Category: Speeches

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many days of employee absence there were in each Government department in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Francis Maude

    It is for individual departments to provide detailed information on absence for each of the last ten years.

    This Government is working to reduce Civil Service absence levels and we know that the average days lost per employee has fallen from 8.7 in June 2010 to 7.4 in December 2013. Average Working Days Lost per staff year are now at their lowest reported figure since 1999, whilst the total number of days lost in the Civil Service is at its lowest recorded level.

    The figures for the Cabinet Office are:

    Dec

    2003

    Dec

    2004

    Dec 2005

    2005-06

    2006-07

    2007-08

    2008-09

    2009-10

    2010-11

    2011-12

    2012-13

    Yr to Dec 2013

    3.5

    3.0

    4.2

    4.1

    3.3

    4.8

    4.8

    3.6

    4.0

    3.7

    2.7

    2.5

    and can be found online here at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-absence-data

    “

  • Bridget Phillipson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Bridget Phillipson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, column 693W, on bus services: disability, how many public service vehicles (a) in each region and (b) operated by each operator have been issued with PSVAR certificates.

    Stephen Hammond

    I refer the Honourable Member to my answer of 20th March 2014. As indicated there the Department for Transport’s annual bus statistics (published in September 2013) show that 78% of buses in England have been issued with PSVAR certificates, while 92% of buses are low floor.

    The following table provides a breakdown of PSVAR certificates for each region:

    Region Buses with certificates %Buses having certificates
    East Midlands 1,400 72%
    East of England 1,970 67%
    London 8,880 97%
    North East 1,370 73%
    North West 3,900 76%
    South East 2,690 71%
    South West 1,950 63%
    West Midlands 2,730 77%
    Yorkshire and the Humber 2,800 69%
    England 27,680 78%

    The figures in this table are compiled from annual operator returns to the Department for Transport, which are not broken down by region. To compile the regional level estimates, each operator has been assigned to its main region of operation.

    The returns are made under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947, and figures for individual operators are therefore considered as commercially confidential.

  • 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 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 66W, on asylum: children, which local authorities have used the fund and how much to support asylum seekers who are care leavers in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    The total amount of funding provided in each of the 5 years is set out below:

    Year £million
    2013/14 – 11.9
    2012/13 – 12.9
    2011/12 – 15.3
    2010/11 – 20.3
    2009/10 – 11.0

    The figures for 2009-13 inclusive are taken from the audited accounts of the UK
    Border Agency. Figures for 2013-14 are provisional and subject to audit and
    possible adjustment.

    The following lists the local authorities that receive the leaving care
    funding.

  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Geoffrey Clifton-Brown – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown on 2014-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will amend the benefits rules on the habitual residency test to exempt family members in the services returning from an overseas posting; and if he will make a statement.

    Esther McVey

    It has always been the case that all migrants, including UK nationals returning from anything more than a short period abroad, must satisfy the Habitual Residence Test. This is a vital tool which enables the Government to continue to protect the integrity of the UK welfare system.

  • Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Richard Harrington – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Harrington on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support people affected by recent flooding in the Balkans

    Mr David Lidington

    I discussed the impact of the floods with Prime Minister Vucic of Serbia in Belgrade on 2 June and with Prime Minister Bevanda in Sarajevo on 3 June. During my visit to the region I also met the Serbian Red Cross and travelled to Maglaj in Bosnia-Herzegovina to meet the Mayor and representatives of World Vision.

    In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), between 18 and 23 May a thirty-three person water rescue team from the British Fire Service was deployed to work alongside EUFOR Operation Althea and local rescue efforts. They rescued nearly 200 people, delivered large amounts of humanitarian aid, and helped restore power in villages North of Bijeljina.

    In Serbia, the UK provided 64 radios for the Serbian Ministry of the Interior, to assist with the coordination of their response teams; and donated £280,000 worth of heavy lift and transport vehicles to the Serbian Red Cross to aid their relief distribution effort.

    A team from the UK flew out to Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the week commencing 20 May to assess likely humanitarian and recovery needs. During my visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina I was able to announce that the UK had approved £250,000 to support a World Vision flood response project in the region focussing on sanitation and health and providing support for 140,000 people made homeless by the floods.

    In addition to this bilateral support, the UK provided support to BiH, Serbia and Croatia through the EU, UN and other international organisations. In BiH, EUFOR Operation Althea, to which the UK contributes troops in-theatre and in reserve, assisted the BiH Armed Forces in their response to the flooding. The First Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who provide part of EUFOR’s intermediate reserve, and are in BiH for a routine operational rehearsal, will assist the BiH Armed Forces in this regard.

    The UK has worked closely with the EU European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO), and offered advice and assistance during all phases of the flood response effort. ECHO have released €3.2m in humanitarian aid to support the most vulnerable population in BiH and in Serbia (to which the UK will have contributed 15%).

    The Government will work closely with the UNDP, the EU and other international organisations to assess what further help might be given to help both Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina recover from the impact of the floods.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what advantages he expects to accrue from the new bespoke trading fund status of the Defence Equipment and Support Organisation; and what new freedoms that organisation will have which were not previously available to it.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Copies of the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Corporate Plan and the Framework Document will be placed in the Library of the House in due course, and published on the gov.uk website and the Defence Intranet. The Corporate Plan sets out the DE&S strategic objectives and timelines for the next three years. The Framework Document includes the function and governance arrangements for the new DE&S, including the freedoms and benefits.

  • Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Hugh Bayley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Hugh Bayley on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many deaths there were from (a) drug poisoning and (b) drug misuse in (i) York local authority area, (ii) North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust, (iii) Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group area and (iv) England in each year since 2009.

    Mr Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Nick Smith – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Smith on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many fires were reported at privately-owned waste management sites in the last two years.

    Dan Rogerson

    Environment Agency records show that there were a total of 595 incidents of fire reported at privately operated waste management sites in 2012 and 2013. This represents an average of one fire for every 18 privately operated sites.

  • Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Caroline Flint – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to the Answer of 10 April 2013, Official Report, column 1119W, on energy prices, what estimate his Department has made of changes to the wholesale cost of (a) electricity and (b) gas in (i) 2013 and (ii) January to May 2014.

    Gregory Barker

    The average GB wholesale electricity price in January 2013 was 5.00 pence/kWh. By December 2013 this had risen by 2% to 5.10 pence/kWh. The average price for January 2014 was 4.78 pence/kWh. By May 2014 this had fallen by 17% to 3.97 pence/kWh.

    The average GB wholesale gas price in January 2013 was 2.28 pence/kWh. By December 2013 this had risen by 4% to 2.37 pence/kWh. The average price for January 2014 was 2.22 pence/kWh. By May 2014 this had fallen by 30% to 1.55 pence/kWh.

  • Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Sarah Teather – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Teather on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration detainees left the UK through the assisted voluntary returns programmes in each of the last five years.

    James Brokenshire

    For the last five years, the numbers of detainees who have left the UK annually
    through AVR programmes are as follows:

    Year Detainees departing through AVR
    2009 585
    2010 824
    2011 848
    2012 1150
    2013 2081

    The figures provided are sourced from a Home Office management information
    system which is not quality assured under National Statistics protocols and is
    subject to change due to internal data quality checking. Figures provided from
    this source do not constitute part of National Statistics and should be treated
    as provisional.