Category: Speeches

  • Karen Lumley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Karen Lumley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karen Lumley on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the school exclusions pilot on pupils with autism.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    An interim evaluation of the school exclusions pilot, published in March 2013, found early indications of schools taking more responsibility for pupils at risk of exclusion, collaborating with each other and working in partnership with local authorities to improve alternative provision in their areas. Such approaches benefit all pupils vulnerable to exclusion, including those with autism.

    The Department for Education has introduced wide ranging reforms through the Children and Families Act 2014 to improve provision and support for children and young people with special educational needs or a disability.

    The Act requires local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) or a disability. The local offer will set out in one place information about provision families can expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled, including those who do not have education, health and care (EHC) plans.

    The local offer will provide children, young people and parents with clear, comprehensive and accessible information about the services and support available and how to access it, including that from schools.

    It will make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations by directly involving families and service providers in its development and review, enabling them to have a greater say in how services and support develop over time.

    This should therefore have an important role to play in improving outcomes and reducing exclusions for children and young people with SEN, including those with autism.

  • Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    Baroness Tonge – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Tonge on 2014-06-17.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to advocate the inclusion of Millennium Development Goal 5b in the World Health Organisation’s draft health goal for the post-2015 framework.

    Baroness Northover

    As we have already made clear, the UK supports a target to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health for all. Language on this is included in the most recent draft goals and targets list released by the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on 2 June.

    The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will however be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

  • Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Douglas Alexander – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Alexander on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many meetings the Minister for Europe has held with the European Commission to discuss incursions by Spanish government vessels into British-Gibraltar territorial waters in the last two years.

    Mr William Hague

    We are confident of UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW) under international law, a matter over which the European Commission has no locus to intervene. As a result the the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), the Minister responsible for Europe, has not had any meetings with them in the last two years where the sole purpose was discussing Spanish incursions into BGTW.

    However, my right hon. Friend has raised on a number of occasions, at a senior level in the European Commission, the adoption by the European Commission of a proposal from the Spanish government to designate a site of community importance (SCI) under the EU habitats directive (92/43/EEC). The SCI in question overlaps virtually the whole BGTW area. Spain has used this fact to justify certain incursions on the grounds that they are enacting obligations in relation to EU environmental legislation.

    The British Government maintains that the purported site known as the Estrecho Oriental was unlawfully designated and, in any event, cannot have any legal effect in BGTW due to UK sovereignty over this territory. We have made our position on this clear to the European Commission and the Spanish government.

  • Lord Howard of Rising – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Howard of Rising – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Howard of Rising on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what value of fines remained unpaid at the end of financial years 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12 (1) in total, and (2) with respect to fines issued in that financial year.

    Lord Deighton

    We have answered this question on the basis that it relates to HMRC penalties.

    1) 2009-10 £0.5 billion

    2010-11 £1.5 billion

    2011-12 £1.5 billion

    Fines and Penalties that remain unpaid are included as receivables and are reported in both the Resource Accounts and Trust Statement.

    2) It is not possible to state the value of fines issued in each of the financial years. The question is very broad in scope and covers the majority of the business of the Department. Some data is held in electronic systems and some in paper files, and records are not kept centrally of the value of fines issued across the Department and across all obligations.

  • Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Luciana Berger – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department intends to create a strategy to mitigate the effect of air pollution on public health.

    Dan Rogerson

    The Government recognizes the impact poor air quality can have on human health and the environment and has put in place a framework for delivering improvements via the Air Quality Strategy and Local Air Quality Management. The European Commission also has requirements for Member States to meet legally binding limits for key pollutants to protect public health and ecosystems.

    The Government is committed to ongoing work to reduce this impact and has invested many billions of pounds in measures that will help to reduce air pollution from transport, energy and industrial sources, including over £1 billion in ultra-low emission vehicles and sustainable transport measures, incentives and infrastructure projects for electric and hybrid vehicles, a Local Sustainable Transport Fund of £490 million, a fund of around £100 million for less polluting bus services and investment in measures to promote cycling and walking. All these measures are helping to reduce transport emissions, which are the main contributor to air pollution in towns and cities.

    In addition to these national measures, local authorities have a responsibility to manage local air quality and to put in place plans to improve air quality where national objectives are not met. Local action is also supported by the Government’s air quality grant programme, which has provided over £50 million since 1997 for innovative projects.

    Defra works with Public Health England, the Department of Health and other Government departments to maintain and develop methodologies for assessing air quality impacts on health and the environment, and to develop evidence-based measures to ensure air quality is appropriately prioritised and integrated into local strategies. For instance the Government has established an Air Quality Indicator as part of the new Public Health Outcomes Framework. Local authorities will be expected to deliver against 68 measurable outcomes (indicators) for health, including for air quality.

  • Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Baroness Whitaker – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Whitaker on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria with respect to good design they intend to establish in their new plans for the Highway Agency.

    Baroness Kramer

    It is government policy that our major road improvements should follow good design principles. For example, in "Action for Roads" we made it clear that any improvements to the network must be made in a way that supports the nation’s overall quality of life. This means that our strategy for roads, and detail requirements will need to:

    • Be designed to minimise environmental impacts and, where possible, tackle existing problems.

    • Build on existing cooperation with organisations like Natural England to find the best solutions to environmental challenges.

    • Continue to work in a planning framework which protects the wider environment.

    We are establishing the first Roads Investment Strategy, which includes a performance specification for the new strategic highways company. This will aim to ensure that the company’s design and delivery activities align with the overall goals that government has for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Good design, including how the SRN interfaces with built environments and impacts on quality of life, will need to be an important element of both the process and the implementation.

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-04-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which airports meet the eligibility criteria for the Regional Air Connectivity Fund; and how much each such airport has been awarded in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    The Department for Transport is in detailed discussions with regional councils regarding two air routes that might qualify for support through a Public Service Obligation under financial provisions announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the 2013 Spending Round last July, to maintain regional air access to London. Of these, Dundee Council is currently tendering for an airline to operate a service between Dundee Airport and London.

    The Chancellor announced in this year’s Budget that support will also be made available for start-up aid for new air routes from UK regional airports. European Union aviation State aid guidelines allow for start-up aid to be provided under certain conditions to facilitate development of new routes from Member State airports which handle fewer than five million passengers per year.

    The Department for Transport is working with the Treasury to develop guidance clarifying how the Government will ordinarily expect to interpret the European Union State aid guidelines, and explain how the funding process will operate.

  • Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Liam Byrne – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liam Byrne on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many meetings the Minister of State for (a) Business and Enterprise, (b) Universities, Science and Skills and (c) Skills and Enterprise has had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

    Mr David Willetts

    As was the case under previous administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

  • Lord Wills – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Wills – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Wills on 2014-04-03.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact on public spending as a result of the new pension arrangements announced in the 2014 Budget.

    Lord Deighton

    The impact will depend on how people choose to use their pension savings, which is difficult to predict. The Government expects any impact to be small in the context of the other pension measures announced in this Parliament – including State Pension age changes, the introduction of the single tier pension and public service pension reform – which are projected to save around £17 billion in 2030 in today’s terms. The estimated net fiscal impact of pension changes announced in this Parliament can be found in Chart 1.12 of the Red Book here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293759/37630_Budget_2014_Web_Accessible.pdf

  • Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Ivan Lewis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ivan Lewis on 2014-06-16.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to to tackle the problem of employees being paid below the minimum wage in Northern Ireland.

    Mr David Gauke

    I refer the hon. Member to my answer provided previously to his question of 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 725W