Category: Speeches

  • Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Gordon Marsden – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gordon Marsden on 2015-11-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2015 to Question 13325, how many mathematics enhancement programmes his Department offered people in the further education sector in each year from 2010-11 to 2014-15; and how many such programmes he estimates his Department will offer in 2015-16.

    Nick Boles

    The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) began offering bursaries to graduates to train to teach maths in the academic year 2013/14. 61 and 136 people took up such bursaries in 2013/14 and 2014/15, respectively. It is estimated that 167 maths bursaries will be taken up in 2015/16.

    The maths enhancement is a joint BIS/Department for Education supported programme and commenced in the academic year 2013/14. During 2013/14 and 2014/15 over 2,450 existing further education teachers participated in the maths programmes. During 2015/16 we are continuing to support access to a pipeline programme to enhance the maths skills of existing teachers. This is being delivered by the Education and Training Foundation. We have not made an estimate of the number of programmes that will be taken up in 2015/16.

    Emerging findings from the evaluation of the further education (FE) workforce programmes have shown a positive impact on the confidence and effectiveness of FE teachers delivering maths either as a core subject or in vocational context. The evidential basis for intervention in maths teaching was based on the clear need to raise the Maths attainment rates of students in further education; and improve the quality of Maths teaching as identified by Ofsted inspection reports.

  • Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Ian Mearns – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Mearns on 2015-12-03.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of vessels that qualified for the tonnage tax scheme were registered under each flag in category one of the Red Ensign Group in each year since 2008-09.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    There is no direct requirement as to the country of registration of vessels entered in the tonnage tax scheme. While the tonnage tax has helped in the revival of the UK shipping register, it has also attracted inward investment from companies operating vessels of other flags, which we welcome. The identity of tonnage tax groups is tax confidential, and that confidentiality could be compromised by giving a detailed breakdown by flag of the numbers of qualifying vessels in any year.

  • Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Jonathan Reynolds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Reynolds on 2016-01-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the average number of weeks is for which statutory shared parental pay has been claimed since 1 April 2015.

    Nick Boles

    The Government does not yet have any information on the take up of Statutory Shared Parental Pay. Information for the 2015-16 tax year will be available from May 2016, although it will also include claims for Additional Statutory Paternity Pay. Information is not held on the number of claims for Statutory Shared Parental Pay that are linked to adoption leave.

  • Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Harriet Harman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Harriet Harman on 2016-02-02.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether elections for devolved national assemblies are included within the reference to local and national elections in paragraph K of his Department’s Consultation Principles 2016, published on 14 January 2016.

    Mr Oliver Letwin

    Guidance to UK civil servants on conducting consultations during the period prior to elections for devolved national assemblies will be issued in due course as part of broader guidance issued on conduct during this time.

  • Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Andrew Rosindell – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Rosindell on 2016-02-29.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of foreign language teachers are native speakers.

    Nick Gibb

    The information requested is not collected by the Department for Education.

  • Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-03-24.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to commemorate the First World War in 2016.

    David Evennett

    Since the Prime Minister set out plans for the Centenary in October 2012 the Government has delivered highly successful commemorative events for the start of the First World War and the Gallipoli Campaign.

    In May 2016, commemorative events will be held for the Battle of Jutland, and in July 2016, we will mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by holding national events at the Thiepval Memorial in France, at Manchester Cathedral, and at Heaton Park. In addition, a national vigil will be held in June at Westminster Abbey, and there will also be vigils in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

    Season Two of the 14-18 NOW culture programme has been announced and this – together with Centenary Partnership events, Heritage Lottery funded projects and local commemorative activity – will ensure people right across the UK have the opportunity to participate in commemorative events.

    Other centenary activities such as the UK Tour of the “poppies” and the national repair and conservation of War memorials also continue, more details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-world-war-centenary

    “

  • Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Kate Green – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2016-04-27.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Romanian government on the treatment of the Roma community in that country.

    Mr David Lidington

    We closely follow the treatment of the Roma Community in Romania. The UK condemns discrimination in all its forms and has on numerous occasions discussed this issue with the Romanian government. The UK was represented at the Romanian Government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee responsible for monitoring the National Strategy for Roma Inclusion on 21 March. On 12 April the British Ambassador to Romania issued a public statement regarding discrimination against the Roma community, following acts of vandalism at the National Centre for Roma Culture’s tent at the University Square. We continue to urge the Romanian government to take all necessary measures to ensure that all its citizens can fully enjoy their rights.

  • Lord Young of Cookham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    Lord Young of Cookham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Young of Cookham on 2016-06-10.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Secretary of State will make a determination under section 69 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016.

    Baroness Williams of Trafford

    Before any determination is issued and any payments made under that determination, regulations on the definition of higher value assets must first be passed by both Houses of Parliament. We are currently working on the detail of the regulations.

    We shall consult with local authorities and other stakeholders before issuing the determination.

  • Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Tom Elliott – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Elliott on 2016-09-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that social media websites remove abusive and threatening posts.

    Sarah Newton

    We expect social media companies, and internet platforms, to have robust processes in place and to act promptly when abuse is reported; including acting quickly to removing inappropriate content, and where appropriate, suspending or terminating the accounts of those breaching the rules in place.

    We are working with the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) to keep children and young people safe online. UKCCIS brings together industry, law enforcement, academia, charities and parenting groups to help to keep children and young people safe online. UKCCIS is co-chaired by Ministers from Department for Education, Home Office and Department for Culture Media and Sport.

    In December 2015 we published guidance to encourage responsible practice from industry, and ensure children using their services are able to do so in a safe and protected way.

    The Criminal Justice Act 2015 strengthened two existing communications offences: section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 which can now be used to prosecute misuse of social media. The police now have longer to investigate either offence, and the maximum penalty for the former has been increased to two years imprisonment.

  • Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Myners – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Myners on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they (1) have confidence in the economic forecasting capability of HM Treasury, (2) have evaluated the performance of HM Treasury forecasters, and (3) have considered the case for outsourcing some or all of HM Treasury’s forecasting functions to another organisation.

    Lord Young of Cookham

    The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is responsible for producing forecasts for the UK economy and public finances. It publishes regular Forecast Evaluation Reports (FERs) in which it compares its forecasts to subsequent outturns and explains any forecast errors.