Category: Speeches

  • Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lord Kinnock – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Kinnock on 2016-02-01.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the average (1) in-work, and (2) out-of-work, benefits paid to all recent EU migrants supported by the benefits system as at March 2013.

    Lord Freud

    I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Minister for Employment (Ms. Esther McVey) in the House of Commons on 20 November 2014 to Question number 211618 as below:

    While the Government checks the immigration status of benefit claimants to ensure the benefit is paid properly and to prevent fraud, traditionally that information has not been collected as part of the payment administrative systems.

    However, the Government is looking at ways to reform the current administrative system under Universal Credit so that it will systematically record nationality and immigration status of migrants who make a claim.

    The Government has made a radical series of changes over the last year to restrict the access by non-UK citizens from the European Economic Area to UK benefits and tax credits. This is in order to protect the UK’s benefit system and discourage people who have no established connection with the UK from moving here, unless they have a job or a genuine prospect of work, or have savings to support themselves until they do.

  • Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-02-25.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many consultants’ contracts were terminated early in each of the last six years for which figures are available; and what the cost of each such termination was in each of those years.

    Matthew Hancock

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-03-21.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraphs 1.140 and 1.142 of the Budget 2016, whether it is his policy that apprentices over the age of 25 will be subject to the national living wage or the apprentice rate of the national minimum wage.

    Nick Boles

    Apprentices under the age of 19 or in the first year of their apprenticeship are entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage apprentice rate – currently set at £3.30 per hour.

    All other apprentices are entitled to at least the minimum wage rate appropriate for their age, which for over-25s is the National Living Wage rate of £7.20 per hour.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-04-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many paramedics have taken time off work due to stress in each of the last five years.

    Ben Gummer

    This information is not collected centrally. Individual ambulance trusts are responsible for helping improve the health and wellbeing of their paramedics including helping them manage their stress.

  • Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Daniel Zeichner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Daniel Zeichner on 2016-06-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of transport projects delivered from the Local Growth Fund have been dedicated to cycling to date.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    To date, around 36% of transport projects in Local Enterprise Partnerships’ Local Growth Fund programmes are solely or in part dedicated to cycling projects.

  • Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Luciana Berger – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Luciana Berger on 2016-09-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health services he has visited in his capacity as Secretary of State since December 2015; and what the date was of each such visit.

    David Mowat

    The Secretary of State for Health has visited the following mental health services in an official capacity since December 2015.

    29 January 2016 King’s College Hospital, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

    5 February 2016 Coombe Wood Perinatal Mental Health Unit, Park Royal Centre for Mental Health, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

    27 July 2016 STITCH project, Royal Bristol Infirmary, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

  • Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Clive Efford – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Clive Efford on 2016-10-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what restrictions are in place controlling flights going to and from London City Airport; and if he will make a statement.

    Mr John Hayes

    London City Airport’s operational hours are limited to minimise the impact on local residents. The airport is permitted to operate flights between the following hours:

    • 06.30 and 22.30 hours on weekdays
    • 06.30 and 13.00 hours on Saturdays
    • 12.30 and 22.30 on Sundays
    • 09.00 and 22.30 hours on Public or Bank Holidays
    • Full closure on 25 December

    The final 30 minutes of operation is solely for flights scheduled earlier which have been unavoidably delayed.

    The total number of aircraft movements (take off and landings) is limited to 120,000 per annum.

  • Lord Brougham and Vaux – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Lord Brougham and Vaux – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Brougham and Vaux on 2015-11-11.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to prevent food waste.

    Lord Gardiner of Kimble

    Through the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the Government is working with food manufacturers and retailers to meet targets to reduce food waste from households and the grocery supply chain under the Courtauld Commitment. There has been a 15% (1.3 million tonnes) reduction in household food waste since 2007 and signatories reported a reduction of 7.4% in food supply chain waste between 2009-2012, with interim results for Courtauld 3 showing further 3.2% reduction by 2014.

    The Love Food Hate Waste programme helps UK households to reduce food waste and save money through awareness raising and consumer advice. There is also an agreement with the hospitality sector with targets to prevent and manage food waste in restaurants, pubs and canteens.

    WRAP is currently brokering a new agreement, Courtauld 2025, which is expected to start next year and will build on this progress.

  • Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-10-18.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the priority given to the promotion of democracy and human rights within the UK–Sudanese strategic dialogue; and what assessment they have made of (1) the reliability of the Sudanese regime as a reliable partner with a shared agenda, and (2) the extent to which the strategic dialogue will embolden the regime in Sudan to continue with their current policies.

    Baroness Anelay of St Johns

    Improving human rights remains one of our policy priorities in Sudan, and therefore discussions of human rights issues are a key part of the UK-Sudan Strategic Dialogue. At the last round of talks on 10/11 October, a representative from the Sudan Advisory Council for Human Rights accompanied the Sudanese delegation.

    In a number of areas we fundamentally disagree with the government of Sudan; however, in others our interests are much more closely aligned. We assess that direct engagement through the Strategic Dialogue process provides better opportunities to raise issues of bilateral concern, as well as to look at strategic questions such as the resolution of internal conflicts, regional security and migration. We keep this policy under regular review.

  • Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Tulip Siddiq – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tulip Siddiq on 2016-01-06.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints the Counter-Avoidance Intelligence Team has received about tax avoidance in each year since 2009-10.

    Mr David Gauke

    The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) Counter-Avoidance DOTAS Taskforce Risk Team receive and review referrals from a variety of different sources in connection with marketed tax avoidance. The information is not held in a numeric format that enables complaints to be distinguished.