Category: Speeches

  • 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 2014-03-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the effect of the removal of the under-occupancy penalty on the number of children living in relative income poverty.

    Esther McVey

    This information could be only provided at disproportionate cost.

    This Government has made good progress in tackling the root causes of child poverty and has recently published the 2014-17 draft child poverty strategy for consultation which outlines the actions we are taking. The latest figures from 2011/12 show that 2.3m (17%) children are in relative income poverty – down 300,000 since 2009/10. These are the lowest level since the mid-1980s.

  • Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Maria Eagle – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much of the Farming Recovery Fund to cover the cost of restoration of agricultural land following the recent floods has been received by farmers and businesses to date.

    Dan Rogerson

    As of 10 June 2014 a total of 131 applications have been received with a total grant request of £1,173,310.

    Of these, 62 applications have been approved with a total grant request of £403,617.

    In view of the continued level of interest in the Farming Recovery Fund we are exploring with officials the possibility of extending the closing date beyond 27 June 2014.

    You will also wish to be aware that the Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme (FFIS) which supports investments targeting farming competitiveness closed on 4 April having received more than 2,700 applications and a national grant request of over £27m.

  • Ms Karen Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Ms Karen Buck – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ms Karen Buck on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of London households in temporary accommodation were in (a) private sector leased properties, (b) hotels, (c) bed and breakfast, (d) local authority registered social landlord property and (e) other accommodation (i) at the most recent date for which figures are available and (ii) at 31 March 2010.

    Kris Hopkins

    [Holding Reply: Monday 17 March 2014]

    To assist public scrutiny, I have placed in the Library of the House, a table which provides quarterly figures for the last ten years.

    Over that period, the numbers of households in temporary accommodation in London in this Government is far lower than averaged under the last Administration. The peak of 63,800 households in December 2005 compares to 42,430 in December 2013.

    Councils have a responsibility to move homeless households into settled accommodation as quickly as possible and we made common sense changes to the law to enable them to use suitable private rented homes. The average stay in temporary accommodation in England has been reduced from 20 months at the beginning of 2010 to 14 months now, which means that people on average are spending far less time in such temporary accommodation.

    We have also seen a 42% reduction in the numbers of families with children in Bed and Breakfast for more than six weeks on this time last year across the country. The seven local authorities that my Department has funded to tackle families in Bed and Breakfast have made significant progress, achieving an overall reduction of 96% since the funding began.

  • 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 modifications to the original design of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers were necessary to accommodate repeated vertical landings by the Joint Strike Fighter; what estimate he has made of the heat produced by vertical landing by the Joint Strike Fighter which has the heaviest safe configuration to allow the procedure; and whether vertical landings can take place on any flat area of the carrier deck.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The ability of the ship to support F-35B vertical landings has been incorporated into the design of Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carrier from the outset. Environmental considerations including heat generation & dissipation have been thoroughly evaluated, including assessments from trials on the USS Wasp. UK assessments have covered all necessary aircraft configurations.

    The QEC Flight Deck has been designed with specific operating spots for vertical landing to deliver maximum Sortie Generation Rate. These are the spots where the F-35B will plan to land vertically on a routine basis. If required, in the event of an emergency the whole flight deck can support vertical landing.

  • Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    Helen Jones – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Speaker’s Committee on the Electorial Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Jones on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in Warrington North constituency in the recent confirmation dry run.

    Gary Streeter

    The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

    Results for all wards are available on the Commission’s website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

    The ward results for the Warrington North constituency were as follows:

    Ward

    Green matches

    Amber matches

    Red matches

    Birchwood

    83.9%

    1.1%

    14.9%

    Burtonwood and Winwick

    83.4%

    2.3%

    14.3%

    Culcheth Glazebury and Croft

    85.5%

    1.5%

    12.9%

    Fairfield and Howley

    75.1%

    1.8%

    23.1%

    Orford

    83.7%

    1.5%

    14.8%

    Poplars and Hulme

    83.9%

    1.0%

    15.2%

    Poulton North

    84.0%

    1.1%

    14.9%

    Poulton South

    86.9%

    0.8%

    12.3%

    Rixton and Woolston

    86.7%

    1.3%

    12.0%

    Westbrook

    83.4%

    1.5%

    15.0%

    “

  • 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 estimate he has made of the disposal cost for BAE System’s Woodford site.

    Mr Mark Francois

    The Ministry of Defence has made no estimate for the disposal cost for the Woodford site; it is a matter for BAE Systems.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Andrew Rosindell – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people living in the London Borough of Havering have moved off unemployment benefit as a result of gaining employment in 2013.

    Nick Hurd

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

  • Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Nigel Evans – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nigel Evans on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which companies have registered an interest in the contract for the JAMES requirement.

    Mr Philip Dunne

    The current contract for the Joint Asset Management Engineering Solution (JAMES) was let on 1 July 2004. A restricted competition is currently underway to provide JAMES capability from expiry on 31 December 2015.

    I am withholding information on those companies which have registered an interest as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

  • Mr Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Mr Frank Field – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mr Frank Field on 2014-03-11.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of (a) new joseeker’s allowance claimants and (b) existing jobseeker’s allowance claimants reporting a change in circumstances receive their benefit payments within (i) one week, (ii) two weeks, (iii) three weeks, (iv) four weeks, (v) eight weeks, (vi) 12 weeks and (vii) more than 12 weeks.

    Esther McVey

    The information requested is not available.

  • David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government has made representations or had discussion or meetings with (a) the United States Select Intelligence Committee or (b) others on the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program.

    Hugh Robertson

    The British Government has an ongoing dialogue with the United States over its detention and interrogation programs. As part of engagement with the US Congress, our Embassy in Washington has met with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to discuss its work, including in relation to the detention and interrogation program.