.

    c) Treasury tags and other fasteners – we do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of Management Information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of other fasteners to identify the appropriate product lines.

    d) Other office consumables – we do not have this information available, this would require further analysis of Management Information for the desktop stationery contract and definition of what constitutes other office consumables in order to obtain information for each individual product.

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-04-10.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps he is taking to help pensioners on low incomes.

    Mr David Gauke

    Supporting pensioners is a key priority for this Government. Due to the triple lock, the full basic State Pension has increased this month to £113.10 a week – a cash rise of £2.95. This is around £8.50 a week higher than it would have been if it had been uprated only in line with average weekly earnings growth since the start of this Parliament.

    We have also passed through the cash rise, due to the triple lock, to the minimum guarantee in Pension Credit. This ensures that the poorest pensioners also benefit.

    This Government also continues to protect universal pensioner benefits, such as Winter Fuel Payments, free eye tests and prescriptions.

  • Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Tyler – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Tyler on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for future elections and referendums to be held in the United Kingdom of the relative voting rights in the Scottish independence referendum of (1) electors resident overseas but formerly resident in a Scottish parliamentary constituency, and (2) electors resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland but registered in a Scottish parliamentary constituency within the last 15 years.

    Lord Bates

    The Government has made no such assessment.

  • Lord Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Lucas on 2014-04-09.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any guarantee that the current levels of service and functionality provided by the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight System are to be provided in any replacement system.

    Lord Deighton

    Our plans for the future replacement of the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system are that service levels and functionality should be equal to or better than those provided in the current system. This will be a requirement within the “Invitation to Tender” that HMRC issues in respect of the procurement process for a new import and export declaration processing system.

  • 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 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to Growth is Our Business: A Strategy for Professional and Business Services published in July 2013, what progress his Department has made in establishing the effect of school reporting metrics on the prestige of higher apprenticeships as a destination.

    Matthew Hancock

    These questions ask about a number of actions related to skills development from “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services”, published in July 2013 as part of Government’s industrial strategy. The strategy was developed in collaboration with the professional and business services sector, focusing on the industry’s agenda for long term growth. It is led by the Professional and Business Services Council.

    The strategy reflects two key business priorities in skills development. First, to expand recruitment routes into the sector, in particular higher apprenticeships, to access a wider, more diverse talent pool. Second, to help businesses engage with the education system to raise aspirations and promote work readiness. A business-led skills taskforce for professional and business services has been established. It is developing approaches to implement the strategy and will report progress at the end of this year.

    The skills taskforce is leading work to help towards the strategy’s ambitious target to treble the number of higher apprenticeship starts across professional and business services to 10,000 over five years; and to follow progress in the interim, so that the numbers of these apprenticeships can be monitored. As a first step, the taskforce is supporting the London Professional Apprenticeship scheme, which was launched in December 2013, and is now recruiting apprentices and employers to take part. The scheme will pilot the proposal for a “clearing house” to help small firms access higher apprenticeships in professional and business services. In addition, the taskforce is backing new ‘trailblazer’ initiatives, announced in March 2014, to develop employer-driven standards for apprenticeships in several professional and business services occupations.

    The skills taskforce is currently researching the metrics for schools’ reporting and their effect on the prestige of higher apprenticeships as initial career destinations. It will consider if more could be done to ensure higher apprenticeships have parity of esteem with higher education.

    The taskforce is also mapping current school engagement activity involving professional and business services firms with a view to identifying and sharing good practice.

    The new emphasis on wider use of higher apprenticeships across professional and business services should contribute towards a greater diversity of routes into these careers in the years to come; potentially offering opportunities to a wider pool of talent.

    The skills taskforce intends to consider how the employability of young people can be supported within the national curriculum, but believes that greater engagement between employers and young people is the best way of improving employability skills.

    My noble friend Lord Lingfield has set up the independent Institution for Further Education to take forward work on a new chartered status quality schemeand is considering the application and assessment process for Further Education providers.

    The skills taskforce is exploring how web-based services can support engagement between firms and the education sector, including a planned digital “inspiration” tool being developed by this Department to encourage business-schools engagement.

    Further information on the implementation of “Growth is our business: a strategy for professional and business services” is included in a progress report on industrial strategy, published on 23 April 2014: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-strategy-early-successes-and-future-priorities.

