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Category: Speeches

  • Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Empey – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2015-11-20.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much was deducted from the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget in 2014–15 and 2015–16 due to its failure to implement welfare reforms.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    As a result of the delays in implementing welfare reform in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Northern Ireland Executive’s budget was reduced by £87m in 2014-15 and £114m in 2015-16 to reflect the additional costs to the Exchequer of the existing welfare system.

    As a part of the ‘Fresh Start’ agreement to facilitate the implementation of the Stormont House Agreement, the government committed to returning a proportion of the deduction for 2015-16 when the Assembly gave legislative consent for the Northern Ireland (Welfare Reform) Act 2015. This will be added to the Executive’s allocations in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

  • Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Richard Arkless – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Arkless on 2015-12-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the safety and security of UK HGV drivers from their approach to Calais to entering the UK.

    James Brokenshire

    The haulage industry is hugely important to UK trade and prosperity and Her Majesty’s Government regularly speaks with haulage industry representatives to listen to their concerns regarding the situation in northern France. The Government is funding improved security measures and port infrastructure to protect the travelling public, including HGV drivers, in the Calais area. This includes the introduction of security fencing around port perimeters and along the port approach roads at Calais port and at the Coquelles Eurotunnel site; and the introduction of new secure zones for UK-bound HGVs at both locations. In addition, the UK and French authorities also work closely to share intelligence to combat illegal migrant activity and organised immigration crime.

  • Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lilian Greenwood – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lilian Greenwood on 2016-01-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what annual fee his Department will pay to (a) Ernst and Young in the UK, (b) Arup and (c) Interfleet for their advice to him on fulfilling his duties under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993; and for what period those companies are contracted to provide him such advice.

    Claire Perry

    Following a successful procurement competition using the new STAR (Specialist Technical Advice for Rail) Framework Agreement, the Department has appointed a partnership comprising Arup, SNC-Lavalin Transport Advisory (InterFleet), and EY to provide services to support the Secretary of State in connection with his duties under Section 30 of the Railways Act.

    The contract is for 2 years and commenced in November 2015. It has an optional extension of 12 months which is exercisable at the Department’s discretion. The fees payable to the partnership are capped at £616k (excluding VAT) for the two years of the contract. In addition to core contractual commitments, further fees are payable at agreed daily rates for other services which include, but are not limited to, the full mobilisation of a public sector train operator.

    Following the successful award of the East Coast franchise to Virgin East Coast last year, it was not a good use of taxpayers’ money to maintain DoR’s full corporate structure on a ‘just in case’ basis. We have scaled back Directly Operated Railways operations and brought it in-house with the Department for Transport.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Baroness Tonge – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2016-02-22.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel on the aerial spraying of herbicides on 187 hectares of crops within the borders of Gaza in late December 2015.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    While we have not raised this specific issue with the Israeli authorities, we remain deeply concerned by the situation in Gaza.

  • Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Gordon Marsden – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2016-03-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 30445, what target she has set for the (a) number of enterprise advisers to be appointed and (b) timeframe for those advisers to be put in place.

    Mr Sam Gyimah

    The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) has made excellent progress in its work to transform the provision of careers, enterprise and employer engagement experiences for young people.

    The CEC is aiming for Local Enterprise Partnerships to recruit 50 Enterprise Co-ordinators and 300 volunteer Enterprise Advisers between September 2015 and March 2016. The Department for Education is in the process of agreeing the CEC’s funding and targets for the forthcoming financial year.

    The number of full-time equivalent staff currently employed by the CEC is 18. Further recruitment will depend on the funding available to the company and its objectives for future years.

  • David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    David Mackintosh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mackintosh on 2016-04-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what incentives she plans to encourage more schools to extend their teaching hours.

    Nick Gibb

    In March 2016, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the Budget statement that over £500 million of additional funding will be allocated to give 25 per cent of secondary schools the opportunity to extend their school day to include a wider range of activities, such as sports, arts and debating. The Department is currently determining the details of how the funding with be allocated and will provide further details in due course.

  • Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Lord Maginnis of Drumglass – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Maginnis of Drumglass on 2016-05-23.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what, if any, extra security measures are being implemented, and at what cost, following the decision by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission to refuse the Home Office the right to deport six individuals, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda, to Algeria.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    We do not comment on security matters. However national security remains our primary consideration and we have taken, and will continue to take, all necessary measures to protect our national security.

  • Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Exiting the European Union

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he plans to take to ensure cross-party input at each stage of formulating national goals and strategy in negotiating the UK’s exit from the EU.

    Mr Robin Walker

    I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 28 July to Question 43465. The Department for Exiting the EU will lead the UK’s negotiations to leave the European Union and establish the future relationship between the EU and the UK, working closely with the UK Parliament, devolved administrations, and a wide range of other interested parties. Consultation with opposition parties will be an important part of this process.

  • Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with (a) her international counterparts, (b) non-governmental organisations and (c) toiletry companies on the provision of women’s health and sanitary products to refugee women and girls.

    James Wharton

    DFID is working with our partners to ensure that sexual and reproductive health needs of girls and women affected by crises are prioritised. This includes their right to experience menstruation with dignity. In 2015 alone, UK funding to UNFPA supported their efforts to distribute almost 60,000 menstrual hygiene kits to women and girls living in conflict situations. The UK has committed that, in humanitarian crises, DFID calls for proposals will require the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls to be considered. The UK also supported a joint statement led by UNFPA, highlighting the importance of sexual and reproductive rights in crises, at the World Humanitarian Summit in May this year.

    DFID is working globally with a network of civil-society organisations, private sector companies, donors, academics, and international agencies to address stigma and increase access for all women and girls to the education, support, products and services they need to manage menstruation with dignity.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gloria De Piero – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2015-11-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the career progression of people aged 16 to 24 who have completed an apprenticeship since 2010.

    Nick Boles

    The Department assesses the impact of apprenticeships on career progression in a number of ways including measuring longer term wage and employment outcomes, short term employment outcomes and self-reported impacts. We also measure progression of advanced apprentices to higher education. Where possible the data are broken down by age band. Links to the relevant reports are provided below.

    Wage returns and employment outcomes for Further Education, including apprenticeships are published here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-comparing-labour-market-economic-benefits-from-qualifications-gained

    Experimental data showing the learning and employment outcomes of learners completing further education training between 2010 and 2013 is published here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-further-education-outcome-based-success-measures-experimental-data-2010-to-2013

    Short term employment outcomes and self-reported impacts are published in the Evaluation of apprenticeships: learner survey which is published here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-learner-survey-2014

    Progression of advanced apprentices to higher education broken down by year and age band is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progression-of-apprentices-to-higher-education-second-cohort

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