UKPOL.CO.UK

Category: Speeches

  • Lord Marlesford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Marlesford – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Marlesford on 2015-11-26.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have increased the Resource Departmental Expenditure Limit for International Development by 16.1 per cent between 2017–18 and 2018–19, as per Table 1A of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Total departmental expenditure limits (TDEL) for the Department for International Development (DFID) are set on the basis of forecast Gross National Income (GNI) growth to enable the Government to meet the commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GNI on official development assistance (ODA). Budgets also take into account assumptions for non-budgetary spend on ODA such as the UK’s share of EU ODA expenditure. As a result, DFID’s total DEL budget will increase by 8.5 per cent between 17/18 and 19/20.

    The split between capital and resource DEL is set to help manage pressures such as capital contributions to multilateral development banks.

  • Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Kate Hollern – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Hollern on 2016-01-28.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that calculation of cost estimates for the new generation of Successor Trident submarines has taken into account optimism bias in compliance with the HM Treasury Green Book and supplementary guidance.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Successor cost estimates take into account optimism bias in a way consistent with Green Book guidance.
    As announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, the level of contingency represents around 35% of the submarine cost to completion. This is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects, such as the 2012 Olympics.
    The cost estimates have been subjected to, and will continue to be the exposed to, rigorous cross-Government scrutiny.

  • Victoria Borwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Victoria Borwick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Victoria Borwick on 2016-02-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support disabled people affected by the changes to employment and support allowance work-related activity group.

    Priti Patel

    We are providing new funding for additional practical support for claimants with limited capability for work from April 2017, when the removal of the work-related activity component will come into effect, rising from £60 million in 2017/18 to £100 million a year in 2020/21.

    In addition to this, we also plan to provide additional funding of £15 million in 2017/18 to increase the local Jobcentre Flexible Support Fund.

  • Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Ruth Smeeth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ruth Smeeth on 2016-03-23.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 March 2016 to Question 31677, what the average salary is of people awarded Tier 2 (ICT) visas to work in the IT industry; and how many such visas have been awarded in each pay band in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    The Home Office does not hold this information in the format requested.

  • Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Empey – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2016-04-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in the South Atlantic.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    We have obtained written clarification from the UN Legal Counsel as to the remit and mandate of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). This confirms that the CLCS has no jurisdiction over the sovereignty of any land territory. That would of course include the Falkland Islands. The UN itself has noted that the CLCS cannot consider claims relating to disputed areas. In this case that would include the Falkland Islands. The British Government remains in no doubt over its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, and has no doubt about the right of the Islanders to determine their own future.

  • David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Simpson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Simpson on 2016-06-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that every region in the UK benefits from future economic growth.

    Greg Hands

    Economic development in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is the responsibility of the devolved administrations. At the 2015 Spending Review, the government announced that funding available for infrastructure investment via the block grant would rise by 12% in Northern Ireland, 14% in Scotland and 17% in Wales through to 2020-21. At Budget 2016 the government then committed an additional £220m of funding through the Barnett Formula to Northern Ireland, over £650m to Scotland, and more than £380m to Wales.

    The government is also empowering England to take responsibility for economic growth. By May 2017, over half the population of the North of England will have a powerful new directly elected mayor. £200m has been committed to Transport for the North, strategic investments have been made in science (including £235m for the Sir Henry Royce Institute,) and Hull has been backed as the 2017 City of Culture. The government is investing in growth in all parts of the country, for example through creating a Midlands Engine Investment Fund of over £250m. Meanwhile our business rate reforms offer local authorities across England unprecedented new levers to drive growth.

  • Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Kerry McCarthy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kerry McCarthy on 2016-09-02.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many disguised stun weapons have been seized at the UK border in each year since 2011-12.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    We are able to identify seizures of stun weapons from our last data sets, but can not easily identify those which have been disguised. In order to obtain this information, we would have to examine individual records to establish which stun guns were disguised.

  • Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Trade

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-10-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2016 to Question 46319, what overseas visits he has made as Secretary of State for International Trade since the establishment of his Department.

    Greg Hands

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale on 10 October, UIN 46309.

  • David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Davis – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2015-10-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) search and (b) surveillance warrants issued by a judge have been subject to judicial review in each of the last five years.

    Mr John Hayes

    Figures on the numbers of search warrants and surveillance authorisations subject to judicial review are not held centrally.

  • Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Peter Kyle – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Peter Kyle on 2015-11-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, by how much the Government plans to increase the funding per place for apprenticeships.

    Nick Boles

    At the Autumn Statement, my Rt hon Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Government will establish a new employer-led body to set apprenticeship standards and ensure quality. The body will be independent of Government and will also advise on the level of levy funding each apprenticeship should receive. Our expectation is that funding caps will be significantly higher for programmes which have high costs and are of high quality.