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 assessment he has made of the advantages to deaf people of funding a team of interpreters through the Access to Work scheme rather than being assigned a single interpreter by their employer.

    Mike Penning

    We have not made any assessment of the advantages to deaf people of funding a team of interpreters through the Access to Work scheme. We appreciate that each situation is unique and may require a bespoke solution.

  • 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 annually in the UK.

    Dan Rogerson

    Data cannot be obtained on the amount of refuse-derived fuel and solid recovered fuel produced annually in the UK. The amount of refuse-derived fuel received at incineration plants in England in 2012 was 768,173 tonnes and the amount of refuse-derived fuel exported from England and Wales in 2012 was 977,452 tonnes.

  • Mr Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Adrian Sanders – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Adrian Sanders on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to help schools that are unable to deliver free infant school meals in September 2014 because of a lack of capital funding.

    David Laws

    The Department for Education has previously confirmed that it would be allocating £150 million in the 2014-15 financial year to support the implementation of the universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) policy. Local authorities (LAs) are also free to use their budgets for improvement and maintenance to support this objective. We allocated £1.4 billion to schools, LAs and the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund for maintenance and improvement in 2014-15.

    On 6 March we launched a package of implementation support measures to help schools to provide meals to eligible pupils. This includes a national UIFSM support service, run by school food experts, which will offer advice and guidance to schools that need assistance in implementing UIFSM. The support will include a telephone helpline, the sharing of good practice, and intensive face-to-face support

    The Department also announced on 6 March that it would be providing transitional funding to small schools with eligible pupils, worth a minimum of £3,000, which qualifying schools will be able to use to help them overcome delivery challenges.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Capita have been given additional funding to deal with backlogs of personal independence payments assessments.

    Mike Penning

    1)The information is commercial in confidence.

    2) The Department regularly meets with both Assessment Providers to discuss performance. Failure to meet contractual obligations will result in the Department applying service credits (financial remedies) in line with the contract.

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

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Percy on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools in Brigg and Goole constituency participate in the Schools Direct Programme.

    David Laws

    Our records show that there are no School Direct lead schools located in the parliamentary constituency of Brigg and Goole.

    However, many School Direct lead schools work in partnership with other schools to deliver the programme.

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information he has received on allegations of human rights violations perpetrated by the Moroccan Security Forces.

    Hugh Robertson

    We are aware of the allegations against the Moroccan Security Forces, particularly when policing demonstrations. We regularly emphasise to Morocco the importance of respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including when policing demonstrations. I raised this during my visit to Rabat in March this year.

  • 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 his Answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 22W, on the Electoral Register, whether the Electoral Commission plans to consider initiating voter national registration days or weeks for UK citizens.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that it will consider the honourable member’s suggestions.

    The Commission has previously organised voter registration drives specifically targeting overseas and armed forces voters, but not for widespread domestic registration.

    The Commission is already in discussions with Bite the Ballot, who recently organised a National Voter Registration Day, about how it can help support their work.

  • 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 the Immigration and Security Minister dated 7 April 2014 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Asif Khan Uriakhel.

    James Brokenshire

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

  • 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 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools achieved a lower percentage of students achieving five GCSE A* to C grades including English and mathematics than the previous year in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

    David Laws

    The requested information is published in the 2012/13 performance tables[1].

    [1]http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html

    “

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of vacancies on Universal Jobsmatch classified as employer confidential; and what checks are in place to ensure that such vacancies are not bogus, fraudulent or otherwise inappropriate.

    Esther McVey

    Universal Jobmatch revolutionises the way jobseekers look for work and it has already helped many jobseekers find the jobs they want through the millions of vacancies posted since 2012. It is part of the government’s plan for providing easy online access to government services for all.

    There are various circumstances where an employer may wish to keep their details confidential – for example, if they are employing a Personal Carer or another role where they are using their home address. We estimate that there are 42,544 employer confidential vacancies currently on Universal Jobmatch. This equates to 7.1% of the total live vacancies as at 5 June 2014.

    The security of a user’s data is of the utmost importance to us and built into the service are monitoring tools and vacancy checks, which help to detect, deter and remedy inappropriate use of the site. Checks are made to identify inappropriate, fraudulent and bogus jobs and employers in order to block them from being posted.

    There are also warnings to users of the service advising them they should not be asked to reveal personal information i.e. bank details, as this information is not relevant to the application process.

    Additionally, a ‘Contact Us’ facility is provided so users can quickly highlight any employers that users may have concerns about. DWP then investigate such concerns.

    These checks are in place for all vacancies, including employer confidential vacancies.