Category: Speeches

  • Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Alex Cunningham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made in preparing a cost-benefit analysis of the recruitment and training of minors; and when he expects to publish a report on that issue.

    Anna Soubry

    The report has been submitted by the Army to Ministry of Defence (MOD) HQ, for consideration. It is not possible to provide a publication date for the report until the report’s findings have been considered.

    The terms of reference of the report are as follows:
    Question – “What is the cost overhead to MOD of Phase 1 training for Junior Entry (JE) soldiers versus Standard Entry (SE) soldiers joining the Army?”

  • Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mary Creagh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mary Creagh on 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in each police force area have been caught speeding and received points on their driving licence in each of the last five years.

    Damian Green

    The maximum penalty for speeding is a fine of up to £1,000 and for speeding on a motorway, £2,500. The courts also have the power to disqualify the offender from driving and must in any event endorse the offender’s licence by between three and six penalty points. Alternatively, if the police decide that the nature of the offence was less serious, they may offer the motorist the opportunity to receive a fixed penalty notice instead of prosecution. If a fixed penalty is issued, the driver may instead chose to plead innocence or mitigating factors in court, and if convicted, any sentence will be decided within the maximum penalty limit and in line with sentencing guidelines.

    The number of persons receiving endorsements only on their driving licence for speeding offences at all courts in England and Wales by police force area from 2008 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the attached table.

    Please note that court proceedings statistics for the year 2013 are planned to be published by the Ministry of Justice in May 2014.

  • Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Roger Godsiff – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken in response to the recent violence in the Central African Republic.

    Mark Simmonds

    The UK is working closely with international partners to ensure an effective and co-ordinated international response to the current humanitarian and security crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR). The UK will continue to work with the AU and UN to ensure the effectiveness of the AU mission as well as the effective deployment of a UN Peacekeeping Operation. The UK has also provided airlifts to help with deployment of the EU security mission (EUFOR); has provided a planning officer to the Operational Headquarters; and is providing a share of EUFOR’s common costs as well as engaging with EU Partners on EUFOR’s approach and rules of engagement. We remain the second largest provider of humanitarian aid, having given £23 million since the crisis began. I last discussed with interim President Catherine Samba-Panza on 23 May.

  • Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Andrew Percy – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many businesses in (a) the UK and (b) Brigg and Goole constituency have taken part in wage incentive schemes since the introduction of the Youth Contract.

    Esther McVey

    Data on the number of employers receiving wage incentives are not available. The latest statistics on Youth Contract wage incentives, released on 25 February 2014 are available here:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/youth-contract-official-statistics-february-2014

    “

  • Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Cathy Jamieson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what training programmes or qualifications are available to recruits who enlist as minors which are not available to those who enlist aged 18 years or over.

    Anna Soubry

    Young people joining the Army attend Phase 1 training at the Army Foundation College (Harrogate) and complete different programmes depending on the part of the Army they wish to join. Full details of the training offered at Harrogate is available at this link: http://www.army.mod.uk/training_education/24420.aspx

    For the Royal Navy and RAF, age at enlistment has no bearing on the training programmes or qualifications available during initial training.

    Irrespective of the age that an individual joins the Armed Forces, approximately 90% of all recruits complete an apprenticeship within three years of joining.

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

    Andrew Stephenson – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire were eligible for but did not claim free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available.

    David Laws

    The Department for Education routinely collects information on pupils who are both eligible for and claiming free school meals. This information is published in the ‘Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2013′ Statistical First Release[1]. Information on the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals but do not claim them is not collected by the Department.

    The Department has published a research paper ‘Pupils not claiming free school meals: 2013′[2] which presents estimates of the numbers and proportions of pupils who are entitled to receive free school meals but are not claiming. The paper compares registration rates for children aged between 4 and 15 and highlights regions and local authorities where under-registration rates are high. Figures from this paper show the under-registration rate for Lancashire local authority is 6% compared with an England average of 11%.

    [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013
    [2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013

    “

  • Dominic Raab – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Dominic Raab – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dominic Raab on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what information his Department holds on the number of zero-hours contracts in the UK which bar any additional employment.

    Jenny Willott

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has not collected any quantitative information on the number of zero-hours contracts in the UK which bar any additional employment. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggested, in its report Zero Hours Contracts: Myth and reality that 9% of workers on zero hours contracts reported that they were never allowed to work for another employer when their primary employer had no work for them.

  • 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 2014-03-17.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Jobmatch employer accounts have been found to be in breach of its rules since the service started.

    Esther McVey

    Today, many jobs are only advertised on the internet. That’s why we are doing everything we can to give those looking for work the skills and the opportunities to access them. Universal Jobmatch is a powerful tool for successfully connecting people to jobs, and it is delivering.

    The website launches a public service into the digital age, allowing people to search for work from their home, handheld devices, local libraries, as well as the traditional Jobcentre. It allows employers to match jobseekers to their vacancies and gives our customers access to a greater number of opportunities. It puts them on an equal footing with everyone else seeking a new job in the UK. With over 6 million job searches per a day, the service is clearly popular, successful, and value for money.

    At 18 March 2014, there were 507,474 vacancies on the service.

    All internet job sites face the issue of duplicate vacancies. We take this issue very seriously, and whenever we have a doubt about the validity of a job offer we will intervene, suspend the vacancy and investigate. If an employer breaches our terms and conditions we remove their right to advertise. Our continuing removal of such employers or jobs demonstrates that our system of checks works.

    Since Universal Jobmatch was launched in November 2012, we have removed 1216 employer accounts that did not comply with our terms and conditions. That figure is equivalent to 0.2% of the total number of registered employer accounts.

    Universal Jobmatch has revolutionised the way we deliver the public employment service. With over 6,000,000 job searches per day at a cost of far less than 1 pence each, it represents excellent value for money.

  • Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help blind and partially sighted passengers travel on buses.

    Stephen Hammond

    The Department for Transport is committed to ensuring that all disabled people have the same access to transport services and opportunities to travel as other members of society. The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) outline specific requirements for the bus industry to ensure that buses are as accessible as possible for disabled passengers. Latest statistics (September 2013) show that 78% of buses in England now meet PSVAR accessibility requirements, while 92% operate with a low floor facility and these figures continue to grow steadily.

    The Department also recognises that blind and partially sighted passengers find audio and visual announcements particularly useful when travelling on buses. We will therefore continue to encourage bus operators and local authorities to invest in audio/visual announcement systems for their buses where possible. However, we also understand that this technology comes at a considerable cost.

    With this in mind, my noble colleague, Baroness Kramer wrote to bus operators on 4th February 2014 to encourage the development of simpler, more affordable audio/visual announcement systems for buses that can provide benefits to as many passengers as possible. Alongside this, the Department for Transport is also looking into the possibility of establishing a research initiative involving small businesses and academic institutions through the ‘Transport Systems Catapult’to encourage further innovation.

  • Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Mr Barry Sheerman – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Barry Sheerman on 2014-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of faith free schools opened to date have met the 50 per cent target of children and young people attending the school who do not belong to that faith.

    Edward Timpson

    There is no target for the proportion of children attending a free school who do not belong to the designated faith of such a school. When over-subscribed, faith designated free schools may take account of faith in allocating up to 50% of their places. The remaining places must be allocated on the basis of over-subscription criteria not related to faith, and may be filled by pupils of the faith, other faiths or none.