Category: Speeches

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-04-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many foreign-registered vehicles were reported by the public to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency for being untaxed in the last five years.

    Stephen Hammond

    The number of reports received specifically from the public is not captured.

    The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency records information notified about foreign registered vehicles, including those that are unlicensed, from offence reports provided by the police, other enforcement agencies and sightings from members of the public. Between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2014, 20,349 notifications were received.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what research he commissioned on the effects of the closure of the Hull Official Receiver’s office before the decision to close that office; and if he will make a statement.

    Jenny Willott

    Before taking the decision to close the Hull office the Insolvency Service reviewed the impact on customers, employees, and the agency’s finances; the strategic viability of the move; and how it could be delivered.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the government of the Irish Republic currently owes the UK; and when he expects the amount outstanding to be repaid in full.

    Nicky Morgan

    In accordance with the Loans to Ireland Act 2010, HM Treasury reports to Parliament every six months including information on the outstanding principal. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the report laid on 28 April 2014 which is also available online, alongside all previous reports submitted by HM Treasury, on the following site:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bilateral-loan-to-ireland.

    “

  • Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-04-28.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many months of imports the UK’s reserves can cover; and if he will make a statement.

    Nicky Morgan

    The UK has not operated an exchange rate targeting monetary policy regime since 1992. Rather, foreign exchange reserves are currently held on a precautionary basis, to be used in the event of unexpected shocks.

    Latest data shows that the value of the reserves is $110.9bn, up from $71.2bn in June 2010. UK imports averaged £44.4bn per month over 2013.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what arrangements are in place for the pension entitlement and employment status of firefighters under the new pension arrangements if they are unable to maintain required fitness levels.

    Brandon Lewis

    Where a firefighter cannot maintain operational fitness, the fire and rescue authority will assess the reasons for the loss of fitness. Where the loss is due to a permanent medical reason, the firefighter will be considered for ill-health retirement under the rules of the pension scheme. Where there is no permanent medical reason, the firefighter will receive support and training to increase fitness to the required level.

  • Khalid Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Khalid Mahmood – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Khalid Mahmood on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to remove any contractual gagging orders or similar measures applicable to staff in the West Midlands involved in the ongoing investigation into school governance in that area led by Ian Kershaw.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    The Department for Education hopes that any individual with relevant information about the serious allegations made in relation to a number of schools in Birmingham will come forward and share this with the Education Commissioner, Peter Clarke, and Ian Kershaw, the Chief Adviser for Birmingham City Council’s investigation.

    Amendments to The Employment Relations Act 1996, introduced by the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA) 1998, mean that any confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements cannot have the effect of preventing a protected disclosure and any provision will be void to the extent it seeks to do so. The Department revised the model settlement agreements for new academies in January to make this absolutely clear. The PIDA Act 1998 also introduced provisions to protect workers from detrimental treatment or victimisation from their employer if, in the public interest, they blow the whistle on wrongdoing.

  • Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Peter Luff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Luff on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 8 April 2014, Official Report, column 208W, on Common Agricultural Policy, if he will assess the value and purpose of advertising the merits of the EU Common Agricultural Policy in British cinemas.

    George Eustice

    We do not have any plans to assess the value and purpose of advertising the merits of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in British cinemas. Using cinema advertising is not part of the Government’s approach to communicating information on the CAP. My Department is informed by the European Commission that the advert ran for four weeks across the EU, including in the UK, but it has now ended and that the campaign was funded by reducing other activities, such as European Commission attendance at certain events.

  • Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Gregory Campbell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gregory Campbell on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to tackle the increase of type 2 diabetes; and what work is being done to identify best practice and share knowledge throughout the UK.

    Jane Ellison

    The NHS Health Check programme is a risk assessment and management programme aimed at preventing a range of illnesses, including diabetes. Economic modelling has shown that potentially it can prevent more than 4,000 people a year from developing diabetes.

    Public Health England is supporting local authorities to deliver the NHS Health Check programme. Take up continues to improve with the number of checks being undertaken up by 13% compared to the same period last year.

    Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs) focus on priority service areas to help improve the quality and equity of care and outcomes by bringing together those who use, provide and commission services in the area they serve. There are 12 Cardiovascular Disease Strategic Clinical Networks, 10 of which have dedicated diabetes clinical leads, and they support the prevention of Type 2 diabetes, and identify and share good practice within their areas. Diabetes UK is supporting meetings between the NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, and the diabetes clinical leads and associate directors of the SCNs to help ensure that best practice is shared across all 12 regional networks.

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal immigrants are estimated to have entered the UK from Calais in each year since 1999.

    James Brokenshire

    To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty’s Government
    cannot comment on port specific statistics.

  • Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sadiq Khan – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sadiq Khan on 2014-04-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were charged with receiving illicit or unauthorised items through the post in each of the last four years.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prisons employ a range of measures to detect, disrupt and deter the trafficking of illicit items into prisons. Any contraband detected coming into the prison will be recorded on a central incident reporting system. However, to identify the manner in which the contraband entered the prison and any subsequent referral to the police would require a manual interrogation of incident reports. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

    Information on prosecutions and convictions for these offences is not held centrally and could only be obtained by asking each prison to source information locally. This, again, could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.