Category: Speeches

  • Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Roger Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will extend the Help to Buy Scheme to housing built with local affordable conditions attached.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme offers lenders the option to purchase a guarantee on mortgages where the borrower has a deposit of between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of the value of the property. A mortgage supported by the mortgage guarantee scheme works in exactly the same way as any other mortgage, but has to comply with the requirements set out in the scheme rules. In particular, the scheme rules exclude the use of the mortgage guarantee alongside other government schemes or shared ownership schemes.

    The Help to Buy: equity loan scheme is managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government and is available to all those who aspire to own a new build home, but struggle to access or afford the repayments on a low deposit mortgage. The scheme is open to first time buyers and to those looking to move up the housing ladder.

    Whilst the Government keeps all schemes, including Help to Buy, under review, the Government currently has no plans to extend the Help to Buy scheme.

    Further information about both parts of the Help to Buy scheme can be found at: http://www.helptobuy.org.uk/home.

    “

  • Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2014-03-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to ensure that children from less privileged backgrounds are not disadvantaged at school.

    Lord Nash

    Raising the attainment of disadvantaged pupils is a top priority for this Government. That is why we have invested in the pupil premium for schools, which has risen from £625 million in 2011-12 to £2.5 billion in 2014-15, giving schools the additional resources they need to raise disadvantaged pupils’ attainment, and give them a better start in life.

    We have extended eligibility for funding over the last three years, as well as raising the per-pupil funding rate. When the pupil premium was introduced in April 2011, schools received £488 for each pupil who was registered for free school meals or looked after by the local authority for six months or more. From April 2014, the funding will be £1,300 per primary aged pupil, £935 per secondary aged pupil and £1,900 for each pupil who is looked after for one day or more; or who left care through adoption or a Special Guardianship Order on or after 30 December 2005, or via a Residence Order.

    Headteachers are held accountable for the impact of this additional funding in three different ways. Firstly, the performance tables set out the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils and the gap between them and their peers. Secondly, Ofsted inspects the achievement of all pupils in a school. Where disadvantaged pupils are making insufficient progress, inspectors are likely to grade a school as requiring improvement and will recommend that the school undertakes a pupil premium review. Thirdly, schools are required to publish online how much pupil premium funding they receive, how they have used this funding and an evaluation of the impact that it has had.

    Our EBacc is driving up the number of pupils leaving school with the subjects most prized by employers and universities. Already, our introduction of the EBacc has seen the number of children studying at least 5 of the essential subjects rise.

    The free schools programme is another powerful way to ensure greater opportunity for more disadvantaged children. 174 free schools are open, 45% of which were set up in the 30% most deprived areas of the country; communities often poorly served for generations.

    Some of our most disadvantaged schools are seeing the improvements brought about by successful academy sponsors. 26.3% of pupils in secondary sponsored academies are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average for secondary schools of 15.1%, yet results in sponsored academies continue to improve faster than in local authority schools.

  • Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jamie Reed – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jamie Reed on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what average number of GP visits was required prior to diagnosis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

    Norman Lamb

    Information concerning the number of patients diagnosed with either rheumatoid arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis on an annual basis is not collected.

  • Mr Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Jim Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Jim Cunningham on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of service leavers (a) applied to and (b) were accepted on initial teacher training in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10, (iii) 2010-11, (iv) 2011-12, (v) 2012-13 and (vi) the current academic year to date.

    David Laws

    In the 24 month period between March 2011 and April 2013, 322 service leavers applied to postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT). 132 of these were successful. This is an average of six successful applicants per month.

    In the current academic year we have introduced the new Troops to Teachers undergraduate route. This is not comparable to previous years as it is a dedicated undergraduate route which is only for service leavers.

    982 service leavers applied to Cohort 1, and the application process ran for 4 months. 41 service leavers joined the programme in January 2014. This is an average of 10 successful applicants per month. We expect a higher acceptance rate for Cohort 2 as we develop this new programme.

  • Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    Margaret Ritchie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what his policy is on allowing internet service providers to restructure charging arrangements for faster network access.

    Mr Edward Vaizey

    The Government supports an open internet, and believes that self-regulation is the best approach to achieve this. We expect ISPs to be transparent with their customers regarding their terms and conditions at the point of sale, including any traffic management practices, in order to allow consumers to make an informed choice and consider any alternative providers.

  • Chris Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Chris Williamson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Williamson on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which responsibilities for tackling animal welfare crimes are managed by (a) her Department and (b) non-governmental organisations.

    Norman Baker

    The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is the lead Government department for policy and legislation in relation to animal welfare, including offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The police and local authorities have powers to enforce that Act, but any person or organisation (such as the RSPCA) can initiate criminal proceedings under it.

    In addition to the Government’s funding for individual police forces to tackle all types of crime, including wildlife crime, the Home Office and DEFRA both contribute funding to support the work of the National Wildlife Crime Unit, the national police unit dedicated to tackling wildlife crime. And where wildlife crimes are sufficiently serious, organised or complex, the National Crime Agency will ensure that partners across the law enforcement community benefit from its coordination, tasking and intelligence arrangements, as well as being able to access its specialist capabilities. Furthermore, the Home Office plays a key role in the Government’s efforts to tackle the illegal wildlife trade, which is a serious transnational criminal industry worth billions of pounds each year. I was therefore pleased that, at the recent London Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference which I attended, world leaders from over forty countries made a commitment to eradicate the trade.

    The Home Office also regulates the use of living animals in scientific procedures in England, Scotland and Wales under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

  • Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Richard Burden – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

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

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to improve access to free to use cash machines.

    Andrea Leadsom

    95 per cent of communities in the lowest quartile of the government deprivation index now have free-to-use ATMs within their area or less than two thirds of a mile from the area’s centre. This has brought access to free-to-use ATMs to over 1.5 million people and progress towards covering even more communities continues.

    LINK has established a Financial Inclusion Programme to provide free-to-use ATMs where they are needed, by installing ATMs that are subsidised to make their operation commercially viable for operators. The cost of this subsidy is shared out among LINK member banks. 1,400 target areas now have access to an industry subsidised ATM through the programme.

    I am aware Toynbee Hall is due to complete research on this issue shortly.

  • Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Stephen Timms – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Timms on 2014-03-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the operation of the Work Programme in rural areas.

    Esther McVey

    The independent evaluation of the Work Programme includes providers and participants in a range of geographical areas. The Department will publish findings once the evaluation is complete.

  • Michael McCann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Michael McCann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michael McCann on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases funded by legal aid against his Department where public interest lawyers have represented clients were won by his Department in each of the last 10 years.

    Mike Penning

    The Department does not centrally record information about the identity of claimants’ representatives or information relating to claimants’ funding arrangements. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

  • Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Margaret Curran – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Curran on 2014-03-12.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people aged 18 to 24 years old in Scotland have been unemployed for (a) six months, (b) one year, (c) two years and (d) more than two years.

    Nick Hurd

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