Category: Speeches

  • Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Mark Williams – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when his Department introduced the Welsh Language Scheme; when that scheme was last updated; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that scheme.

    Matthew Hancock

    The Government is enthusiastically committed to the Welsh language and to providing Government services in the Welsh language where there is demand for them.

    The Cabinet Office is improving the quality of service for Welsh speakers through user research, conducted jointly by the Wales Office and the Government Digital Service (GDS), as well as feedback from subject matter experts in governmental Welsh Language Units.

    GDS has liaised with government departments on a user needs-based review of current Welsh-language content on GOV.UK. The content in Welsh will be more prominently promoted from the equivalent English-language pages.

    “

  • Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kevan Jones – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2015-12-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned expenditure is on television recruitment campaigns for the (a) Royal Air Force and (b) Royal Air Force Reserve in (i) 2015-16, (ii) 2016-17, (iii) 2017-18, (iv) 2018-19 and (v) 2019-20.

    Penny Mordaunt

    The expenditure, or planned expenditure, of each Service on television recruitment campaigns in Financial Year (FY) 2015-16 is as follows:

    Naval Service – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £4.3 million for Regular personnel and £0.72 million for Reserves.

    Army – planned expenditure is £0.94 million for Regular personnel and £0.65 million for Reserves.

    Royal Air Force (RAF) – planned expenditure has not been finalised but is currently forecast to be £3.46 million. It is not possible to differentiate between Regular and Reserve spend as the majority of RAF advertisements are targeted towards both cadres.

    Plans for expenditure in FY 2016-17 and onwards have not been finalised.

  • Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Cunningham on 2016-01-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 22318, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of NHS Bursaries issued to medical students in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

    Ben Gummer

    Information of the total value of National Health Service maintenance bursaries issued to medical students in each of the last five complete financial years is shown in the following table.

    Financial Year1

    Bursary Expenditure (£)3

    2010/112

    22,228,317

    2011/122

    21,887,045

    2012/132

    22,966,804

    2013/142

    23,424,694

    2014/152

    23,235,955

    Source: NHS Business Services Authority

    1Covers the period 1 April to 31 March.

    2Figures extracted from Annual Report for the respective financial year.

    3The NHS Bursary includes the basic maintenance award, all supplementary allowances and one off payments.

    NHS Bursaries are available to undergraduate medical students from the fifth year of the undergraduate degree and to graduates from the second year of the four year accelerated degree.

  • 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 2016-02-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24113, on what occasions the Government has requested the sending state to waive the rights to diplomatic immunity of an individual diplomat in the UK in the last 12 months.

    Mr Philip Hammond

    We do not disclose the missions from which we have sought waivers of immunity. Doing so would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and the States in question. Statistics for the total number of waivers of immunity sought for foreign diplomats in the UK in the last 12 months are not kept centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. Statistics for waivers of immunity sought in cases of serious and significant offences allegedly committed by foreign diplomats in the last 12 months have yet to be compiled. Those allegedly committed in the calendar year 2015 will be available in the next annual Written Ministerial Statements on the failure of foreign missions to comply with UK law in 2015.

  • Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve spousal employment for service personnel posted in Cyprus.

    Mark Lancaster

    There are a limited number of employment opportunities for family members of deployed personnel within British Forces Cyprus (BFC). Spousal employment is restricted by the 1960 Treaty of Establishment between the UK and the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), which states that service organisations shall, ‘so far as is practicable, employ only Cypriot staff’. To help mitigate this restriction, the Partner Employment Programme (PEP) under the New Employment Model (NEM) facilitates courses and training to assist with employability on return to the UK. BFC is also facilitating Business Start-up courses run by Wolverhampton University. There are no restrictions on spouses seeking employment in the RoC; by way of an example it is known that some spouses are employed locally in international schools.

  • Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Anne-Marie Trevelyan – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Anne-Marie Trevelyan on 2016-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what instructions his Department has issued to ambassadors and diplomats in relation to the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

    Mr David Lidington

    The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is in regular contact with diplomatic posts overseas to ensure they are informed of HM Government’s position, including on the referendum, and are able to promote the United Kingdom’s interests overseas, supporting our citizens and businesses around the globe.

  • The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The Lord Bishop of St Albans – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Lord Bishop of St Albans on 2016-05-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to improve the reporting of fly-tipping on private land, since the publication of Defra’s 2010 report, Fly Tipping: Let’s cut it out.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.

  • Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Ian C. Lucas – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian C. Lucas on 2016-06-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether he met the Minister for the Cabinet Office to examine the options for extracting greater public value from Channel 4 between 4 September 2015 and 24 September 2015.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport did not meet with the Minister for the Cabinet Office to discuss Channel 4 between 4 September 2015 and 24 September 2015.

  • Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Graham Allen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graham Allen on 2016-09-09.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer to Question 44728, how many (a) amended and (b) cancelled tax credit claims account for the savings in annually managed expenditure identified.

    Jane Ellison

    Since the contract with Concentrix began in November 2014, Concentrix have amended around 103,000 tax credit claims up to and including 11 September 2016. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Concentrix, acting on HMRC’s behalf, do not separate out the number of awards that are either partially amended or stopped.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on recipients of the expiry of the Small Business Rate Relief scheme at the end of March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr Marcus Jones

    The Government is continuing to consider representations, which included business rates reliefs, to inform decisions on reform of the business rates system. The Government has confirmed the review will conclude by the end of the year.