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  • Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Horwood on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether information included in the registry of company beneficial ownership information will be cross-checked against data held by (a) passport authorities, (b) vehicle licensing authorities, (c) electoral registers and (d) other databases.

    Jenny Willott

    Companies House currently undertakes a range of checks across the breadth of documents delivered to them. In 2012-13 over 400,000 documents were rejected because they did not pass these checks.

    We are carefully considering whether any further reform is necessary, whilst ensuring the UK’s company registration regime remains quick, simple and inexpensive. We do not however envisage that this would include cross-checking data against other sources of information.

  • Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Martin Horwood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Martin Horwood on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the amount of housing proposed on what had been designated Green Belt land in 2010 in adopted and emerging Local Plans.

    Nick Boles

    It is for local authorities in conjunction with their communities to assess development needs and plan to meet them in a way which is consistent with national policy. Our planning reforms have strengthened the role of Local Plans and abolished the previous administration’s undemocratic Regional Strategies which imposed housing targets and Green Belt reviews. This returns power to local authorities and communities to determine whether it is appropriate to develop on Green Belt land, taking into account the strong protections in the National Planning Policy Framework.

    This Government attaches great importance to Green Belt as a way to prevent sprawl and encroachment on open countryside, and as a vital ‘green lung’ for many communities. The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that openness and permanence are essential characteristics of Green Belt. And that Green Belt boundaries can only be revised in exceptional circumstances through the Local Plan process. Planning guidance published on 6 March re-affirmed Green Belt protection.

  • Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Steve McCabe – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2014, Official Report, columns 789-90, on special educational needs, when he expects the special educational needs (SEN) gateway will be available for all parents of SEN children.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education is providing funding of £918,000 to Nasen over two years to develop a special educational needs (SEN) gateway. This will provide professionals with access to free high-quality SEN resources and training materials to support children with SEN and disabilities.

    The gateway will be designed primarily for educational professionals in schools, colleges and other educational settings rather than for parents, although they will be able access the gateway. It is due to be launched in May 2014.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage businesses in the fishing sector to operate in the Falkland Islands.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Honourable Member will be aware that responsibility for the promotion of business and trade opportunities in the Falkland Islands, including in the fishing sector, lies with the Falkland Islands Government (FIG). FIG itself would be the best source of further information as it has responsibility for fishing policy, licence applications and most other maritime matters in the Islands.

    As noted in the Overseas Territories White Paper of 2012, the UK is strongly committed to supporting British companies who wish to do business in the Territories. The investment opportunities in the Overseas Territories were highlighted in November last year as part of the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC), with a half day Investment Forum at which over 150 businesses attended. A similar event is planned as part of the JMC programme for this year.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria are used to decide in which countries to have UK consular and visa offices.

    James Brokenshire

    Decisions regarding the location of our visa application centres, and the
    places in which the applications are decided, are based on a number of
    different factors, including geography, security issues, distribution of
    demand, political and economic impacts, as well as the financial cost. The
    Home Office uses commercial partners to help run its network of visa
    application centres, which are the customer-facing end of the service. Under
    new contracts which came into effect on 1 April, we will have 340 visa
    application points in 142 countries around the world. Applications submitted at visa
    application centres are then sent to one of our 32 decision-making hubs for
    consideration.

    On the Consular side, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) supports
    British nationals through the Diplomatic network of 220 Posts around the world, in 170
    countries. They also have a network of 230 Honorary Consuls who provide
    support in places where the UK is not otherwise represented. Having consular
    partners present in countries where the UK is not represented ensures British
    nationals have immediate access to assistance. There are only three countries
    in the world where there is no in country consular representation by the UK or
    any of our main consular partners (EU, Australia, Canada, US or New Zealand).

    These are Palau, Sao Tome & Principe and Tuvalu. In these cases, UK Travel
    Advice instructs British nationals to seek assistance when needed through the
    nearest country with British diplomatic representation: Philippines, Angola and
    Fiji respectively. The FCO currently advise against all travel to Syria and
    warn British nationals who travel there that the FCO will not be able to
    provide them with any assistance. The FCO also advise against all but
    essential travel to Iran and advise British nationals to seek assistance from
    any EU Member State present in the country.