Category: Speeches

  • Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Jenny Chapman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jenny Chapman on 2014-03-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Darlington constituency currently receive independent living fund payments.

    Mike Penning

    The Independent Living Fund records data by post code or local authority rather than by constituency and therefore, does not hold the information in the format requested. As at 13 March 2014 there are 63 ILF recipients in the area covered by Darlington Borough Council.

    The ILF publishes data by local authority quarterly on its website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/ilf/publications/corporate-publications/statistics/index.shtml

    “

  • Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Tim Loughton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tim Loughton on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to liaise with the Secretary of State for Health over publication of reports into historic child abuse.

    Mr Edward Timpson

    Officials from the Department for Education are already working closely with other relevant departments to ensure that there is a consistent approach to investigations into allegations of historical child abuse, including on the publication of reports.

  • Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Lord Roberts of Llandudno – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno on 2014-03-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the recent finding in the Demos report, Introducing Generation Citizen, that 84 per cent of 14- to 17-year-olds intend to vote when they attain the age of 18, how they intend to ensure that such intentions to vote translate into first-time voting behaviour amongst young people; and what steps they are taking to ensure that education establishments are committed to registering all 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.

    Lord Wallace of Saltaire

    The new key stage 4 citizenship programme to be taught from September 2014 requires that pupils should be taught about “the different electoral systems used in and beyond the United Kingdom and actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.”

    The government has also made available £4.2 million funding to all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain and 5 national organisations. Electoral registration officers have been encouraged to support the delivery of Rock Enrol! in their area, a learning resource which not only provides an opportunity for young people to register to vote, but enables them to discuss the importance of doing so.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Maria Eagle on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much of the Severe Weather Recovery Scheme awarded to local authorities for costs incurred during the recent floods has been (a) allocated to and (b) received by local authorities to date.

    Brandon Lewis

    £73.5 million has been allocated to, and received by, local authorities for costs incurred during the recent floods under the first phase of the Severe Weather Recovery Scheme. The closing date for the second tranche of the funding was 6 June.

  • Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department collects on the number of men and women in prison who have previously been in local authority care.

    Jeremy Wright

    Prisoners are assessed on entry to prison for addiction problems and there is a package of support available to them. The MoJ’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme will provide individual support to all released prisoners. This will include identifying risks and needs for individual ex-prisoners, and providing services to address them.

    The Ministry of Justice does not collect these data centrally on a regular basis. However, a survey of 1,435 adult prisoners sentenced to between one month and four years in 2005 and 2006 (Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction – SPCR) provides self-reported estimates for each question.

    The full reports can be accessed on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/surveying-prisoner-crime-reduction-spcr

    “

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of living conditions and labour standards on commercial vessels long-lining in the waters of Ascension Island from 2010 to 2013.

    Mark Simmonds

    The Ascension Island Government is legally responsible for administering the marine fishery in the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Fishing Zone centred on the island.

    No assessment of living conditions and labour standards on commercial vessels carrying out licensed long-line fishing, or otherwise, in the waters of Ascension Island from 2010 to 2013 has been carried out. The primary responsibility for the setting and enforcement of such standards lies with the flag state of each vessel.

    The Ascension Island Government paused the issuing of licences for commercial long-line fishing from 1 January 2014 in order to undertake a full review of the management of its fisheries with a view to a new structure to be put in place by 2015. Revised conditions for licences will form part of that outcome.

  • Julie Hilling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Julie Hilling – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julie Hilling on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 15 January 2013, Official Report, column 715W, on child poverty, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of (a) the new timetable for the implementation of universal credit and (b) changes to work allowances on the level of relative income poverty among (i) children and (ii) adults.

    Esther McVey

    After full roll-out, the Department’s latest analysis suggests that Universal Credit will reduce the number of individuals in relative income poverty by some 600,000; including up to 300,000 children and up to 350,000 adults (numbers do not sum due to rounding).

    This figure does not take into account the expected increase in numbers of people in work as a result of universal credit, and excludes the impact of the minimum income floor for the self-employed which is designed to encourage those affected to improve their income levels and for which the behavioural response is very difficult to model.

    This estimate is not affected by the timetable for the implementation of Universal Credit, and changes to the policy on uprating of work allowances make negligible difference to the impact of Universal Credit on child or adult poverty as measured by relative income.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the progress on the trial installation and testing of the Tornado Collision Warning System at BAE Systems, Warton.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    Progress continues to be made with the trial installation and testing of a Collision Warning System (CWS) for Tornado GR4. Installation of CWS on two aircraft is complete and testing is ongoing. The Ministry of Defence is working closely with BAE Systems to ensure delivery of a capability as soon as practicable.

  • Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Ian Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Lucas on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on the payment of benefits into post office card accounts.

    Steve Webb

    The Department pays benefits and pensions by Direct Payment into a bank, building society, credit union or Post Office card account.

    The Post Office card account is a very simple account with limited functionality. Our policy has always been clear that the best option, especially for people of working age, is an account that can accept payments from employers and has transactional facilities such as direct debits for the payment of bills and housing costs.

    The Department is currently in discussions with Post Office Ltd and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills to consider the future needs of customers beyond 2015.

  • Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Angus Robertson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angus Robertson on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made in working with the Commonwealth Secretary-General to review LGBT rights in Uganda.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) wrote to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth on 1 March to ask him to work with us to review the worrying trend on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in the Commonwealth. We welcomed the Commonwealth Secretary-General’s statement to the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council on 6 March reiterating the Commonwealth’s commitment to equality and respect for the protection and promotion of rights without discrimination on any grounds. Whilst we support the work of the Secretariat in strengthening the capacity of national human rights institutions to engage their respective governments on sensitive areas such as LGBT rights, we continue to encourage the Commonwealth to do more to address LGBT rights across the Commonwealth, and in particular Uganda.