Category: Speeches

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will redraft the code governing detention of teenagers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to ensure that 17 year olds in custody are treated as teenagers by the police.

    Damian Green

    Following the High Court ruling in the judicial review HC vs (1) Secretary of
    State for the Home Department and (2) Commissioner of Police for the
    Metropolis, the Government made changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act
    1984 Codes of Practice C & H, which govern the treatment of detained persons in
    police custody. The changes, which came into effect on 21st October 2013, have
    the effect of requiring the police to treat 17 year olds in police custody as
    children by providing, as a matter of course, Appropriate Adults and to inform
    a person responsible for the welfare of the 17 year old of their detention.
    These changes are mandatory.

    I refer the Hon. Member to a statement made by my Rt. Hon. Friend (Damian Green) on 21st October 2013, Official Report, columns 4-6WS explaining these changes.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-05-12.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, with reference to the Answer of 23 April 2012, Official Report, column 623W, on the electoral register, what steps he has taken to improve student registration in the run up to individual electoral registration.

    Greg Clark

    It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

  • Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Diana Johnson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Diana Johnson on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of an offence contrary to Articles 122 (1)(a) and 123 of the Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, in each of the last four years.

    Simon Hughes

    My department’s Court Proceedings Database holds information on criminal justice statistics only in England and Wales. Criminal Justice Statistics in Northern Ireland are a matter for the Department of Justice in Northern Ireland.

  • Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Alison Seabeck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alison Seabeck on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of seafarer fatigue on maritime safety; and what steps his Department is taking to enforce manning levels on vessels.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch were active participants in the multi-partner HORIZON research project, an EC-funded study, which used simulators to identify the effect on seafarers of working hours and interrupted rest. The project report demonstrates conclusively the links between certain watch keeping patterns and the performance of seafarers (looking particularly at “sleepiness”).

    The Government is committed to reducing the effects of fatigue on maritime safety and the health of seafarers. The output from HORIZON has been used to provide practical guidance to seafarers. The MCA remains involved with research on seafarer fatigue with other industry stakeholders.

    MCA Surveyors routinely inspect UK ships and foreign flag ships in UK waters and verify hours of work records for compliance with the regulations, and check ships are safely manned in accordance the requirements of the International Maritime Organisation convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW).

    The UK is leading the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control Concentrated Inspection Campaign to ensure compliance with the hours of rest requirements of watchkeepers under STCW which will run from 1 September 2014 to 30 November 2014.

  • Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Robert Halfon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Robert Halfon on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money has been spent on repairing potholes in (a) Harlow and (b) Essex since 2004.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport provides capital funding to local highway authorities, including Essex County Council, from the local highways maintenance capital block grant. Harlow falls within Essex County Council’s area of responsibility and therefore we do not allocate any funds directly to the Borough Council for road maintenance.

    Since 2004 the Department has allocated the following amounts to Essex for highway maintenance:

    Year

    £m
    2004/05

    12.626
    2005/06

    15.782
    2006/07

    16.682
    2007/08

    22.428
    2008/09

    20.706
    2009/10

    21.361
    2010/11

    20.959
    2011/12

    20.728
    2012/13

    19.838
    2013/14

    22.482*
    2014/15

    19.873*

    * includes the top up announced in the 2012 Autumn Statement.

    The Department also allocated additional funding to authorities to help repair roads damaged by various weather events and this included a further £2.116 million to Essex County Council in 2010/11 and £5.301 million in March 2011. More recently the Department for Transport has agreed to allocate over £2.7 million due to the severe wet weather the country has encountered.

    A £200 million Pothole Fund was announced in the Budget on 19 March 2014. From this, £168 million is being made available to councils in England through a bidding exercise. Further details on the fund will be made available in the coming weeks.

    Local authorities are also able to use revenue funding allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government through the Revenue Support Grant for maintaining their local highways. Neither capital nor revenue highways maintenance funding is ring-fenced and it is for local highway authorities to decide upon their spending priorities across the whole range of services they provide.

    The Department for Transport does not centrally hold information on what proportion of this funding is spent by Essex County Council on repairing potholes.

  • Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Mark Williams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Williams on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will provide incentives to developers to ensure that new homes planned for construction in 2014-15 will be (a) wheelchair accessible and (b) built to lifetime homes standards.

    Stephen Williams

    Part M of the Building Regulations set minimum access standards for new homes. The Government plans to introduce an optional level of accessibility above these minimum access standards which will set out criteria for age friendly, accessible and adaptable standards. The Government also plans to set out within Part M an optional standard which will set out criteria related to the specific needs of wheelchair adaptable and accessible housing.

    Furthermore, the National Planning Policy Framework already sets out that Local Plans should take into account the current and future needs of range of households including older and disabled people.

    This combination of Building Regulations and national planning policy sets a robust framework to promote adaptable and accessible housing.

  • 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 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of whether the unavailability of child benefit for 18 year olds in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance is discouraging the take-up of traineeships.

    Esther McVey

    Legislation prevents 18 year olds who claim JSA claiming Child Benefit (if eligible) and vice versa. 18 year olds claiming JSA can benefit from a traineeship, we are working to ensure that all young people who could benefit from a traineeship are able to do so.

  • 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 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the Government’s assessment is of the effectiveness of warning labels on alcoholic beverages regarding drinking during pregnancy; and what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of making such labels mandatory.

    Jane Ellison

    Research in the evidence around the effectiveness of alcohol harm reduction communications and related campaigns suggests that labelling and point of sale information can have an impact on consumption, in conjunction with broader campaigns to raise consumer awareness and education on the health risks linked to alcohol consumption.

    As part of the Public Health Responsibility Deal, alcohol retailers and producers have committed to putting an agreed warning or a pregnancy warning logo on 80% of labels on bottles and cans by the end of 2013. An independent market survey is underway to measure compliance. This level of coverage should allow the majority of consumers to see the pregnancy warning and logo.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gilbert on 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in receipt of (a) income support, (b) jobseeker’s allowance and (c) employment and support allowance were subject to the benefit cap between 1 April 2013 and 31 January 2014.

    Esther McVey

    The information requested is not readily available and can only be be provided at a disproportionate cost.

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to promote the Access to Work scheme to disabled people in Scotland.

    Mike Penning

    Access to Work is a valued and succesful national programme that makes a real difference to the working lives of disabled people throughout the UK.

    The Department for Work and Pensions has actively marketed Access to Work to raise awareness of the programme through a national marketing campaign lasting throughout 2013. This included activity to further strengthen our partnerships with key stakeholders and organisations, developing marketing materials, attending key events and digital marketing. The campaign involved a wide range of communications activities, including press releases, presentations at disability and employer events, articles in disability publications and engagement in direct marketing to large employers. It also included use of digital media, paid advertising links in popular search engines, magazine adverts and awareness training for Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisors.

    Access to Work also featued in the launch of the Department’s Disability Confident campaign in July 2013 and at subsequent local events, including Glasgow on 4 March 2014.

    The Department for Work and Pensions has worked closely with the Public Health division of the Scottish Government to raise awareness of Access to Work with health professionals. This included sharing information on the NHS Scotland’s Knowledge Network and the Health and Employability Delivery Group.