Category: Speeches

  • Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord Empey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Empey on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims for hearing loss they have received from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

    Lord Astor of Hever

    Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence are not recorded in a manner that enables the specific regiment or unit of a claimant to be identified without incurring disproportionate cost. 10,148 such claims have been received in the last six years from current and former Service personnel serving in Northern Ireland. Around 7,500 such claims have been successful to date, and the total value of compensation paid as a result has been around £62.3 million.

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 her Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    My Department operates one telephone line with the prefix 0844 for the purpose of updating staff in the event of an emergency situation. Details of the number of calls to this line are not recorded and no alternative number is available at the BT local rate. My Department does not operate or sponsor any telephone lines with the prefix 0845 or 0843.

  • Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Jones of Cheltenham – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-04-08.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect they expect that the recently announced Elephant Protection Initiative will have on the illegal wildlife trade; and what support they are giving to the Initiative.

    Lord De Mauley

    The Government warmly welcomes the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), launched at the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014 by the Presidents of Botswana, Chad, Gabon and Tanzania, and the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia.

    Through the EPI, these Governments are committing to:

    · observing an extended moratorium on consideration of future international ivory trade

    · closing domestic ivory markets

    · putting all ivory stockpiles (both seized ‘illegal’ and ‘legal’ ivory accrued from elephant mortality) beyond economic use.

    In response to these bold commitments, the EPI is intended to provide participating Governments with access to a fund to support the implementation of the measures contained in the Africa Elephant Action Plan. The UK Government has committed to supporting this fund, in the first instance by matching the first tranche of private sector funding amounting to around £1m.

    The text of the Elephant Protection Initiative can be accessed through the following link: www.gov.uk/government/news/decisive-action-agreed-on-illegal-wildlife-trade.

    “

  • Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Valerie Vaz – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Valerie Vaz on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

    Stephen Hammond

    The department has three numbers in use detailed in the chart below.

  • Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gloria De Piero – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gloria De Piero on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many projects in Ashfield constituency have been selected to receive funding from the Regional Growth Fund in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many projects from Ashfield contituency have received final offer letters from the Regional Growth Fund in the latest period for which figures are available.

    Michael Fallon

    There was one Round 4 Regional Growth Fund (RGF) project award from the Ashfield constituency. However, the postcode of the project has changed since and the project now falls under a different constituency.

    There are two awards made to RGF programmes to which small and medium-sized enterprises in the Ashfield constituency may bid.

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

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

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether jobseekers must declare casual income earned during a sanction period once their jobseeker’s allowance claim is resumed; and whether that amount is then deducted from subsequent benefit payments.

    Esther McVey

    When a Jobseeker’s Allowance Claimant is subject to a sanction, the award continues even if no actual payments are being made. As such the claimant should continue to notify changes of circumstances, including casual work. The normal JSA rules apply, whereby if the hours worked exceed 16 hours or the earnings are higher than the rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance, the award will end.

  • Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Leslie – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Leslie on 2014-04-07.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which five companies were used most often to provide temporary workers for his Department in the last financial year; and how much in agency fees was paid to each of them.

    Mr Francis Maude

    The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

    Before the last General Election, including for the entire period while the Hon. Member was a minister in this very department, there were no effective cross-Governmental controls on consultancy spend. Nor were spending controls exercised on other areas such as procurement, advertising and marketing, and IT spend.

    That’s all changed and ministers – supported by Cabinet Office officials – now closely scrutinise what we spend on consultants and temporary labour. Departments saved over £1billion in 2012-13 (the last year for which we have audited figures) compared to the spending levels in the final year of the last administration, 2009-10. This helped us save taxpayers £10 billion in 2012-13 against a 2009-10 baseline.

    We will continue to spend money on consultants and temporary labour when there is an appropriate business need to do so. Indeed in some cases engaging temporary labour is more flexible and cheaper for the taxpayer than taking on new staff. But we are also ensuring that the Civil Service has the skills needed. Our Capabilities Plan is designed to address long-standing gaps in four particular areas: digital skills, project management skills, commercial skills, and the leadership and management of change.

    We publish all spend data over £25,000 and contracts over £10,000 on Gov.uk and Contracts Finder.

  • Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Chris Ruane – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Ruane on 2014-06-18.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which sector of the economy made greatest use of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent year for which information is available.

    Mr Nick Hurd

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

  • Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Charlie Elphicke – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Charlie Elphicke on 2014-04-07.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations HM Revenue and Customs has received from interested parties on the sale of the Customs House landholding near Dover Priory Railway Station.

    Mr David Gauke

    HM Revenue and Customs does not own the freehold interest and has not received any representations on the sale of the Custom House (also known as Priory Court) landholding near Dover Priory Railway Station.

  • David Mowat – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    David Mowat – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Mowat on 2014-06-18.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has for the future of the Money Advice Service.

    Andrea Leadsom

    The government has commissioned an independent review of the Money Advice Service, led by Christine Farnish, which will report to me by the end of the year.

    MAS has an important responsibility to increase financial knowledge and capability in the UK. The review will consider how effectively and efficiently MAS is meeting the consumer need for education and advice; and make recommendations on any changes to MAS’s approach that would better enable it to meet this need.