Category: Speeches

  • Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent meetings he has had with representatives of the deaf community.

    Mike Penning

    I met representatives from the Deaf Community (Sir Malcolm Bruce MP, David Buxton British Deaf Association, Jim Edwards Signature and Susan Daniels National Deaf Children’s Society) on 23 October 2013. As part of the continuing commitment from that meeting to consider Government services for deaf people, officials have recently met and have remained in contact with representatives of the deaf community, including BDA and Action on Hearing Loss. Action on Hearing Loss is a member of the Disability Charities Consortium who I met on 26 February 2014.

  • Baroness Wheatcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Baroness Wheatcroft – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Wheatcroft on 2014-05-06.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of current women prisoners were in employment before being jailed.

    Lord Faulks

    The Ministry of Justice does not centrally collate or hold information on the questions above. However, a survey conducted between 2005 and 2010 (Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction) provides some information on these topics.

    Copies of the reports are available via the following link:

    Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) – GOV.UK

    “

  • Mr Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mr Gareth Thomas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Gareth Thomas on 2014-03-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the processing time target is for personal independence payment (PIP) claims; and what proportion of such claims took longer than this target time to process since the introduction of PIPs.

    Mike Penning

    As you will appreciate, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a new benefit and processes are currently bedding in. There are no time limits or targets on processing times to claims for PIP but we are taking the necessary action to improve the processing times.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the amount of (a) refuse-derived fuel and (b) solid recovered fuel produced in the UK exported annually for use in energy from waste plants overseas.

    Dan Rogerson

    In 2012 (the most recent year for which definitive figures are available), 977,452 tonnes of refuse-derived fuel and 7,783 tonnes of solid recovered fuel were exported from England and Wales for use in energy from waste plants. Data for Scotland and Northern Ireland is collected separately and falls under the responsibility of the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive respectively.

  • Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Gavin Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Williamson on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many planning appeals resulted in local authority decisions being overturned by the planning inspector in South Staffordshire in (a) 2009, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012 and (e) 2013.

    Nick Boles

    Planning is a quasi-judicial process; it is a long-standing feature of the planning system that there is a right of appeal, just as there are with other local quasi-judicial decisions such as on licensing applications, gambling applications or parking fines.

    The table below shows planning appeal decisions by calendar year for South Staffordshire District Council. To assist public scrutiny, I have provided comparative figures for a similar period before 2010.

    Calendar Year

    Allowed

    Split

    Dismissed

    Total

    2007

    25

    0

    37

    62

    2008

    27

    1

    53

    81

    2009

    14

    0

    26

    40

    2010

    18

    0

    35

    53

    2011

    19

    0

    33

    52

    2012

    16

    0

    26

    42

    2013

    8

    0

    22

    30

    Whilst the precise number of appeals will fluctuate from year to year, this table shows that the number of appeals both (a) received and (b) allowed has fallen in recent years.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Roger Godsiff on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to check all lorries containing live animals for export at UK ports.

    George Eustice

    The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) takes a risk based approach to vehicle inspection in relation to exports of livestock for slaughter. The Government has no plans to change this approach.

  • Mr Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Andy Slaughter – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Andy Slaughter on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of state-funded schools have changed their head teacher since September 2011.

    David Laws

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Energy and Climate Change

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Cathy Jamieson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions he has had with (a) electricity generators and (b) representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises and consumer groups on proposals to assist small business energy consumers.

    Michael Fallon

    DECC Ministers and officials meet industry representatives and consumer groups on a regular basis to discuss market issues.

    In July last year, No.10 and DECC set up a joint working group with industry and consumer groups to look at ways for improving the transparency and fairness of the energy market for small businesses. At the end of 2013, the working group published the Small Business Energy Communique, an agreement with industry to make it easier for small businesses to get a better deal in the energy market.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-business-energy-working-group-communique

    “

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 19W, on the electoral register, with which civic society organisations the Electoral Commission is proactively seeking partnerships for the purpose of increasing electoral registration.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it is in the process of contacting a range of organisations, including civic society organisations, and will write to the honourable member once this is complete with the list of organisations that have signed up.

  • Gerald Kaufman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Gerald Kaufman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerald Kaufman on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 8 April 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Naraendra Singh Bhati.

    James Brokenshire

    I wrote to the Rt. Hon. Member on 20 May 2014.