Category: Speeches

  • Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Robert Buckland – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Buckland on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to (a) criminalise a pattern of partner abuse and (b) ensure that the police are not required only to treat each incident comprising such a pattern as a separate crime.

    Norman Baker

    Domestic abuse is already a crime. There are a number of offences that make domestic abuse illegal, including actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and assault. The cross-Government definition is clear that domestic abuse is any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

    Assault can extend to non-physical harm, and this can include psychological, financial, and emotional abuse. Stalking and harassment legislation, which criminalises a course of conduct, can apply to intimate partner relationships.

    Last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to conduct a review of the response to domestic abuse across all police forces. HMIC published its findings in March 2014, emphasising that the key priority is a culture change in the police so that domestic violence and abuse is treated as the crime that it is, and pointing out that the police use the full range of tools already available to them.

    The Home Secretary will chair a national oversight group to oversee delivery against each of HMIC’s recommendations on which I will also sit.

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the value of the land for which academy trusts currently have leasehold interest.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, may allow publicly-funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.

    There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice

    A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

    The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

    “

  • John Mann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    John Mann – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by John Mann on 2014-04-25.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many letters were sent to businesses on the employment allowance; how many such letters have been returned undelivered; and what the total cost has been of production and postage of such letters.

    Mr David Gauke

    For the total number and costs of letters sent, I refer to the answer I gave to the hon. and Rt. hon. Members for Streatham, Blackburn, and Islington South and Finsbury on 10 April 2014 Column 365W.

    Letters returned undelivered are handled externally as part of a contracted service.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Kerry McCarthy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to enforce the waste hierarchy in managing food waste and to prioritise prevention and redistribution for human consumption ahead of anaerobic digestion and composting

    Dan Rogerson

    In accordance with the waste hierarchy, voluntary agreements with business and the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP’s) Love Food Hate Waste Campaign encourage action by households, food manufacturers, retailers and the hospitality and food service sectors to prevent food waste.

    If surplus food cannot be prevented, the next best option is to ensure it is redistributed for human consumption, and I have met with a number of companies and organisations which are looking at innovative ways to redistribute food.

    The Courtauld Commitment 3 supply chain target includes action on both prevention and redistribution. This dual target approach encourages redistribution as the most desirable route for any surplus food suitable for human consumption. Defra convened a Ministerial round table in July 2012 and requested WRAP to lead an industry working group to follow up on recommendations. As a key output of the group, WRAP has recently published research, guiding principles and good practice case studies to help industry take action. Further information is available at http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/foodredistribution.

    There will always be some unavoidable food waste. The Government’s Anaerobic Digestion Strategy is in place to reduce the amount of organic material going to landfill and drive the waste that is produced into energy recovery or recycling.

    “

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Wales Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether his Department has any plans to end the employee trade union membership dues check-off system.

    Stephen Crabb

    The Wales Office is not an employer in its own right. As the Ministry of Justice is the main employer of staff at the Wales Office, I refer the hon Member to the answer given by my hon Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice on 8 April 2014, Official Report, Column 172W.

  • Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Andrew Gwynne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Gwynne on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much in real-terms was spent on cancer services in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    The information is shown in the following table:

    Estimated expenditure on cancer services and radiotherapy, 2008-09 to 2012-13, £ millions in 2012-13 prices

    Year

    Cancers and tumours

    Radiotherapy

    2008-09

    5,281

    401

    2009-10

    5,908

    435

    2010-11

    5,685

    467

    2011-12

    5,565

    473

    2012-13

    5,681

    485

    Sources:

    Programme budgeting data, NHS England

    Reference costs, Department of Health

    It is not appropriate for a given service to present reference costs as a proportion of programme budgeting expenditure. This is because radiotherapy data are calculated from reference costs, which are the unit costs to National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts of providing defined services in a given financial year to NHS patients. Reference costs do not represent all expenditure in the NHS, and are costs to NHS providers whereas programme budgeting data are expenditure by NHS commissioners.

  • Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Graeme Morrice – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Graeme Morrice on 2014-04-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department uses a working assumption for the timescale for a work capability assessment report to be processed by Atos.

    Mike Penning

    Atos Healthcare is expected to clear Work Capability Assessments within an Actual Average Clearance Target (AACT) of 35 working days. This is to handle the referral from the date it is received from the Department and includes the time for processing and completing paperwork relating to Work Capability Assessments.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what (a) amount and (b) proportion of Public Health England’s total budget has been allocated to (i) tobacco, (ii) obesity, (iii) alcohol, (iv) TB, (v) dementia and (vi) the Best Start in Life strategy for 2014-15.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England’s (PHE) financial reporting is currently based upon the Directorates and teams around which their work is focused. The six areas of focus identified in the Parliamentary Questions are currently supported by individuals and teams across PHE’s various directorates (Operations, Health Protection, Health and Wellbeing, Knowledge etc.), so the total cost of each of the above areas cannot currently be accurately provided.

    During the course of 2014-15, one of the priorities identified by PHE’s Finance team is to enhance and tailor their inherited financial reporting arrangements so that it can report on their activities and priorities as well as its Directorates and teams. PHE will be able to provide this information in the future, but it is unfortunately not available now. Once PHE has developed new financial reporting arrangements they will ensure that this is published transparently.

  • 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 2014-04-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the monetary value to the wider economy of a bankruptcy restriction order or undertaking.

    Jenny Willott

    No monetary value assessment to the wider economy of a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking has been undertaken.

  • David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Hanson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2014-06-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the volume of overseas applications for passports has been in each month since her Department assumed responsibility for such applications.

    James Brokenshire

    The table below shows the number of overseas passport applications received by Her Majesty’s Passport Office each month since it assumed responsibility for such applications.

    Month

    Number of overseas applications received*

    December 2012

    145

    January 2013

    1014

    February 2013

    2401

    March 2013

    2767

    April 2013

    3543

    May 2013

    4662

    June 2013

    5862

    July 2013

    7053

    August 2013

    7216

    September 2013

    11035

    October 2013

    13832

    November 2013

    10881

    December 2013

    12324

    January 2014

    26897

    February 2014

    43327

    March 2014

    40935

    *Note: HMPO took responsibility for overseas passports applications in April 2011, commenced the repatriation of the printing of overseas passports in summer 2011, but only commenced repatriating application processing in December 2012 with that repatriation completed in February 2014.