Category: Speeches

  • Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Miss Anne McIntosh – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Miss Anne McIntosh on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will commission a review of the 50 per cent rule whereby a GCSE grade may only be awarded for course assessment in the event of a student being severely incapacitated through illness; and if he will make a statement.

    Elizabeth Truss

    The Secretary of State for Education recently received a letter from the hon Member for Thirsk and Malton on this issue, raising the case of a student in her constituency, to which he has responded. From time to time Ministers receive representations from members of the public, and from hon Members on their behalf, on the same matter.

    Neither the Department nor the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation holds information on the number of pupils who have applied to be assessed for a GCSE grade on the basis of coursework. This information may be held by individual awarding bodies.

    The rules governing the circumstances in which a GCSE grade may be awarded to a student who has not completed all the elements of the assessment are a matter for the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the hon Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the potential benefits of using (a) student unions and (b) other university and college venues as polling stations.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that between 2002 and 2007 a number of English local authorities piloted the use of alternative locations as polling stations, although these did not include student unions or other university and college premises. The locations included railway stations, supermarkets, libraries and other local authority venues.

    The Commission’s statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes concluded that the convenience of voting at alternative locations was appreciated by some voters, although the impact on turnout was minimal.

    At present, the legislation provides that Returning Officers may use certain publicly-funded schools or “rooms funded out of any rate” free of charge as premises for polling stations. The Electoral Commission has recommended that Returning Officers should be permitted to use a wider range of publicly-funded buildings as polling stations.

  • Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    Mike Weir – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Scotland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mike Weir on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will publish the (a) scope, (b) date of commissioning, (c) date of polling and (d) cost of polling commissioned by his Department on attitudes in Scotland towards Scottish independence and related matters since May 2011.

    David Mundell

    The Scotland Office has not commissioned any polling on attitudes in Scotland toward Scottish independence and related matters.

  • Sir Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Sir Peter Bottomley – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sir Peter Bottomley on 2014-03-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how the Office of National Statistics (ONS) can best estimate the number and trends of the stock in the leasehold domestic premises in (a) Worthing West constituency, (b) Worthing borough, (c) Arun district, (d) West Sussex county, (e) South East England region, (f) England and (g) England and Wales; what data collection the ONS makes on housing tenure types; and if he will make a statement.

    Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    Caroline Lucas – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Lucas on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the letter of 28 May 2014 from Sir John Chilcott to the Cabinet Secretary, which Government Minister agreed, and on what date, that there was no prospect of reaching agreement that Notes or records of discussions between the UK Prime Minister and the President of the United States should be disclosed in their entirety or with redactions.

    Mr David Cameron

    The Inquiry is completely independent of government and should be allowed to complete its work without interference.

    At the outset of the Inquiry, Government and the Inquiry agreed a documents protocol on the handling of information provided to the Inquiry. The protocol names the Cabinet Secretary as final arbiter in discussions about disclosure. He is the right person to perform this role. He is the most senior civil servant and can see papers of a previous government Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May describes the background against which the Inquiry made its requests for gists and quotes. Sir John also makes clear that the gists and quotes are sufficient for the Inquiry’s purposes.

    Sir John Chilcot’s letter of 28 May is available on the Iraq Inquiry website and I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.

    The Government will not comment further on the extent or detail of the Inquiry’s declassification requests. I have made clear my hope that the Inquiry will be able to complete its work by the end of the year.

  • Stuart Andrew – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Stuart Andrew – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart Andrew on 2014-03-06.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Autumn Statement of 5 December 2013, Official Report, column 1106, which police service-related charities will receive funds from LIBOR fines in 2014; and what criteria are used to determine which organisations receive such funds.

    Nick Hurd

    In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced that LIBOR fines will be invested in providing support for emergency services personnel and their dependents who are injured, suffering ill-health, or bereaved, during or as a result of active service for the public. £10 million will be sustainably invested through Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise organisations across the UK.

  • Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Sheila Gilmore – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sheila Gilmore on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time taken for decisions on requests for reconsideration of fit for work decisions in relation to applications for employment and support allowance has been since October 2013.

    Mike Penning

    The Department is collecting information to understand how the introduction of mandatory reconsideration is operating, including completion timescales. However, this data is not sufficiently robust and reliable to make available.

    In the production of new statistics, which all the above would be, the Department works to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet the high quality standards expected. Departmental statisticians need to assure themselves of the quality of administrative data sources before releasing information as Official statistics, and before the exact timing and format of statistics can be confirmed. .

  • – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the guidelines issued by the Law Society on 13 March on making wills Sharia compliant”

    Lord Faulks

    Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales and the Government has no intention to change this position.

    The Government also has no intention of changing the fundamental principle of the law of succession in England and Wales that testators are, by making a valid will, able to leave their property to whomsoever they wish, subject only to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

    We encourage people to make wills by providing a relatively straightforward legal framework that keeps the formalities to a minimum and enables wills to be made quickly and inexpensively; and are considering what further steps we can take to raise awareness of the importance of making a will and to make the process simpler. We provide information to help people considering making a will on government websites: see, for example, https://www.gov.uk/make-will and www.justice.gov.uk/courts/probate/why-make-a-will.

    “

  • Debbie Abrahams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Debbie Abrahams – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Debbie Abrahams on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many full-time equivalent employees of his Department are engaged in forward planning to 2030 for end-of-life care.

    Norman Lamb

    There are currently 2.9 full time equivalent staff in the Department working exclusively on policy areas in Domain 2 of the NHS Outcomes Framework, which includes end of life care.

    Since April 2013, NHS England has been responsible for delivering improvements in end of life care, with Public Health England responsible for providing information and data on this policy area.

    Forward planning for future end of life care needs is considered by all three organisations as part of their responsibility for policy development.

  • The Earl of Dundee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The Earl of Dundee – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by The Earl of Dundee on 2014-03-27.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for international intervention or guidance to assist the efforts of the Plenum movement to reduce corruption and financial irregularities in Bosnia Herzegovina.

    Baroness Warsi

    The recent protests and work of the plenums are evidence of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) political stalemate and economic malaise. We are making clear to BiH’s leaders that the onus is on them to respond to the socio-economic grievances expressed by protesters and the plenums, most recently in the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)’s meetings with the Presidency and the Foreign Minister on 27 and 28 March. We see an opportunity also for the international community, particularly the EU, to support reform ahead of October’s elections. This includes assistance through new initiatives on economic reform and anti-corruption announced by EU Commissioner Fule, and the EU Special Representative’s planned ‘Compact for Growth’. We support these efforts to develop and build popular support for concrete reforms in economic governance, transparency and anti-corruption.